EOS R6 Mark II. What flash models would you recommend?

[CanonFreak]

I might use a diffuser for a speedlite flash but I don't know which one to use. I mostly use the Canon R6 Mark II for indoor photography for baton or dance (ballet) in dark theater settings. But I also do portraits as well under trees, etc.

Any recommendations?

[JeffXB]

In order to better assist you it would help if you told us your budget and lens(s) you primarily use. Please state the full lens model and not just the focal length. 

[CanonFreak]

I mostly switch between the 24-105mm EF F/4L IS II USM and the EF 100-300 F4.5-5.6 USM using the SNIPIZ adapter by EBYPHAN on Amazon.

My ideal canon lens is the Canon RF70-200mm F4L USM which I can find a speedlite flash that will cover this. That lens is my next purchase.

[deebatman316]

Welcome to the forums @CanonFreak most speedlites cannot cover up to 200mm. Usually the high end professional speedlites such as the 600EX-RT can cover that. But not anything lower than that speedlite. Indoor events like sports prohibit flash use. I would recommend a lens with an F/2.8 aperture or wider.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

I'm curious. Most of the time indoor performances don't allow flash photography.  It's extremely distracting to the performers and could even be dangerous.  I've seen people fall off a stage, etc.  You may want to consider the f 2.8 variant and no flash.  I would also suggest you budget for a Canon brand EF to RF adapter.  I assure you it's worth it's $100 price tag.  

These things are worth consideration 🤔.

[CanonFreak]

Good points on the max range of the flash on the speedlites. Thinking about it now I mostly used the 24-105mm EF F/4L IS II USM when I was taking pictures of my daughter for her school pictures. I could always change my exposure meter as well especially if there is a backlit issue (which I try to avoid anyways). This R6 Mark II has been an awesome improvement over my Canon Rebel t5i whereas I always pushed its ISO to its max when I was taking pictures of her in indoor gyms with hardwood floors. Each gym I also adjust the "white balance" as well but looking at my gym pictures my ISO is typically 3200, 4000, 5000 or 6400 with shutter speeds at 1/200 through 1/320 at around 5.6 aperture and thats using the 100-300mm lens. So I would like a speedlite for the 24-105mm lens for possible fill in flash capability for those portrait moments.

[rs-eos]

When you say "portrait moments", where are those taken? Are you up-close to your subjects, or are you far away?

[CanonFreak]

Close up using the 24-105 mm lens.

[rs-eos]

But where? The gym?

[SignifDigits]

The Mark II still has the TTL for flash so you have a lot of options as long as you're not truly trying to get to 200mm at f/4.  I have the EL-10,two 430EX III RTs and the EL-100.  The EL-10 has no TTL and only works with the multifunction shoot that Canon is limiting some cameras to (my R50V, for instance).  It allows for more information exchange between the camera and flash.

For me, the EL-10 is my least favorite as it only fires on top of the camera, and on top of the camera is almost never where I want a flash as straight-on flash tends to create a two-dimensional snapshot effect.  I am SO grateful to have both the Mark 2 support I-TTL and E-TTL.

Using cards, panels diffusers and bounce flash in this configuration is usually helpful, but under a tree unless you have a helper you might be limited to the diffuser. 

Canon has a known issue with their wireless interconnect so I use a Godox X3 flash controller and multiple Godox XR TTL Wireless receivers for off-camera flash. The EL-10 is 100% Canon-proprietary multifunction shoe only, as are most (maybe all?) of the latest Canon flashes. Thus, the current generation of Canon flash is NOT my personal choice or recommendation. This is one area where I think the third-party advantages outweigh the proprietary - for me at least.

I 100% concur with recommending a Canon-branded adapter, though.  Please do that.

You might find a good deal on a used (no longer made) EL-100 to see if that meets your needs for outdoor flash, as it sounds that realistically you're not going to be using flash indoors.   It's a great little flash.  And Canon makes GREAT flashes, don't get me wrong.  I own 4 of them, but I drive them all via TTL and don't rely on their wireless technology at all.   I hope they've fixed it but I'll never trust it as Godox solves the issue 100%, 100% of the time for me for not a lot of money.  I wish that Canon would license the multifunction flash to others (as it appears Sony does as I ordered the Sony version of the Godox controller by mistake first and notice it had connector instead of the TTL-only Canon version that I finally got), but that doesn't appear to be the case for now.

Consider a Godox V480 flash if all you really need is fill flash - $170 new and spend the other coin on a Canon branded adapter, or upgrading to a 2.8 70-200 instead of f/4.  Or a used EL-100 is also a good choice, or used 430EX III RTs (especially if you get the snap on diffuser).    All of those are in about the same price range.

I don't use flash for anything other than macro or other specialized uses (shooting a bit vehicle soon and I want gels for lighting in the cab and underneath it).  For everything else I depend upon IS and IBIS.

Anyway, those are some ideas for you to ponder and opinions for others to throw stones at.