GODOX V100 or Canon EL-5 for R6 Mark II camera

[mglotspeich]

Hi all. I was wondering if I should purchase the GODOX V100 or the Canon EL-5 for My R6 Mark II.  I understand that the EL-5 has the new hot shoe mount that the R6 accepts. However I have heard a lot of good things about the GODOX V100. I am teetering if I should purchase the Canon or the GODOX. GODOX has a round flash head. I have heard that it is great for portraits but will it be for other flash situations? I guess I am asking what benefits or drawbacks will the round flash from GODOX exhibit.

Thanks!  Mike, St. Louis MO

[deebatman316]

I would caution Godox as they have years long compatibility problems with Canon cameras. Some are minor others will lock up your camera with error 70. Some of these compatibility issues are years long and unresolved since the release of the EOS R & RP.

[mglotspeich]

Thank you. Should I just get the EL-5 and call it a day? Are there any other 3rd party flashes that you would recommend? I do have the 580EX II flash that I purchased with my DSLR years ago.

Thanks Again! Mike

[deebatman316 · Accepted solution]

Your 580EX II will work on your on the R6 Mark II. The weather sealing gasket can be removed or the AD-E1 hot shoe adapter can be used to maintain weather sealing. Why are you upgrading?  I use a mix of old and new speedlites. Some of which are older than the 580EX II. They just can’t be controlled from the camera menu. They have a full set of controls on the speedlite itself. So the camera menu not being compatible is no problem.

 

[mglotspeich]

Thank you so very much!

[JeffXB]

I bought the MoLight version of the V100 in order to have a USA warranty (Neweer sells it under their brand name too). I haven’t used it much yet, but haven’t had any issues with it, compatibility or otherwise. You do need to be careful when mounting it, only push it until the first “click” (you’ll hear and feel it). Going past that and it won’t work right, if at all. I’m using it mostly for macro so the round head design suits my needs better.

The only downside I’ve come across (so far anyhow) is that it won’t work using in camera focus bracketing. I believe the only flash that does is Canon’s most expensive one. Hopefully Canon will change that with a firmware update as the V100 is more than capable of handling high speed flashes ; especially when set to a lower power.

But since I’m used to shooting using a different method that’s not really important to me. I just set it on manual focus, focus on the closest point of the subject, depress the shutter and slowly rock forward. Or on a tripod turn the focus ring while holding down the shutter. You can also use a manual or motorized focusing rail, but it’s quite tedious and best used in a studio setting on static subjects.