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Canon radio-controlled flashes failing in use - Senders and receivers disconnecting

mHeston
Contributor

Hi,

I am spreading the news about the failure of communication between Canon "Sender" (Master) flashes and Canon "Receiver" (Slave) flashes.  Since around 2020 the communication between Master and Slave flashes can be broken by a public radio wave of some kind.  I’m not an EE, so I can’t tell you what the source of the problem is, but I can tell you that I have tested equipment all over the greater Seattle area, and about 80% of the time the Slaves disconnect from the Master in under 20 minutes of being turned on.   The shortest time to disconnect happens in 60 seconds with most disconnects occuring in 8-12 minutes.  I’ve only tested this in the greater Seattle area, but I suspect that if you are in a major urban area you will experience this failure.

I’ve tested this with Canon 600EX RTs and with a new R3, RL-5, and ST-E10, so it’s happening to the latest Canon equipment. 

You can read about what I’ve tested here: https://hestonphoto.com/info/canon-flash-failure-01.html

 

43 REPLIES 43

JLCKJC
Enthusiast

For those of you who have been following the WiFi link dropping issues with the Canon RT flash system here are two recent YouTube videos posted by Bob & Dawn Davis Photography: 1:02:07 NOW PLAYING Watch later Add to queue (youtube.com) and 45:34 NOW PLAYING Watch later Add to queue (youtube.com) In these videos Bob discusses the Canon RT flash system specifically and many other competitive systems with regards to their strengths and weaknesses.

Thanks for sharing. Will check these out this week. I had the chance to meet Bob Davis back in 2014 at a Canon Speedlite workshop.

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Ricky

Camera: EOS 5D IV, EF 50mm f/1.2L, EF 135mm f/2L
Lighting: Profoto Lights & Modifiers

Actually, what Bob presents in the videos (I mostly watched the second one), is nothing new per se.  Back in 2014/2015 when teaching various Speedlite workshops, he mentioned the idea of redundancy.  For what he does (weddings), that makes sense.  i.e. having two camera bodies himself, having a second shooter, on-site portable drives to copy cards to, and two different systems to control the flash (built-in as well as either Pocket Wizards or Radio Poppers).

But even at the time, I didn't go down the path of having a redundant wireless system since I didn't need it for what I was doing.  Even now, I don't do any type of event work.   But, even though I can take my time to set up a shot, as with others, it became extremely frustrating to have communications drop.  And sometimes drop very often (sometimes at least once per minute).

When looking for my next lighting system last year, the Canon EL-1s were $1,000 each.  Almost double that of the 600 series.  And even though they had some nice improvements, the guide number was the same as the 600 series.  The investment I did with AA rechargables would also go out the window since the new flashes were powered with different batteries.   And then of course the wireless issue.  So if having to add on a redundant system, the price per flash now increased.

The only con (though very minor) with my new system of lighting is that the strobes are larger than Speedlites,  So I cannot place lights in certain areas (e.g. hidden within lamps).  Though honestly, I've not had the need to do that in the past, so is something I won't miss.  Still, the possibily of hiding Speedlites in small spaces, was a nice attribute.

But, having a solid wireless system these days, modeling lights and so much more power output is solving all my needs for lighting.

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Ricky

Camera: EOS 5D IV, EF 50mm f/1.2L, EF 135mm f/2L
Lighting: Profoto Lights & Modifiers

EL-1, great features, but the lack of a reliable wireless connection is the killer for me.  I mean really, I understand backward compatibility, but come on Canon, let's shoot the elephant in the room your wireless SUCKS.  

Yes, Bob's advice is spot on with regards to equipment redundancy for wedding and similar events. They are one-time opportunities, and a few missed shots could be a real disaster.

My primary reason for posting the videos was to show recent real-life examples as to how unreliable the Canon RT flash system has become as experienced and reported by respected and well-known photographers. As I have said before, the system is no-longer suitable for its intended purpose. Continuing to sell the RT flash system as is, is an insult to Canon customers. Canon needs to fix this issue even if it can't address their legacy products. 

Bob is one of Canon's Explorers of Light, so hopefully this will put more pressure on Canon to come up with a solution.

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Ricky

Camera: EOS 5D IV, EF 50mm f/1.2L, EF 135mm f/2L
Lighting: Profoto Lights & Modifiers

I just left a comment on Bob's TouTube video about the poor experience many Canon RT flash users are having with dropped WiFi connections. I encourage others having this issue to do the same.

Or he might put less press on them because he doesn't want to lose the lucrative position.

As an aside, I would certainly hope Canon wouldn't drop his title.  Though I have seen two Explorer's of Light over the years no longer be listed.  I'm sure there may be more.  One was Syl Arena.  He fell ill (stroke?) a while back and around that time, Canon no longer listed him.  Personally, found that a bit mean-spirited, but I'm not privy to any of the details.   Another formerly-recognized Explorer of Light was Stephen Eastwood.  He had joined Bob Davis during those Speedlite workshops I had mentioned earlier.

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Ricky

Camera: EOS 5D IV, EF 50mm f/1.2L, EF 135mm f/2L
Lighting: Profoto Lights & Modifiers

I can add another to the list Ken Sklute.  A great photographer and educator who was released when Canon wanted to join the ranks of the corporate DEI. 

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