EL-1 V2 Announced

[chrishoesel]

Canonrumors posted this.  Canon Announces the Speedlite EL-1 Version 2 - Canon Rumors

I find it interesting/strange that Canon is considering releasing another flagship Speedlite but are NOT revamping their RT protocol to maintain a reliable communication chain.  I understand the spectrum is contested, and Canon have always remained compliant with FCC re: transmit power, etc. Not sure how well this would be received by the community, being that much lower-priced options exist that work better in many cases.  I thought Canon had given up on making any more Speedlites.

I like my EL-1 (and 2 EL-5's) but the RT mode just doesn't work unless you ask everyone to turn off their mobiles.  That is simply not acceptable.

What are thoughts on this?  Will Canon introduce a new/dual band set of Speedlites and transmission system?  Or just more of the same?  I assume it will have the new MF shoe as well.  Perhaps Canon will finally enable flash firing in an exposure bracket?

[deebatman316]

Are you still having problems with the RT system? I’ve never personally experienced issues with the RT system. I have a mix of speedlites older optical ones and the 600EX II-RT and formerly owned a 430EX III-RT. Never had any link drops in RT mode. If I’m using off camera flash I usually use optical mode with my older speedlites. 

[chrishoesel]

I'm not a pro so it's not a huge issue for me, but I did experience issues in a highly-connected home as well as my work, which is highly contested in the 2.4Ghz band with all of the IoT devices, cell phones, security cameras, door locks, doorbells and all the other crap connected to the internet.  At the house, everything was great with only 2 people present, but as soon as 10 others showed up with all their cell phones, all the connections simply dropped.  I had to scan and find a channel that was less contested and it was better, but I had to constantly reconnect.  This was last year.  This year, I used all Godox flashes and monolights, with zero issues at all.