Speedlite 580EX II EOS R8 Compatibility

[RichardinIdaho]

I have a Speedlite 580EXII and am planing on ordering a new Canon R8 camera. Will my flash work with the new camera or do I need to replace it with a newer model?

Thanks

[rs-eos]

The 580 EX II appears to not be compatible since it doesn't have ETTL II.

The specs for the EOS R8 mention this about the hot shoe:

"21-pin multi-function shoe equipped with the traditional 5-pin contact (X-sync, communication contact)"

And for compatible flashes, it mentions:

"E-TTL II with EX / EL series Speedlite, wireless multi-flash support"

So you'll want to pick up an older EX Speedlite with E-TTL II or any of the EL series speedlites.

[deebatman316 · Accepted solution]

Actually this is NOT CORRECT. Canon introduced E-TTL II in 2004 with the EOS 1D Mark II. The 580EX II was released in 2008. So this speedlite already supports it. Also E-TTL II is implemented in the camera body not the speedlite. So the speedlite is already compatible. Along with ALL of Canon's EX or EL speedlites. Also Canon's documentation of the 580EX II also states the speedlite supports E-TTL II. The speedlite is also FULLY compatible with the external speedlite control menu. The IR AF Assist Beam IS NOT COMPATIBLE with ANY mirrorless camera. The speedlite will fire an Intermittent AF Assist Beam/ (Intermittent Flashes) instead. The AD-E1 adapter is required for the 580EX II because the speedlite has weather sealing other speedlites WITHOUT weather sealing don't require it. 

-Demetrius

Current Gear: EOS 5D Mark IV, EF 16-35mm F/2.8L III USM, EF 24-70mm F/2.8L II USM, EF 50 F/1.8 STM, EF 85mm F/1.8 USM, EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS III USM, 470EX-AI & 600EX II-RT

Retired Gear: EOS 40D & Sigma 17-50mm F/2.8 EX DC OS HSM

[PeterSarmiento]

My 580EXii fully operates with no issues on my R6ii. 

R6ii has the same multifunction shoe as R8.

The only thing is no weather sealing.

I bought the adapter Incase I need weather sealing.

Then ended up getting EL5 for R6ii.

580EXii will remain in 5Dii.

[Always-Learning]

I’ve been searching all over for this info on preflash - thanks! Do you have any idea why the red beam won’t work (in my  case on an r5)?

[Always-Learning]

Interesting. I have an r5 and it works perfectly except that i get the intermittent flash instead of the red af assist. You get the af assist beam on your r6ii? Was there a config setting you needed?

[deebatman316]

If you're talking about the old school red AF Assist Beam on the speedlite the camera can't detect the red grid pattern. Also mirrorless cameras in general cannot detect the color red very well. This also applies to DSLR cameras in live view mode. The red grid pattern is aligned with the AF sensors in a DSLR. A mirrorless camera handles AF on the image sensor itself. There aren't separate dedicated AF sensors for each AF point.

[p4pictures]

Mirrorless cameras don't use the red AF assist beam even if the flash has it, they use the intermittent flash to focus. There is no configuration on a mirrorless camera that allows the red AF assist beam to operate.

[Always-Learning]

That’s really interesting - and odd that mirrorless are worse with red than 20-year-old cameras! I assume it’s not about mirrorless per se or even sensor position - but maybe a compromise allowing the vastly improved EV/ISO? Must affect even normal focus on red things and maybe red acquisition too.  But if I’m right about the reason, seems a price worth paying.  As my tag says, “always learning!”

[kvbarkley]

The focus sensor on "20 year old cameras" was separate from the main imaging sensor. As such, sensitivity to infrared was a feature not a bug.

On a mirrorless, the focus sensors are on the chip, and to prevent strong infrared sources from causing color shifts, infrared is filtered out.