An open letter to Canon regarding the Canon RT system

To whom it may concern at Canon Inc.,

I am writing this email to express my disappointment with the Canon RT system, particularly the Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT & ST-E3 RT units.

Recently I just purchased a pair of Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT & one ST-E3 RT for my lighting equipment to complement a pair of my Canon 5D mark III & several Canon L lenses.
Prior to that, I was using Speedlite 580EXII, 580EX, 430EX & Phottix Odin radio trigger for most of my off-camera flash photography work.

Just FYI, I decided to sell the above equipment, particularly the Phottix Odin system, to purchase the Canon RT system. Because I thought that using the new Canon RT system with simplified Canon system will help my photography productivity, especially when using off-camera flash.

I found that 600EX-RT & ST-E3 RT system failed to meet my expectations. While there are many improvements compared to the previous generation Speedlite, I found that the Canon RT system has so many limitation that makes it inferior compared to the competitor products, such as Phottix Odin radio trigger system I was using before.

Below are the two major limitations on the Canon RT system that I am really frustrated about:

1. Lack of wireless 2nd curtain sync.
This feature should be easy to be implemented into the Canon RT system. But I am very surprised that Canon decided not to implement 2nd curtain sync in wireless mode. The competitor's products such as Phottix Odin have this feature. I find that the 2nd curtain sync is a very important feature, especially on my photography work. Why would Canon not include this feature, is beyond a common sense & it is unforgivable.

2. Lack of slave zoom control from the transmitter.
Again, this is a feature that the competitor's products like Phottix Odin managed to execute perfectly. Phottix Odin allows the user to change the zoom setting of the slave units from the transmitter.
By having the ability to set the zoom setting of the slave units directly from the transmitter, the user do not required to walk around & manually change the zoom setting on each flash unit. This process will make the photography work much more time-efficient.

I have invested so much money on the Canon DSLR & equipments. I was always happy using the Canon DSLR, but this is the first time I have ever felt that Canon has chosen to become arrogant & give the customer an inferior product / system. Even though I am currently still using pair of my 600EX-RT & ST-E3 RT system for my photography works, I am highly considering to go back to the Phottix Odin system, due to the two major limitations on the Canon RT system I stated above.

However, I still have a little bit of faith in Canon RT system. The Canon RT system has a very great potential if Canon can remove the two major limitations above.

I sincerely hope, or rather HIGHLY DEMAND, that Canon would release a firmware upgrade for the 600EX-RT & ST-E3 RT to add these features:

1. Add wireless 2nd curtain sync.
2. Add slave zoom control in the transmitter unit.

If somehow Canon failed to deliver the firmware updates containing the features above, I am definitely going to GET RID of my Canon RT system and go back to the competitor's product, the Phottix Odin.

Yours sincerely,


A Canon user from Australia

^^ great stuff.

Both features would be welcome. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

do the tt1/tt5s allow rear shutter? I'll have to try them when I leave work. Rear curtain isn't something I use often, however.

Wireless zoom would be awesome though.

ne3ek wrote in post #15567488
do the tt1/tt5s allow rear shutter? I'll have to try them when I leave work. Rear curtain isn't something I use often, however.

Wireless zoom would be awesome though.

I think they do. Its been awhile since I had mine on a camera and light.

The remote zoom ability implies that Phottix have made the receiver look like a camera to the flash and vis versa. That is probably now they get Rear Curtain to work as well.

It appears that Canon is implementing its radio triggering as an extension of its existing mulitple flash architecture. Since the off camera flash units are considered slaves they have a different relationship with the system.

Its the system architecture stuff that may be the impediment.

I told you guys already,
using AA as power source also stupid,
there are some better flash system on the market

tongki wrote in post #15570039
I told you guys already,
using AA as power source also stupid,
there are some better flash system on the market

But not one that does what the Canon/Nikon proprietary systems do, even with their limitations.

There is nothing "stupid" about using an AA power source for speedlites. Its just one design element. Other power sources are available.

As an aside, constructive comments to threads are infinitely more useful and appreciated than statements that contribute nothing beneficial.

tongki wrote in post #15570039
I told you guys already,
using AA as power source also stupid,
there are some better flash system on the market

I make a pretty good living using AA power for the majority of my wedding work.

I just checked the PW manual and you just configure the camera and flash as normal and the trigger supports it.

lol...buy PocketWizards

Do Pocket Wizards control remote zoom? No.

Do Pocket Wizards control 5 remote groups? No.

I would expect that Canon will update their features in due course.

Do I use Canon? No. But it sure looks like a useable system without the remote zoom and RCS.

So the OP had a complete system that worked and did everything necessary and this was scrapped because...?

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #15572356
So the OP had a complete system that worked and did everything necessary and this was scrapped because...?

NEWER = BETTER!

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #15572356
So the OP had a complete system that worked and did everything necessary and this was scrapped because...?

That's a good question, especially since they apparently rely on the remote zoom and second curtain sync.

I haven't looked in the 600EX-RT manual in a while but I think it states that SCS is not available. I'd think Canon has ever provided remote zoom since their architecture places all the speedlites other than the one on the camera into a slave mode.

I would think that its something that could be added to the firmware. Of course then they have to provide a way to get the firmware into the speedlites.

The 600EX-RT canon approach is quite a way beyond the Pocket Wizard ControlTL system. Which worked for me. Once I read the Canon specs and saw a couple of videos, knowing I was going to upgrade to a 5DIII it didn't take long to decide to upgrade. The limitations listed here were not a concern. The few times I've wanted to use SCS I've just used the flash on camera or used an extension TTL cable if I wanted it off camera.

For the off camera speedlites, I've always tended to set them to a relatively wide zoom and leave them alone. Once in a while I'll use the zoom like a poor man's snoot. But at too is a set it and leave it kind of situation for me. The on camera speedlite's zoom is easy to set, or leave on auto, depending on the situation.

While I'm sure many people would use the features listed, they are hardly essential. Any system is going to have pros and cons. If you needed these features that badly, why did you buy the RT system? The original post seems a bit overly dramatic to me. Personally I love the RT system and I'm enjoying using it vs my old PW 580EX system. I would recommend you sell it and get what you need rather than sending letters to Canon. I don't believe they advertised it having these features.