Canon doubling down on overpriced RF gear with the newest flash units.

The only things with "Canon" on them that I purchase are cameras and lenses (some). Everything else that has anything to do with the cameras and the lenses is third-party: flashes, batteries, chargers, lens hood, whatever. Love my Flashpoint (aka Godox) speedlites more than any of my previous Canon speedlites at 1/3rd of the price. $79 for a single LP-E6NH battery? Neewer LP-E6NH performs better with higher mAh, yet sells for 1/3rd of the OEM price; a cheap plastic hood for RF 800 at $67.99 (JCC sells the same plastic at $17.99 and still makes handsome profit), PD-E1 USB Power Adapter for $139 (too many third-party options at a fraction of the OEM price to mention here), etc. etc.

Anyone who knocks down these third-party "Chinese knock-offs" might want to closely inspect how many "genuine" Canon is really.... ta da.... Made in China.... for dirt cheap, then engrave "Canon" on them and sell them at thousandfold profit.

The EL-1 sounds like a piece of kit for the 1D crowd. Shooters with expense accounts. Seems a bit overengineered. If you're not using it to make money, you probably don't need it.

But isn't it smaller than say a 600 or 580?

Is anyone buying Canon speedlights anymore?

Seems to me like they can't compete with Godox, so they stopped trying.

I think there will always be enough purists who will pay the extra for the Canon brand name. I don't think with Godox around - and now selling reliable gear - that there's any chance Canon will ever have high sales volumes again. And, this is the result.

And, honestly, this is just the beginning (if you'll excuse my speculation). With smartphones taking the beginner market, and ILC sales lowering yearly, I'm not at all surprised that RF gear costs what it does. Canon's gotta make money - even with lower sales volumes. And, I think they will.

... FWIW, I'm not a fan of the new prices. But, I think I understand the sustainability in Canon's market position.

I have all Godox too, but be careful on some of the gear, like strobes. It is getting increasingly more difficult to find battery packs for older units, and more costly to boot.

I bought a used 600 EX II for $300 or so a while back and I thought I had lost my mind when I was thinking about that purchase a few months later. Now this comes along at $1K lol..

It seems like Canon's strategy of facing the challenges of third-party competitors is to double down by making even greater separation and divide with their product pricing from their competitors. Even their batteries and lens hoods and other accessories are priced as if the word "Canon" is engraved in white gold.

I thought the RF 600 and the RF 800 were very interesting within this marketing context, as these two particular lenses are obviously Canon's answer to the challenges from the Sigmas and the Tamrons, and given the popularity of these bargain RF lenses, I'm sure Canon is taking away a big portion of the revenue pie from the competitors. But, Canon is not willing to adopt the same strategy with other products. With the successful debut of the RF bargain lenses, perhaps their future marketing strategy might change a bit.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19201790
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I have all Godox too, but be careful on some of the gear, like strobes. It is getting increasingly more difficult to find battery packs for older units, and more costly to boot.
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Are you speaking strictly about new battery packs? . I have little trouble finding any batteries I want, on the used market on eBay. . But if for some reason someone wanted a new battery, instead of being okay with a used battery, then I could see how there would be difficulties in sourcing them after a model has been discontinued for a while.

I buy all of my camera batteries used, and have never had any problem with any of them, and they last as long as the brand new ones do - for years and years and years. . Would it be the same for flash batteries?


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We recently had a discussion on POTN, started by someone who had an aftermarket flash that was not that old, yet they were unable to procur a replacement battery pack for his otherwise usable flash unit. It happens, especially to brands which do not comply to US norms for availability of spare parts.

KaosImagery wrote in post #19176238
Sorry to resurrect an old thread...

The battery for my Rovelight finally died, won't charge. Apparently, it's no longer available through Adorama.

Has anyone found a suitable replacement elsewhere?

MalVeauX wrote in post #19182038
Dang, I can't find a battery either. My battery is still good. But wow, that thing is hard to find. Even on ebay. The Rovelight is a rebrand, so I started looking for Jinbei HD600 batteries, etc. They're out there, but it's hard to find something available. COVID is probably not helping this situation as who will refill a stock on something that isn't main stream in a super popular product right now. Maybe after COVID we can find a battery. I'll get a 2nd battery if I can find one. But otherwise, I won't continue after my current battery fails and I'll likely have to get something less "cheap" and more costly just to ensure I have 10+ year support on the dang thing to get a battery or at least battery pack.

Very best,

SereneSpeed wrote in post #19201755
Is anyone buying Canon speedlights anymore?

Seems to me like they can't compete with Godox, so they stopped trying.....

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19201790
I have all Godox too, but be careful on some of the gear, like strobes. It is getting increasingly more difficult to find battery packs for older units, and more costly to boot.

SYS wrote in post #19201851
It seems like Canon's strategy of facing the challenges of third-party competitors is to double down by making even greater separation and divide with their product pricing ...

And perhaps to make them "break" with the new mirrorless systems.
It turns out that ( for now anyway,) Godox High Speed Sync in AV mode is totally broken on the R bodies. This is true using on camera speedlites, or or o0ff camera strobes with a controller. No word on a firmware update to fix it.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #19201935
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Are you speaking strictly about new battery packs? . I have little trouble finding any batteries I want, on the used market on eBay. . But if for some reason someone wanted a new battery, instead of being okay with a used battery, then I could see how there would be difficulties in sourcing them after a model has been discontinued for a while.

I buy all of my camera batteries used, and have never had any problem with any of them, and they last as long as the brand new ones do - for years and years and years. . Would it be the same for flash batteries?

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I am talking about Godox strobes and their flashes that uses battery packs instead of AA (and likely other 3rd party strobes too).

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19202082
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I am talking about Godox strobes and their flashes that uses battery packs instead of AA (and likely other 3rd party strobes too).
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Right, I knew that. . What I wanted to know is, were you specifically talking about the availability of brand new batteries for older Godox strobes, or were you also talking about the availability of used batteries for these strobes.

Finding old, used batteries for cameras is never difficult for me, no matter how long they have been out of production. . I am wondering if it is the same way with finding old, used, discontinued batteries for strobes, and whether or not they are easy to find on eBay.


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Tom Reichner wrote in post #19202084
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Right, I knew that. . What I wanted to know is, were you specifically talking about the availability of brand new batteries for older Godox strobes, or were you also talking about the availability of used batteries for these strobes.

Finding old, used batteries for cameras is never difficult for me, no matter how long they have been out of production. . I am wondering if it is the same way with finding old, used, discontinued batteries for strobes, and whether or not they are easy to find on eBay.

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Just one of the batteries I need, let me know if you can find any reasonably priced used or new batteries, it is the WB-87 battery. Thanks in advance!

TeamSpeed wrote in post #19202088
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Just one of the batteries I need, let me know if you can find any reasonably priced used or new batteries, it is the WB-87 battery. Thanks in advance!
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It looks like they are in stock at B&H, Adorama, and a place called Discount Bandit.

https://www.google.com …oECAMQAw&biw=15​62&bih=789