Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT- User Manual

QuickGuide to Speedlite 600EX-RT

Radio Wireless Flash Setup

INTRODUCTION

The Speedlite 600EX-RT allows you to set up multiple Speedlites

as “slaves” which are wirelessly controlled and synchronized by a

“master” unit. As compared to flash units that use optical signals

only, the 600EX-RT’s radio-based wireless E-TTL offers signifi-

cant advantages, such as the freedom to place 600EX-RT slave

units up to 98 feet from the camera and “master unit”, all without a

direct line-of-sight between the master and slaves. Your wireless

radio setup options include:

•

Automatic E-TTL

with

equal

output from all units

•

Automatic Ratio E-TTL

with

unequal

(ratio) output

between firing groups

•

M

– Manually-set power output (you can set a different

flash output for each slave unit or firing group)

•

GR

– Different groups have different flash modes, with

up to five groups

Only a 600EX-RT or ST-E3-RT Speedlite Transmitter attached to

a camera can be a master. You can, however, use two or more

master units by setting up multiple cameras, each with a master

unit attached, and switch from one to another during a wireless

flash shooting session. The slave lighting setup will remain the

same. Only 600EX-RTs can be slaves when you are shooting in

radio control mode.

COMPATIBILITY

EOS cameras released since

2012

(such as EOS-1D X, EOS 5D

Mark III, EOS 6D, and EOS Rebel T4i) – full compatibility

EOS cameras released before 2012:

•

Flash sync speed must be one stop slower than the

maximum

•

No high-speed sync shooting

•

No group (GR mode) flash

Note:

Full flash sync, including Hi-Speed Sync, is available with

the 600EX-RT with all EOS SLRs when used in optical wireless

E-TTL control mode.

INITIAL WIRELESS RADIO FLASH SETUP

You must first set the master and slaves to matching transmission

channels and wireless radio IDs. Once you have done so, any

settings you make to the master will automatically be transmit-

ted to the slaves. This eliminates the need to adjust the slaves

individually and manually.
1.

To set the master unit:

Press the

Wireless Flash Button

until

the RT icon (upper-right corner of the unit’s LCD screen) and

<MASTER>

appear.

The wireless flash cycle via button is: Conventional on-camera

flash > Radio-based Master unit > Radio-based Slave unit >

Optical-based Master unit > Optical based Slave unit.

2.

To set the slave unit(s):

Press the

Wireless Flash Button

until

the RT icon and

<SLAVE>

appear.

3.

To set the transmission channel:

Set the master and slave

units to the same Transmission Channel, otherwise the

slave(s) will not fire. Use the same procedure below for

master and slave.

a. Press

Fn Button 4

until

<MENU 3>

displays.

b. Press the channel button (

Fn Button 1

, under the “CH”

icon). The channel number will highlight immediately

below RT icon. Turn the selector dial to the channel

number of your choice (1 to 15) or AUTO. If you set

AUTO, the 600EX-RT will automatically set the channel

with the best reception. Set the master and slave units

to the same Wireless Radio Channel.

c.

Press

Fn Button 4

until

<MENU 3>

displays.

d. Press

Fn Button 2

to highlight ID.

e. Turn the

Select Dial

to the digit you want to set. There

are four digits.

f.

Press the

Select/Set Button

to activate the digit setting.

g. Turn the

Select Dial

to set any digit from 0 to 9, then

press the

Select/Set Button

to register your setting.

h. Repeat steps e – g to enter a four-digit number. You

can enter any number from 0000 – 9999. The master

and slave units must be set to same ID number. The

number you set must be different from that of any other

600EX-RT shooter in the vicinity.

i.

Press

Fn Button 4

to return the flash to shoot-ready

mode.

j.

The

<LINK>

lamp should light green to indicate a

working link between the master and slave, assuming

both are turned on and set to same Channel/ID.

•

If you are using more than one master, the color of the

<LINK>

lamp will vary depending on the order in which

you turn the masters on. The first/main master is green.

Subsequent/sub-masters are orange.

•

If the LINK lamp is continuously red, check to make

sure the master and slave are set to the same channel

and ID.

•

If the LINK lamp is blinking red, either your setup totals

more than 16 units or you may need to turn the power

off and on again.

MASTER FLASH FIRING ON/OFF

You can choose whether master flash firing is ON and therefore

the master contributes to the flash exposure, or OFF and does

not. The master flash will still control the slaves, regardless of

whether it contributes to the exposure.
1. Press

Fn Button 4

until Menu 2 displays.

2. Press

Fn Button 1

(under Flash On/Off icon) to ON or OFF

a. Three little beam lines coming from flash icon on LCD

panel indicate Master Flash ON

b. Beam icons disappear when Master Flash OFF

is active

WIRELESS E-TTL — “ALL” (FLASH RATIO OFF)

In this mode all flash units will fire at the same output, with full

E-TTL auto flash exposure, which you can adjust with flash

exposure compensation (FEC) on your camera, as necessary.

This mode is best for lighting setups where you want even lighting

throughout the scene. E-TTL is also great when flash-to-subject

distances may change from shot to shot.
1.

Perform the initial flash setup described above.

Confirm that

master and slave are set to the same transmission channel

and radio ID. Position the camera and flash within correct

operating range (30 meters/98 feet.)

2.

Set the firing group on each slave unit.

Set the slave unit to

firing group A, B, or C. The slave will not fire if set to group D

or E, when ratio control is set to ALL. You can assign multiple

flash units to the same group.

3.

Set the master to radio-based Wireless E-TTL.

Press the

<MODE>

button on the master unit to set the master to

E-TTL.

4.

Set the Ratio to “ALL”

— On master unit, press

Fn Button 4

(under “Menu 1” icon) until Menu 2 appears.

Press Fn

Button 2

(under “Ratio” icon) until “ALL”

appears on master unit’s LCD panel.

5.

Confirm wireless link.

Confirm that the

<LINK>

lights on the

600EX-RT’s are lit and green and that the AF-assist beam

emitter on the slave is blinking at 1-second intervals. Also

confirm that the red flash ready light is lit on the master unit.

6.

Shoot.

a. Press the test flash button on the master flash to check

operation. If a slave does not fire, make sure it is within

the correct range.

b. Take the picture. The flash exposure confirmation

lamp will light for 3 secs to confirm normal exposure.

1

2

3

Fn Button 1

Wireless

Button

Flash Ready/Test Flash

Flash Mode Button

Fn Button 2

Fn Button 3

Fn Button 4

Select Dial