Sark17 Loc: Atlanta, GA

Hello! I’m considering buying a flash for my Canon EOS R, but don’t know which type is best for what I want to do. The only flash I’ve used has been on my camera and I didn’t have to make a decision about types and on/off camera, etc.

It will be for nighttime photography of animals and used for a fill when there are shadows on subjects etc (but that will be more rare).

Can anyone recommend a flash to buy?

josquin1 Loc: Massachusetts

Try a Yongnuo Speedlite YN568EXll . It has worked great for me on my Canon EOS R and cost about 1/4 of the equivalent Canon Flash units.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Might check out the 600 RT, its a great flash ( I have a few of them)!

CO

I'm not familiar with Canon speedlites but I know some people who use the Better Beamer flash extender for wildlife photography. It uses a fresnel lens to redirect the beam thereby increasing the power of the flash by two to three stops.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

I use Canon 600 speedlites and MagMod modifiers and beam extenders. MagMod is having some good specials right now.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Canon's 600 are the newest. The 580 models are a lot cheaper now, used. If you just need one flash, consider the older models too.

Sark17 Loc: Atlanta, GA

Thank you! That’s something I need to look into. It’s for wildlife at night and I think a beam extender sounds like something I’d need. I know with flashes and wildlife at night it’s important to not blind them so I am not sure what is best for a fast lighting situation. I’m pretty clueless on flashes like this.

fbeaston Loc: Vermont

There are people on UHH who are a whole lot more experienced than I am, but for what it's worth, I got a used flash (580EXII) from KEH in "like new" condition at a decent price. I also listened to a "Pro" who talked me into a remote battery (Quantum Turbo SC, which provides far more power & # of shots between charges) plus a ProMediaGear extender that holds the flash away from the camera & easily switches between Landscape & Portrait orientation. I think this set-up gives better light (less red eye, no interference when using a longer lens). I did end up spending a lot more than I expected, but I've been thrilled with the results. Good luck.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Also they will work with all the features of your camera. Both are good if your budget allows go for the 600 series.
I have a 580 series and it works great and has many excellent features that fully communicate with the camera for best results.

williejoha

You cannot go wrong with the 580.
WJH

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

The Canon flash are hard to beat, although more expensive than some of the third party offerings.

If you want to do multi-flash setups now or in the future, I'd recommend "radio" triggering and communication (such as the Canon "R" flashes all have). This is much more versatile than the "optical" triggering and communication that the other flashes use, which limits distance and flash placement considerably. (There are radio devices that can be used with the optical flashes, but those would be unnecessary accessories if you just got the radio flashes to begin with.)

Canon's 500EX-series and 600EX-series flashes are their largest and most powerful. They also can act a "master" or a "slave" in multi-flash setups. And they have a socket that allows the internal batteries to be supplemented with and external power source, such as Canon's own "compact" battery packs (which add eight more AA batteries to the four already in the flash).

Canon's 400EX-series flash are a tad bit more compact and not quite as powerful, but still pretty darned good. These flash can be used as slaves, but cannot be used as masters in multi-flash setups and do not have a means of connecting an external power supply (however there are third party power supplies that can be used with them, although it requires some minor, but permanent modification of the flash).

Canon 300EX-series and 200EX-series are their smallest, lightest and most automated flashes. They generally allow less user control, are designed for ease of use. May not have tilting/rotating heads and may not "zoom" automatically (or at all) for different lens focal lengths (the 400/500/600EX models do). Some 300EX-series have special features, such as a video light. The 300/200EX models may or may not be usable as slaves in multi-flash setups.

Canon's smallest, least powerful and most compact is the tiny 90EX. I don't think it's still being made. But, interestingly, it's able to act as a master to control other flashes off-camera in multi-flash setups.

All the Canon "EX" flash have ETTL or ETTL II auto exposure for ease of use. This works in all the camera exposure modes, but will automatically act as "fill" when the camera is set to any of the auto exposure modes, will revert to "full" flash output only when the camera is set to M or "manual" exposure mode. (Note: depending upon camera, M with Auto ISO is treated as an auto exposure mode by the flash... only M without ISO gives "full" flash in ETTL mode.)

The higher-end 600/500/400EX have more user controls such as flash exposure compensation (same as exposure compensation, except with flash), fully manual flash, user selectable power levels, user-settable lens/zoom, tilt/rotate heads for indirect flash techniques. Many (most? all?) models have second curtain sync... for use with slow shutter speeds... as well as high speed sync for use with particularly fast shutter speeds.

You mention using the flash to photograph animals at night. That can be tricky due to "eyeshine". This is the same thing as "redeye" in humans, except in many animals it's usually not red... may be white or green or ? with different animals. This is basically the receptors in the back of the eye reflecting the light of the flash back at you and will make subjects look like hell spawn! It's even worse at night when pupils are dilated in low light, though it can even happen in bright midday lighting.

The best way to avoid eyeshine and redeye is to move the flash away from the lens axis. This is done by putting the flash on a bracket, usually off to one side and a bit higher up. The flash is then connected to the camera's hot shoe by an off-camera shoe cord. This works quite well with shorter lens focal lengths. But, longer telephotos require the flash to be moved even farther away. I have a special, large, adjustable bracket for use with 300mm and longer telephotos. It can position the flash as much as 18" or 20". The only problem is, that bracket is a big, heavy beast. Most of the time, with shorter lenses, I use a much more compact, lightweight bracket.

Several have mentioned using a flash extender and you may find one of those helpful or necessary to illuminate a distant subject. Flash extenders are basically a couple lightweight arms that attach to the flash and hold a Fresnel lens in front of it, to concentrate the light output and allow the flash to reach farther than it's normal working range. If you think you will want to use one of these, it may limit your flash choices to some extent. They aren't "universal" fit or made for all flashes... only for select, most popular models. I use "Better Beamer" extenders on my Canon flashes. I think they make them for most of the 600, 500 and 400EX models. I can't say about third party flash... what they fit and what they don't. You'll have to look into this, if you want to use an extender. They are basically only usable with 300mm and longer lenses on a full frame camera like your EOS R (200mm and longer lenses on APS-C format cameras).

I'd note, too, that using an extender such as this can make eyeshine problems worse.... makes it even more necessary to put the flash on a bracket that positions it well off-camera.

Just to give you some "ballpark" idea of distances.... Canon flash designations are roughly based upon their "guide number" (GN). In case you aren't aware, GN are stated in meters and feet. They are usually based upon ISO 100 and Canon uses the most telephoto setting of their heads with zooming capability (usually 105mm).

A 600EX flash has a GN of about 60 meters (there are a little over 3 ft. per meter... so that's around 190 feet). This is the maximum distance the flash can normally reach.
580EX and 550EX flash have GN of of approx. 58 meters and 55 meters, respectively.
420EX and 430EX flash have GN of about 42 meters and 43 meters.
Etc.

You can increase the distance a flash can reach by using a larger aperture or a higher ISO. Changing shutter speed won't matter unless you use high speed sync, which reduces the distance flash can reach quite a bit (the faster the shutter speed above the camera's "flash sync" speed, the less distance possible). Adding the extender increases maximum distance by roughly double. The bigger Canon flash have an LCD display on the back. Among other things, that can display the flash's "working distance" range... minimum to maximum. (This does not take into consideration added accessories such as an extender that increases distances or a diffuser/soft box that would reduce distances.)

Modern dedicated flash is super easy to use. Have fun shopping!

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

I like the radio capabilities built into the 600s and use 2 or 3 sometimes when shooting drag racing at night. The 600 will also zoom to 200 mm focal length lens matching. I have shot at well over a 100 feet with a single 600 on camera too.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

Whatever you buy, make sure that the flash is compatible with the EOS R and that the claimed "Guide Number" for the knock-off is the same or better than the equivalent Canon model.
You can always find something less expensive, be sure to find out how they make it "cheaper" so you can make sure that you are comparing "apples to apples".
I know that I have purchased less expensive (on sale, end of the model year, etc.) however, usually when I buy cheaper it is for a one time use and usually, that's how it turns out.
In any case, be sure to make sure the claimed "Guide Number" is close.
CHG_CANON and amphoto1 above gave you some good advice.
Good Luck!
Smile,
JimmyT Sends

Silverrails

Try if financially feasible to buy the Camera brand Flash system, less issues you might have occur with syncing properly with your model of Camera. Sometimes even a Used Camera brand Flash will work.