Has the Canon 600EX II been discontinued ?

[Xraybifocals]

They seem to be Out of Stock anywhere near me and Canon Canada (& US too)
I have an unreliable Godox V860III in for repair under warranty
I take 4 - 800 Flash shots a week for Auctions so I need something reliable
The Godox are not reliable for my needs.
I've found a couple of places online that may actually have the 600EX II
but if it's being replaced should I wait for a 600EX III?

 

[neuroanatomist]

B&H shows it as discontinued. Perhaps Canon considers it to have been replaced by the (much more expensive) EL-1.

 

[Nemorino]

There is a rumor of a new speedlite:

USD pricing for the Canon EOS R6 Mark II and Canon RF 135mm f/1.8L IS USM has leaked ahead of the imminent announcement

In a pretty rare occurence, USD pricing for the Canon EOS R6 Mark II and Canon RF 135mm f/1.8L IS USM have leaked ahead of the official announcement. The Can

www.canonrumors.com

Canon Speedlite EL-5 $399

 

[Xraybifocals]

Even if it was available today the EL-5 is only compatible with the R3/7/10/6 mkII
I did find a 600EX II in stock locally and purchased one today. I think they will be my new go to store.

 

[dennirussel]

So they discontinue the only flashes that work with my brand new R5 and will now ONLY sell flashes that don't work with anything but a handful of brand new cameras... How ridiculous. The EL-1 is a moronic unit. $1500 for a flash. Why??? The EL-5 looks interesting, but what the heck are they thinking??? They've given up completely on the dSLR market?

 

[neuroanatomist]

So they discontinue the only flashes that work with my brand new R5 and will now ONLY sell flashes that don't work with anything but a handful of brand new cameras... How ridiculous. The EL-1 is a moronic unit. $1500 for a flash. Why??? The EL-5 looks interesting, but what the heck are they thinking??? They've given up completely on the dSLR market?

The vast majority of DSLRs being sold now entry-level models. The EL-100 works with those (not that many such buyers will get a speedlite, since their camera already has a flash).

I suspect they’re thinking they launched a new hotshoe and no fully compatible flash, so one was needed. I have four 600EX-RTs, but I preordered an EL-5.

 

[danfaz]

The EL-1 is a moronic unit. $1500 for a flash.

Well, it's actually $900, and seems to be holding at that price for a while now. It works with your R5.
Not sure why you say it's moronic, it's actually quite a nice flash.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Well, it's actually $900, and seems to be holding at that price for a while now.

Perhaps consider that both Canada and Australia use dollars ($), with current values different than the US$.

In this case:

Camera Canada :: Canon :: Speedlight EL-1

www.cameracanada.com

 

[dennirussel]

Well, it's actually $900, and seems to be holding at that price for a while now. It works with your R5.
Not sure why you say it's moronic, it's actually quite a nice flash.

Actually, it's $1500 in Canada. Which lead to the whole moronic statement...

 

[dennirussel]

The vast majority of DSLRs being sold now entry-level models. The EL-100 works with those (not that many such buyers will get a speedlite, since their camera already has a flash).

I suspect they’re thinking they launched a new hotshoe and no fully compatible flash, so one was needed. I have four 600EX-RTs, but I preordered an EL-5.

True re the dSLR sales, but still... They should release an adapter, as with the EF-R. You've got the R3, so you're ok, but a whole heck of a lot of us have picked up an R5 in the not too distant past. Right now, anyone without a flash is officially out of luck! No flashes available besides the used market (or left over stock). Lol - Why in the world would they discontinue the 600 if there wasn't a replacement for one of their top cameras? And the camera most likely to be used by event shooters? That means they're ceding that entire segment to the off brands.

 

[danfaz]

Actually, it's $1500 in Canada. Which lead to the whole moronic statement...

Understood, my mistake.

 

[neuroanatomist]

True re the dSLR sales, but still... They should release an adapter, as with the EF-R. You've got the R3, so you're ok, but a whole heck of a lot of us have picked up an R5 in the not too distant past. Right now, anyone without a flash is officially out of luck! No flashes available besides the used market (or left over stock).

Sorry, I really don’t understand your point. The EL-1 is available. The EL-100 is available. Both mount ‘natively’ on the R5, R6, etc. The 430EX III-RT appears to be still available, as well. Not to mention several 3rd party flashes, including some good brands like Profoto and Godox that mount on-camera.

There are no currently available Canon flashes, or 3rd party flashes AFAIK, that don’t mount natively on the R5 or any camera with the old-style hotshoe. Of course, those flashes also mount directly and function normally (as far as electronics go) on the R3 / R6II / R7 / R10 with the new multifunction shoe.

The only available native flash-like product for the new multifunction shoe is the ST-E10 master (and the ST-E3-RT it replaces appears to still be available). The recently-announced EL-5 is the first flash that requires the multifunction shoe, i.e., is not compatible with the cameras having the old-style hotshoe, and that flash won’t even ship until the end of March 2023.

Until then, if I want a weather-sealed connection between my R3 and a sealed flash like the EL-1 or one of my 600EX’s, I must use the AD-E1 adapter.

If you want a new 600-EX II-RT and only a new 600-EX II-RT then yes, you’re officially out of luck. But to claim there are ‘no flashes available’ for a camera like the R5 is simply false.