Canon Speedlite EL-5

I have had this flash for over a year now and it works fine every-time with my R6-MKII and my R5-MKII which is what this flash is designed for. From what I have read on the negativity, is most are using this flash with older cameras in which the flash is not designed for. Sure there will always be a failure in manufacturing here and there, but this is truly a SOLID Flash.

Great on shoe flash not so great as an off shoe remote flash, loses connection and has to be power cycled

I love the speedlite. I've had profoto A1, A10, godox v860iii, v1 etc and I was so surprised how soft and natural shooting bare bulb without any modifiers the EL-5 was! I did notice the power goes way lower than 1/128 like my other speedlites but the is probably just one factor. It is a little bit bigger than the canon 600 ex-rt's I had in the past but it's worth it! I dont even need to slap on my magmods making it even more cumbersome. My friend's fault for this purchase because he made me try his EL-5 and I knew I had to have it! No regrets!

I bought this about 2 weeks ago, it's great. it works on my canon radio system with no issues at all.

I purchased these flashes (3) 2 months ago. What a difference! I had been using godox analog flashed with a flash shoe converter before on my canon mirrorless. The has been ZERO interference issues!! Reliable and well made!!!

I've owned the EL-5 for about 10 months now and I love the rechargeable battery and how long I can use it before having to recharge it. It's also a very fast flash. Unfortunately, the compatibility of the flash is awful. I own a RP, R6-MkII, and a R5c and this flash will only work on the R6-MkII. The R5c has the new hot shoe used by the EL-5, but they are still not compatible. Hopefully there will be a future firmware update that will allow the 2 to work together. The other issue I have with the flash is that if does not come with a charger for the battery. It's not a deal killer since it will charge on any standard canon charger made for the LP-E6 batteries, but for the price tag, it should have it's own charger.

It is disappointing that Canon only allows EX series for EOS 5D Mark IV. EL-5 series didn't work with EOS 5D Mark IV at all after I purchased an EL-5. I wish Canon gives us more clear statement about what would work with EL serious on their website. I ended up getting refunded but I had to cover the ground shipping cost for return.

I purchased 3 Canon mirrorless cameras. They have worked well with my 550EXII and 3rd party speed lights. When I saw a refurbished EL-5 for a very good price, I brought it. So far this was the speedlight Canon should have made long ago. I gave it a 4 out of five because the connectivity with the st-e10 speedlite transmitter is spotty and shuts down in the middle of a shoot. I don't know if the issue is with the speedlight or the transmitter. The overall operation, power and ease of use is 5 stars .

wait till now also can't support R5C , Canon When Can?

Lightning-fast recycle time unsurpassed. Uses a battery compatible with any Canon LP-E6 Battery Charger. I think what I like most about it is that the exposure is so dead on every time. Some users are not reading whether it's compatible with their camera and are disappointed because they didn't bother to do proper research.

The EL 5 is definitely a very powerful flash and is likely to become my new work horse (together with my EX-600 units). It is a bulky unit, but that comes with the power it packs. I love the dedicated rechargeable battery, but only because I had the charger already for my R5 batteries. IMHO, a charger should be in the box already. On camera, the flash recharges extremely fast and I have not experienced any overheating. The connectivity with my ST-E10 is iffy at best, which may be more of a transmitter flaw than a flash unit flaw. Especially with the current price point (recent Canon deal), this flash is a great quality and value.

After comparing this Speedlite with a 430EXlll RT, I decided on the EL5 because it was supposedly advanced technology and worth the additional price. Wrong! After fully charging the battery, (charger not included), I placed it in the flash, shot a few pictures, left it in the flash overnight only to find it dead the next day. Thinking I did not fully charge the battery I repeated the process. Same result. I asked our local camera salesman to replace the battery which he did. Same result. Back to the camera shop where the store manager told me he has had this same complaint from other customers. He has advised the Canon Representative. The Canon Rep response; "...don't put the battery in the flash". Let that soak in. I’m disappointed in Canon and cannot recommend this EL-5.

Useless for the R5. Complete junk. Don't even bother buying it.

My first time using a Speedlite. Works well with my EOS R6 Mark ii and I didn't need to buy another charger because I can charge the Speedlite battery with the R6m2 charger. Easy to use and I have no complaints.

While this flash has some very impressive stats like sub 1 second charge times and high frame rate lossless firing, the limited number of cameras supported to use this flash lets it down. While the information on the page states that this flash will work will ALL cameras with the multi-function hot shoe, it only has compatibility with a very small and finite number of cameras that have said hot shoe. Case in point, the R5C. It being a newer camera that also sports the new multi function hotshoe, it should technically have the ability to use the flash, atleast in stills mode, but it doesn’t. How is it the Canon have neglected to make a firmware update that allows for use with the only flash currently available on their website? This leaves potential customers with only 3 options. 1. Find a flash elsewhere and maybe one of a different brand. 2. Buy a different camera instead of the R5C like the cheaper R6 Mark II. 3. Just buy a different camera system from a different brand ALL together. Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, and Olympus ALL have other options on their store for cameras that are competitive with the R5C that are both cheaper and as effective. So what is to stop someone from either using a different brand or simply switching to one that has better and more options that are sometimes cheaper? So, I ask, where is the updated firmware for ALL cameras with the the updated hotshoe? Specifically, where is the firmware update for the Canon R5C that allows for full compatibility and use of this EL-5 speedlight? If this firmware update happens, I can then change this review and rating to atleast 4 stars with something much more positive to say. Currently though, because of the terrible firmware compatibility issues, I can only give this a 1 star. If I could, I’d leave it at 0 stars as this flash doesn’t even work with one of the premier cameras in this sector/price range. Again, if and when they release a firmware update that allows for the R5C to use this flash, then I’ll rate this flash much, much higher. But only if and when release this update.

The charger your cameras came with charge the battery which is the same charger many other Canon cameras came with. I would venture to guess you have a handful of them. I would venture to guess this is it didn't come with one. I would rather have a lower price than multiple chargers.

I bought this speedlite June 14th this year and have used it on many photo shoots. I bought it because I have the R6markii with the new shoe. It does seem to communicate far better than my EF-1 flash, which I used all the time with my R6, but had issues when I moved to the markii. This speedlite didn't come with the filter set, like all my other canon flashes. I went to buy the recommended ones - Canon SCF-EL Color Filter Set (which doesn't come with the white filter) and the Vello Mini Softbox doesn't fit around the head. I am very disappointed not to be able to find something else recommended by Canon, and really this is the only flash that works with my R6Markii so I'm left with a lot of extra editing for hot spots.

Love the EL-5. Great functions and easy to use interface. Works perfect on my R7.

Why are the SCF-EL (Color Filter Set) and the SBA-EL (Bounce Adapter Diffuser) listed as accessories when then don’t fit this Speedlite? Since these don’t fit, looking further, I actually don’t see color filters or a bounce diffuser that will fit. The impression given (because these accessories were listed as recommended) was that the Speedlite just didn’t include them, but that they were available to purchase separately. I bought them and they definitely don’t fit. In fact, I don’t even see anything on the Speedlite that would allow for attachment of filters or a diffuser at all. Are filters and a diffuser not going to be available for this Speedlite and that just wasn’t stated anywhere in the marketing or specifications?

How do you sell a flash with a proprietary rechargeable battery but do not include a charger for it? Terrible decision Canon. I have a brand new flash that I was looking forward to testing out with my R3's. Really thinking I should just send this back and not bother with it.