As you dive deeper into photography, one of the most common ways to improve your photos is to introduce some light with speed lights (aka flashes).
Using an external flash allows you to achieve professional-quality lighting that can emulate natural lighting to some extent. Again, speed lights aren’t necessarily used to illuminate dark places. Instead, you can use them to control the direction of shadows or add extra light while using a fast shutter speed for action shots.
With so many flash options, which one do you choose? Tons of flashguns are compatible with Canon Rebel T6/T7, and some are highly competitive with the manufacturer’s model.
This article will discuss the best flash for Canon cameras with brief buying guidelines so that you don’t buy the wrong one.
Let’s get started.
What is the best Flash for Canon Rebel T6 and T7?
- Godox V860II-S – Our Pick
- Voking VK581C – Runner Up
- Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI – Most High Tech
- Canon Speedlite EL-100 – Simplest to Use
- Neewer NW-670 – Budget Option
1. Godox V860III-C
This is another high-quality flash featuring both master and slave modes. It allows wireless transmission and features TTL mode, strobe mode, M mode, and many more.
For Canon EOS Cameras
- Zoom Range: 20-200mm
- Bounce: Up-120 degrees, Down-7 degrees
- Swivel Head: 360 degrees
- Recycle Time: Approx. 0.01 to 1.5 sec
- Adjustable Output settings: 1/1 to 1/128
- High-Speed Sync: Up to 1/8000s
- Weight: 430g
- Built-in wireless system to control remotely.
- High-speed sync.
- 360 degrees head rotation.
- Long-lasting, rechargeable, Li-ion battery.
- Multi-functional buttons allow easy operation.
Godox is a well-known brand for producing high-quality camera accessories. The V860III-C is no exception, with a solid professional-grade build and many advanced features.
2.4G Wireless X System
The flashgun features a built-in 2.4GHz X wireless radio system and TTL wireless flash trigger for a convenient user experience.
The wireless transmission feature is used to trigger the camera flash and shutter within 100m.
Master & Slave Flash
V860III-C can be used both as a master and slave flash unit. As a master unit, it works in TTL, Multi, and off-camera flash modes. It is compatible with the Godox Xpro-C flash trigger.
Battery Capacity
Godox flashgun is backed with a Li-ion polymer battery with a 2000mAh capacity. Rated for 480 full-power flash bursts and can be recharged within two hours.
Strobe Mode
Godox V860III-C features strobe mode at a range of frequencies. This mode allows the flash to emit a series of flashes and record the process as the subject’s motion in the photograph.
Summary:
Godox V860III–C is an excellent flash with lots of advanced features. Truly a great value for the number of features you get with it. You’ll probably want to buy more than one for creative lighting configurations.
2. Voking VK581C
Voking VK581C is a value-for-money flash for your camera. It has both TTL and manual exposure modes. Also, the built-in diffuser softens direct light. The high-quality build of the flash performs great against dust and water droplets. The LCD is also pretty large.
For Canon Cameras
- Zoom Range: 24mm & 105mm
- Bounce: 0 to 90 degrees
- Swivel Head: 190 degrees
- Recycle Time: Approx 3s
- Adjustable Output settings: 1/1 to 1/128
- High-Speed Sync: Up to 1/8000s
- Weight: 405g
- Supports both TTL and manual exposure modes.
- Large LCD screen with easy controls.
- Dust and water resistant.
- Wireless multi-flash control.
- Recycling time is a bit slower as compared to the competition.
Voking VK581C is another high-quality flash for canon rebel T6 and T7 cameras. It comes with a big liquid crystal display panel to utilize the control panel.
E-TTL Flash Mode
The flash supports E-TTL, E-TTL II, and TTL modes, allowing you to determine the optimum amount of light required to capture the subject. This is particularly helpful for portrait photography as it ensures the perfect white balance, especially for indoor sessions.
The flash also has manual exposure modes as well.
High-Speed Sync
Even though the price isn’t much, VK581C offers high-speed sync up to 1/1800 second. The flash fires a number of bursts of light throughout exposure time, and the built-in diffuser softens the harsh light that bursts out of the flash.
Summary
Voking VK581C is a great flashgun, especially if you’re into portraits. The device produces soft and optimum light to bring out the best in your subjects.
3. Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI
The 470EX-AI is an innovative flashgun introducing an AI bounce feature. It calculates the optimum bounce angle automatically. Controlling the flash is relatively straightforward. Also, the TTL flash metering is accurate and consistent.
- Zoom range: 24-105mm (auto)
- Bounce: 0 to 120 degrees
- Swivel (left/right): 180 / 180 degrees
- Flash exposure compensation: +/-3EV
- Manual power settings: 1/1 to 1/128
- High-Speed Sync: Yes
- Weight: 385g
- Automatic bounce with AI, which calculates optimum bounce angle.
- Intuitive control panel.
- Fast recycling speed.
- There aren’t any RF master/slave modes.
- Expensive.
Canon 470EX-AI comes with AI technology that automatically helps determine the flash head’s optimal angle. Its traditional control panel with advanced controlling features makes this an unparallel candidate to use with your camera.
Automatic Bounce
There’re fully automatic and semi-automatic bounce modes.
In the fully AI automatic bounce mode, the flashgun first fires a pre-flash at the subject. Then, another one at the ceiling calculates the optimum bounce angle based on the distance between the subject and the ceiling.
The semi-automatic mode allows you to fire in your desired direction and maintain the head tilting and swiveling as necessary.
If you’re a beginner in photography, this feature will surely help as you’d find it challenging to play with the angles.
Fast & Silent Recycling
Recycling time is also pretty impressive for a speed light. Fast recycling is virtually zero in between 1/128 and 1/4 of a second.
AF Assist
The best external flash for Canon Rebel T6 and T7 lets you achieve sharp focus even in low-light conditions. Its intermittent flash system is capable of illuminating the entire frame instantly.
Again, there’s an infrared beam that helps to achieve precise and sharp focus.
Summary
Canon 470EX-AI is an innovative flash featuring automatic bounce. This makes your job easy as butter, especially if you’re a beginner.
4. Canon Speedlite EL-100
This flash is compact and lightweight. Its recycle time is significantly low, and is a highly flexible flash head. EL-100is capable of producing creative and natural lighting for the best outcome.
- Zoom Range: 24mm & 50mm
- Bounce: 0 to 90 degrees
- Swivel Head: 330 degrees
- Recycle Time: 0.1-5.8 Seconds
- Adjustable Output settings: 1/1 to 1/128
- High-Speed Sync: N/A
- Weight: 190g
- Compact and sturdy.
- Flexible bouncing capabilities.
- Battery performance isn’t great.
- Performance degrades even faster when used continuously.
Canon EL-100 is popular for its compact design and user-friendly control for beginners. It delivers creative natural lighting in both indoor and outdoor shooting.
Compact and Lightweight
The Speedlite weighs only 190g, making it handy to carry around anywhere.
The flash delivers soft and natural lighting all over the image. It can be rotated both horizontally and vertically so that you can bounce the flash off on walls or other nearby objects.
Versatile Lighting
Both horizontal and vertical bouncing capability helps the flash to provide flattering and creative lighting.
The device features a stroboscopic flash with which you can freeze a subject in motion firing rapid bursts. It also has a “Second curtain sync mode” feature which emphasizes the representation of speed, allowing you to capture creative photos in motion.
Optical Sender & Reciever
Canon EL-100 can be used both as an optical wireless sender and receiver. Being a sender, the flash is used to trigger other remote devices. On the other hand, works as a receiver off-camera when the flash is controlled by the camera body.
Summary
Canon EL-100 eliminates under-exposed areas from the images successfully. It enhances the capability of powerful cameras like T6 and T7 and also boosts the performance of any entry-level camera.
5. Neewer NW-670
This is a budget option for your camera. The device still offers wireless control, a built-in reflector, and diffuser panels. It also comes with Sync Cords & lens cap holder.
For Canon Cameras
- Zoom Range: 24-105mm
- Bounce: Up-90 degrees, Down-7 degrees
- Swivel Head: 270 degrees
- Recycle Time: 3.5s
- Adjustable Output settings: 1/1 to 1/128
- High-Speed Sync: Up to 1/250s
- Weight: 490g
- 2.4 GHz wireless trigger system for off-camera setup.
- Wide-angle diffuser
- Built-in reflection panel.
- Includes a lens cap.
- Recycle time is comparatively higher than others.
- Not a good choice for sports or motion photography.
- The unit feels heavy as well.
If you’re concerned about your budget but want a multi-directional Speedlite, the Neewer NW-670 doesn’t break the bank. It features many advanced options besides the high GN value and wireless flash trigger functions.
Wireless Control
NW-670 is capable of E-TTL or TTL metering with Canon cameras. Also, it features FC-16 2.4 GHz wireless trigger so that you can control and shutter release other flashes and cameras remotely.
Flash Diffuser
The built-in flash diffuser works in two ways. The soft flash diffuser spreads and softens the emitted light from the flash unit by bouncing off walls and ceilings.
On the other hand, a hard flash diffuser reduces and softens harsh shadows behind the subject and eliminates the red-eye effect to make photos more natural.
Automatic temperature detection
This budget flash for Canon Rebel T6 and T7 also offers an automatic temperature detection feature that helps protect the device from overheating. You’ll be notified with a signal if you use the flash continuously for a long time.
Summary
Being an affordable Speedlite, Neewer NW-670 has lots of features to offer. This is a great external flash for Canon cameras if you’re on a budget.
How to Choose the Best Flash for Canon Rebel T6?
You should definitely add a speed light to your camera accessories to expand your photography capability. But, there’s no shortage of options when searching for the best flash for Canon Rebel T6 and T7.
Here’re seven key factors to consider before buying a hot shoe flash for your camera:
Power
The very first thing to consider is the power of a flash, known as Guide Numbers while the higher the GN is, the more powerful the flash is.
Essentially, a flash with a higher GN value provides more light. While you can reduce the output of a flash, you can’t raise that above the GN value. So, consider buying a flash with a high GN value.
TTL
There’re two types of speed lights, namely, manual and TTL. The photographer controls manual flashes entirely, while Through the Lens (TTL) is automatically controlled.
TTL is the way of metering for your flash. It communicates with the camera to determine the optimum amount of light for capturing a scene properly. This is why TTL sends a pre-flash.
Even though TTL is an automatic flash mode, it can also be in full manual mode if the camera permits. As a Canon user, you should look for a TTL flash as it makes your job easier.
Wireless Control
Today, advanced hot shoes allow you to control the flash wirelessly while maintaining TTL exposure for all flashes triggered. You can also combine several flashes wirelessly and set each one’s output individually from the master unit.
However, this feature is often only available on high-end units. The regular flashes receive signal instructions only. To utilize the wireless feature, you should purchase a trigger (like the Godox Xpro-C flash trigger) if your camera doesn’t have the feature built-in.
High-Speed Sync
High-speed sync allows the flash to fire bursts of light continuously. This mode lets you use a slower shutter than the camera’s flash sync.
If your flash doesn’t have high-speed sync, the shutter speeds above the flash’s sync speed will turn part of the image black–it will look like a black bar was added to your photo.
Recycling Speed
A flash usually takes a little bit of time to fire again. This time is known as recycling speed, indicating how fast the flash becomes ready for the next photo.
The speed is mentioned in seconds. The higher the number, the more time it takes to recycle and shoot again. Recycling speed has become a key consideration for sports and action photography. On the other hand, if you’re into portraits, this is less of a barrier.
Swivel and Tilt
A significant advantage of using speed lights is that they’re easy to rotate. However, not every hot shoe flash has this capability. So, before buying one, make sure your hot shoe tilts.
The tilting range is usually provided in the manual and seeing this, you’d know how far you can tilt. The more it rotates, the more capabilities you’ll have for bouncing light off nearby surfaces rather than pointing the light directly at your subject.
Temperature Control
Most hot shoe flashes get hot when used for a long time continuously. Some of them stop working entirely in this situation. You might consider buying multiple units so one can be used as a backup.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What’s the best flash for Canon?
Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI is the best flash for Canon cameras, especially for the Rebel series. This flash introduces an AI-enabled bouncing feature that automatically calculates the optimum amount of light for the picture.
The flash also has other advanced features such as TTL metering, AF assist beam, fast refresh time, and many more.
Does Canon Rebel T7 have built-in flash?
Yes, the Canon Rebel T7 has a built-in flash with a GN of 30.2 ft at ISO 100. It produces well-exposed photos at the rated distance and ISO settings.
However, it is recommended to use an external flash for professional use.
How to use external flash on Canon Rebel T6?
At first, turn the camera on and go to the menu where you’ll find the “Flash control” setting. Then, scroll down to the “External flash function setting,” where you’ll be able to control an external flash.
You can toggle between TTL, manual, or Multi modes. When you select a mode, it automatically turns on the flash.
Conclusion
Having a flash certainly gives you an upper hand while covering different events or adding extra light to your photos to look more natural and professional.
Hope you found these recommendations helpful.
Related Posts: