Following earlier rumours that divulged only its name and those of its accessories, further information has been leaked about the upcoming Canon Speedlite EL-1.
As we inferred previously, the EL-1 will run on lithium-ion batteries. What’s more, it will have a 2-LED bi-colour modelling lamp, built-in radio transmission capabilities and an active cooling fan. According to Nokishita, the Speedlite will also support an external battery pack called the CP-E4N—in addition to the internal lithium battery.
The power range has been expanded; instead of going down to 1/64 or 1/128 like most flashes, it will go all the way down to 1/8,192 of full power. That’s a power range of a whopping 13 stops. Apparently this is achieved via a ‘newly developed xenon tube’ and ‘improving the accuracy of emission control’.
Another key feature is ‘FE memory’, where after calculating a flash exposure in TTL mode, you can switch to manual mode and it will maintain the same output power level. A similar feature is offered on most modern TTL studio flashes.
The level of control and cooling suggests that rather than a simple compact flashgun, this will be a heavy duty light of the kind produced by Nissin or Metz Mecablitz.
Would you buy a shoe-mount flash with a cooling fan?
Source: Nokishita, via Photo Rumors
Update
This flash has now been officially announced. Astonishingly, it appears the outlandish specs above were all true. Pricing details here.
Specifications
- GN 60 (Iso-100, at 200mm zoom)
- 0.1–0.9 second recycle time
- 24–200mm zoom (14mm with diffuser panel)
- E-TTL II and high-speed sync
- Manual power from 1/1 to 1/8192 in 1/3-stop increments
- In high-speed sync or optical transmission modes, minimum power is only 1/128
- 170 full power flashes in a continuous burst
- Stroboscopic frequency up to 500Hz
- 2-LED modelling lamp with user-selectable control temperature, duration and brightness
- Built-in radio and optical transmission
- Tilts -7° to 120°
- Swivels 180° left and right
- AF-assist beam
- 335 full-power flashes on a single charge
- Optional external battery pack CP-E4N
- Internal cooling fan
Visit the manufacturer’s product page for more information.