Canon recently announced their new EF-M Macro Lens and a flagship Speedlite camera flash that would both be great additions for a photographer's gear when shooting outdoors and inside a studio.
The new Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT is powerful and also has an AF assist beam feature. Another great feature is that it uses AA batteries instead of proprietary ones.
Users would just need to head to the nearest convenience or electronics store to buy a cheap pack of batteries. Other third-party flashes need special batteries which are often expensive and hard to obtain.
The Speedlite 600EX II-RT has a flash head coverage of 20 to 200mm with a guide number of 197 ft, Fstoppers reported. More Speedlites can also be used as it has a radio communication range of up to 98.4 ft.
For a pair of AA batteries, the new flash from Canon can dish out up to 700 flashes under normal circumstances. The flash also has a stroboscopic mode for more creative shots.
Manual adjustments are also possible. The Speedlite has a flash exposure compensation from -3 up to +3 EV if the user wants to adjust.
Canon has also revealed their first EF-M macro lens for their mirrorless cameras, the EF-M 28mm f/3.5 Macro IS STM. The new lens also has a dual "ring flash" on its front for better lighting on tinier subjects, Engadget reported.
Photographers can get a 45mm full-frame equivalent field of view because of the 28mm size. Small subjects such as coins and leaves can be perfectly framed with the right positioning of the camera.
The Canon EF-M macro lens has a minimum focusing distance of 3.7 inches and has a Hybrid IS feature. The built-in LED lights can be turned on for both sides or just one side depending on the user's setup.
Magnification can also be reached up to 1.2x on the lens because of the new "Super Macro Mode." It will be less clear than a normal shot though.
The Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT will retail for $579 and is expected to be available by June 2016. Meanwhile, the EF-M 28mm f/3.5 Macro IS STM lens will be sold at $300 during the same month.