Canon recently announced their new ST-E3-RT radio trigger and therefore also announced their entry into the radio transmission game in the strobist world. Now, PocketWizard Flex and Minis have been the darlings of many strobists: and rightfully so. They’re consistent, provide TTL metering and are super reliable. However, I’ve been a user of the Phottix Odins for many months now. And to be honest, I can’t imagine myself with anything else.

But when Canon announced the ST-E3-RT (or ste3rt), I was a bit confused about the differences in the triggers. Here’s an explanation for you all.

Comparison Chart

Update: Canon’s 600 EX RT Flashes DO work with high speed Sync with the  1DmkIV  cameras as long as you have the most recent Firmware upgrade 1.1.1 in your camera.

The ST-E3-RT- More Info

The ST-E3-RT has a two way radio communication system. At the moment of writing this article, it is only meant to be used with Canon’s 600 EX RT flash with a built in radio communication device. It cannot trigger older flashes and it is only possible of communication through radio vs infrared TTL. It can control 15 different flashes in up to five groups at 98.4 feet away.

The biggest achievement is the fact that you won’t need external receivers at all now with it if you choose to only go with Canon’s flashes. All you’ll need to do is mount the flash in its stand and then place it on a light stand.

Plus high speed sync is capable from it, but only with the new 1D x and 5D Mk III. On the plus side, it does have stroboscopic functionality: something that you’ll otherwise need a Multi-Max or TTL cord to do.

Please Support The Phoblographer

We love to bring you guys the latest and greatest news and gear related stuff. However, we can’t keep doing that unless we have your continued support. If you would like to purchase any of the items mentioned, please do so by clicking our links first and then purchasing the items as we then get a small portion of the sale to help run the website.