RF noise from 550, 580 series flashes

[sjprg]

An interesting article here on RFI from Canon's speedlights.
In these days of tight EMI, RFI regulations I'm surprised that Canon is allowed to ship these units. Have they passed any of the EMI specs? The authors state that using a clampon ferrite core on the external battery decreases the radiation from the cable. This tells me that there are no subminiture ferrite cores on the wires to the external pins and also that no attempt has been made to shield the RF power converter.
This power technology has been around for years and as I recall Techtronics Oscopes was using it in the 60s with no RFI. At the frequencys involved shielding should not be that tough to do internaly.

Rob Galbraith DPI: Tip: RF shielding fabric around 580EX, 580EX II doubles new PocketWizard range

Any comments Chuck?

[ChuckWestfall]

Hi, Paul:

First things first: Every EOS Digital SLR, EF/EF-S lens and EX Speedlite that Canon sells has passed the FCC standards for EMI. These products cannot be sold in the USA without FCC certification.

That said, products like the new Pocket Wizards that support automatic flash exposure control with EX Speedlites did not exist when the 580EX and even the 580EX II were designed. So even though these Speedlites meet all applicable FCC standards, we're aware they emit some RF noise. Additionally, and more to the point, it seems that Canon Inc. is already taking steps to address this issue with newer products. If you research all the material on this subject, you'll learn that Speedlite 430EX II is exemplary in terms of RF emissions. This bodes well for future Canon Speedlites, which most likely will be at least as advanced as the 430EX II in this area.

In the meantime, photographers who wish to achieve maximum performance when combining earlier Speedlites with the new Pocket Wizards should consider the use of optional accessories like the VeilShield that Rob Galbraith mentions in his article.

[sjprg]

Thanks Chuck. I do know that the EU standards are much tougher than the US and I'm glad to hear that the issue is being addressed by Canon. I have no idea how good the front end is on the Pocket Wizard's receiver or what steps they have taken to aleviate the problem so I really am not laying all the problem to Canon.

[drew]

Thanks for the detailed information, Chuck.

[drew]

fast1 please add your real full name to your signature line, as per the membership requirements.

Thanks,
Drew