Used SUNPAK RD2000 DIG FLASH F/CANON ETTL II

2014-12-29T19:00:00

This flash was exactly what I was looking for, to use as fill flash on my full frame camera that doesn't have a pop up.unfortunately it was a dud so I returned it. I may try it again as it has been highly rated by many people and Sunpak is usually very good.

Noonum

2014-09-01T21:00:00

I have always been happy with Sunpak products and this little flash seemed to fill the bill as the built -in flash that my full frame Canon 6D doesn't have. However, when I put it on my camera it flashed once and never again, after that I could not change the settings or turn it off, I had to remove it from the camera and take out the batteries. Such a shame as it was quite a powerful little guy.

SUSANNAH K.

2013-07-01T21:00:00

Don't have the slip out problems on the hot shoe others describe, didn't need to express an over abundance of torque to achieve this either... two finger tight. TTL-II Response is good. Covered the bright orange ready light with a square of electrical tape.. it is very bright. Have gone through 200 shots so far and batteries are still going.. Perfpower AA.. Occasionally refuses to turn off.

JESSE E.

2013-03-14T21:00:00

Extremely overexposed all shots. Sent it back to TOCAD and they said it needed a firmware upgrade for the new Canon products. Now waiting for them to send a new unit, whenever that is, who knows. Probably works on older Canon models, but cannot say for sure. The size is perfect however.

Nice S.

2012-03-05T19:00:00

Good little affordable flash, better than popup camera flash

James S.

2011-11-27T19:00:00

OK, this is ridiculous writing a fourth review but there is a bit more to say. Read the first three reviews below for more info. As previously stated, I have used three of these flashes for over a year and they continue to work great (esp on the 5D) for all of my casual photography both indoors and outdoors. They stay on the camera (hanging at my side) most of the time and get bumped, knocked and occasionally dropped on dirt, concrete or tile floors. No problem, pick it up and re-attach, works great. This also brings up my biggest complaint. There is no locking pin to keep the flash from working its way back in the hot shoe. This will eventually cause firing problems. I have learned to check it regularly and make sure it's fully seated. When it isn't, the flash output will suddenly diminish (but still fire) which really throws you off since adjustments to compensate will have no result. Once it is re-seated, it works fine again. Here that Sunpak? Change the mount mechanism and this will be the perfect small flash!

RUSTY L.

2011-10-23T21:00:00

Not bad for the price. Good for fill flash, not recommended for photographing groups > 4 persons.

bro-photo

2011-09-03T21:00:00

Canon may consider a build-in flash unprofessional for a 5D MK II class camera; I think it is ridiculous having to carry a "professional Lighting set" around just to lighten up an backlit image. Therefore I was happy to find this tiny Sunpak RD 2000. It does not add a lot of weight or size but has a higher output than those build-in flash units

B E.

2011-08-20T21:00:00

OK, I feel a little silly submitting a 3rd review. However, I now own three of these. Read my reviews below for more information. I use all three all the time on a 5D, 30D, 40D and a 60D. As mentioned in earlier reviews, I have the Sto-Fen Diffuser on two of these and I have added a light amber gel to one. I use the third unit as-is without a diffuser for more power and reach. I have used these for over a year now and they are still going strong and provide a lot of convenience over a larger EX type Canon flash. A friend owns the G12 camera and this flash works great on it as well. Give this flash a try!

RUSTY L.

2011-03-12T19:00:00

I use it for fill flash

Frank

2011-01-14T19:00:00

I was looking for small compact flash which I could use with Canon 5d Mark II. I have Ex-580 II, but it is bulky for casual use. I did several test photos with default settings. they all came out pretty good quality. Distance from the subject was about 2-3 yards. One thing I don't like about this flash is that it does not have auto-focus assist, it would be nice feature.

Arthur

2011-01-11T19:00:00

I now own a couple of these. These are small enough to have an extra one in a pocket and swap them if the batteries die. I also like to have an amber gel on one and no gel on the other.Get a Toshiba Canvio 500G External 2.5" Hard Drive with the black soft case and use the case for this flash. Perfect fit incl two extra batteries.I suggest applying some tape (or other means) to tone down the bright amber READY indicator. It will blind you, esp at night and it stays on / blinks continuously.I use eneloop AAs in all my flashes and they work great in these units as well. Since I use this flash -1 or -2 stops a lot, it often recharges faster than 4 seconds and the batteries last even longer.The RD2000 works great on the G12, my 5D and my 40D. The distributor says they don't support Pocket Wizard but I haven't tried that yet myself.Lastly, the unit will not work on a 5D MkII unless you send it to the U.S. distributor and have the firmware updated. They will do it for free. To determine the firmware version, hold down the EV ADJUST button and power on the unit. If you only see the +.5 light, you need the update. Contact Sally Wall at Tocad America, Inc. [@]) to learn about sending it in for update for free.

RUSTY L.

2011-01-11T19:00:00

Great fill in flash

Jerry

2010-10-05T21:00:00

I have used this on a 5D and 40D for about 4 months. It pretty much lives on the 5D for fill flash and indoor shots. I strongly suggest the Sto-Fen diffuser designed for this flash. I keep the flash dialed down 2 stops most of the time. It is compact, durable and provides an effective substitute for a built-in flash on the 5D that will pivot and bounce the light. Don't expect it to beat a 580EX-II. Don't expect it to reach out 20 feet bouncing off the ceiling. That's not its strength. It's great within about 10-12 ft and under and will bounce fairly well within that range depending on the surroundings. It runs a long time on two AA NiMH batteries and I don't notice the slower recharge time. It's light, less obtrusive and makes the camera much more portable and easier to carry, esp in crowds and outdoors where a full size flash ends up banging into everything and everyone. At [$] you can't go wrong and if it takes a hit and dies, it's very cheap to replace. I'll likely get a 2nd unit for backup and so both cameras can use them if necessary. Haven't tried it yet with Pocket Wizard.

RUSTY L.

2010-07-25T21:00:00

Best for low-light indoor situations. Very light and compact. For an external flash, it's pretty weak, but compared to standard built-in/pop-up flashes it's pretty powerful. I just couldn't justify paying $500 for the canon unit.

MICHAEL R.

2010-02-02T19:00:00

I use this flash with my Canon XTI and my Canon S-5 IS. It is great for a small bounce flash and a nice bump for indoor photography.

ANGIE S.

2009-11-26T19:00:00

Just got the Sunpak rd2000 for my canon g10 and it is really great. I take a lot of pictures of people outside and this is going to help tremendously. It is also a boon to my indoor photography. This has a flip down diffuser so there is no need to buy another one for this. I am unsure why people are saying they need to. [...]Hope this helps. I believe this flash is going to be a boon to my photography. I can already tell this is going to produce exponentially better pics than I was getting previously without the use of an external flash. So glad I bought it!

LO

2009-08-18T21:00:00

I bought this flash to be a small addition to the flashes I already own. I was most interested in the ETTL feature. I received the flash and the ETTL wouldn't work with my Canon DSLR's. The flash would flash upon taking an image but was drastically underexposed. I was told it needed a firmware update so I sent it in to have that done. After receiving it back, it still did the same thing. I ended up returning it. Very dissappointed.

STEVEN A.

2009-07-07T21:00:00

I wanted a small i-TTL flash that worked with my Canon 30D. I didn't need anything fancy, expensive, or extremely powerful. This is an effective, very small and flat flash with adjustable head for bouncing. It does what I want quite nicely and is a good deal smaller than what Canon offers.

Frank U.

2009-04-07T21:00:00

It fits on my G10 and bounces off low ceilings nicely. Though it's a little bit weak, it's good enough for simple get together shots (5-7m). Its size lets me always carry it around. I only wish it could turn left and right.

CHEUK I.

2009-04-07T21:00:00

I have this along with my XSI w/18-55mm lens,tamron 28-300mm lens,1.4 converter, 50mm 1.4 lens, lens cleaning blower, some extra media cards--all jammed in my Lowepro terreclime 100 and I can still close it. I'm ready (and still waiting ) for THE shot.

JOHN S.

2009-02-19T19:00:00

I bought this to use with my Canon G10 to help obtain better results on indoor people shots than just the built in flash. I use it on bounce mode. So far, it meets my objective reasonably well, and is small and lightweight which is also important.

JEFFREY W.

2008-12-28T19:00:00

I bought this to use as a bounce flash for taking indoor bounced snapshots. I'm using it on a Rebel XS. It works fairly well, but I have had to tinker a bit to get consistent output. I find I ALWAYS have to set the exposure compensation up to +1 (maximum). Luckily there is a button on the back for this, so it is easy. Next I find I pretty much have to use ISO 400. I can use ISO 100 or 200, but then I have to be really careful with my shutter speeds and aperture - or have good lighting to begin with. Since ISO 400 is pretty clean on SLR cameras, that is not a big deal, but I had hoped to be able to stay at 100/200 ISO. Recycle time is better than expected for a 2 AA flash using NIMH, but slow with regular Alkalines. Build quality is OK. THe battery door and batteries are almost impossible to remove without something to aid as a pry tool. Hopefully they will loosen up. The flip down diffuser hinge is pretty loose, so sometimes it pops down when you don't want it to. All in all not a bad flash for the price. The main reason I bought it was that there was nothing nearly as compact that I could find that bounced. I still think I may end up upgrading to a more powerful flash in the future, though. For straight on normal flash, it seems more powerful than my built in flash. Maybe 2x as powerful.

TAYLOR B.