Canon has issued a new product advisory concerning known counterfeit Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites in the wild.
While there are obvious quality control issues and sometimes safety concerns with counterfeit electronics, perhaps the biggest issue with the counterfeit version of the Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite is that it does not include a radio trigger operation.
The visual clues in Canon’s overview of the genuine and counterfeit units are very subtle. It would be hard to tell the difference even if you were holding the counterfeit product in your hand without a genuine product to compare it to.
Canon has been trying to educate consumers with regard to counterfeit products in the market. At every trade show I have attended in recent years, Canon has presented some form of counterfeit product display.
The counterfeits look very convincing in most circumstances. I have been a Canon DSLR user for over a decade and could not tell the difference in many of the counterfeit products I have seen.
While we have been dealing with batteries, chargers and grips the past few years, it’s a little scary to think that we are now facing the possibility of buying a counterfeit flash that retails for $550.
In addition to the 600EX-RT images, Canon offers several tips to help you determine if you have a counterfeit product:
- The logo and/or printing on the battery is blurry
- The product uses a different font style
- The packaging uses a different “Canon Red”
- The accessory has a different hologram
- The price for it is unusually low
- The accessory comes in cheap packaging
- The product lacks a users’ manual
- The battery or accessory doesn’t fit easily
- The battery or charger overheats
- The battery or charger doesn’t hold a charge.
To avoid the chances of ending up with a counterfeit accessory, Canon urges customers to purchase from authorized dealers or directly from Canon.
You can read the full product advisory regarding counterfeit Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites here on Canon USA’s website.
I wonder why would someone go for couterfeit Canon if you can have Yongnuo for 1/4 of a price of Canon. If Canon wouldn’t be so overpriced there would be less fakes out there on the market.
I’m an Italian photographer. I fully agree, especially on the second part of the post
Thank you for this informative article and the extent of counterfeit items.
Please let us readers know if you have done the same (or intending to do) for other other manufacturers, e.g. Nikon, Sony, etc.
– Mark
Being a Canon user and Publicity Photographer. I whole heartily support Canon and their education in pointing out the rogue traders! They make quality products and they come at a price. If you can’t afford them then buy a lesser know brand. Too many photographers out there with lemonade money and Champagne tastes! You can buy there gear and use for several years and still get a good price on resale, if you have earn’t money from commissions and images then Canon are merely a creative banking exercise for you. Perhaps it’s the hobbyists out there that complain about pricing.
I fully agree with Paul Hames: Canon makes research, product quality control, good backup service and their prices are absolutely adequate to the reliability that a professional photographer needs in his work.
If you’re a professional the damage that a bad working instrument could do would certainly be much more relevant that the price you pay for a reliable bunch of instruments.
I’ve been using Canon for more that 20 years now and never had a default.
I recently purchased two Canon Batteries with a charger form a reputable on-line seller. After reading about Counterfeit Canon products, I decided to take a ride to the Canon service center in NJ. The batteries were genuine Canon, but the charger was counterfeit. I contacted the seller and got a refund for the charger. You can never be too careful and it pays to check and make sure. I will be much more careful in the future.