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Hey all,

Bought my Canon 5d Mark 2 a few days ago. I then picked up a Quantaray by Sunpak XLF-50 Flash for Canon. The camera didn't recognize it and it wouldn't work. Does anyone know a flash that is compatible with this camera? I'm new to the DSLR game and like that the above flash has the built in defuser and can bounce the flash off the celing.

Any help would be appreciated.

what about a canon flash? 580 / 580ex II works perfectly for my 5DMKII.
also try the canon 430ex II if you want a smaller less powerful flash without a sync port. (and cheaper - $580ex II around $620)

Hi, and welcome.

Where are you located? With you having bought a Quantaray, that leads me to suspect that you're in the USA. Please read the FAQ, please read the pink section headed "forum rules" near the top of this very page, and please place a meaningful location in your profile. That will enable us to help you better.

As Jonathan suggests, buying one of the Canon units will address this problem. Why did you buy the Quantaray? A salesperson's recommendation?

Yes Sir. I'm new to the DSLR game so I went to where I figured I'd get some decent advice, Wolf Camera. The guy told me it was compatible with my camera and gave me some of the reasons why it was a better flash. It all made sense and I've had a good experience with their store brand carbon fiber tripod.


I'm fixing my profile now for the location. Thanks.

This is a known issue. BTW, that Quantaray is also sold as the Sunpak RD-2000.

Canon changed something in the 5DmkII and the 50D. Third-party E-TTL flashes like the SunPak and Sigma units are not working with these cameras. The fix will require firmware upgrades from the flash manufacturer.

That makes sense. Thanks for the info. I don't really NEED a flash right now with what I'm doing so I can wait for the rest of the world to catch up to this camera and release more accessories.

I would assume the flash would work outside of the TTL metering range, in manual mode(s) ?

Yi-P wrote:I would assume the flash would work outside of the TTL metering range, in manual mode(s) ?

IF you can set the flash to manual. Not an option with the RD2000. If you managed to tape up all the connectors other than the centre pin and the return (shoe frame) then that might work. But then the flash would just go off at full power (if it worked).

I'd rather get a flash that I don't have to rig to get to work.