Speedlite 470EX-AI.. A new AI flash camera from Canon

When we hear about a new camera, probably the last thing we’re going to ask about is the flashlight. But with Canon’s new flash it’s different. Canon released its new Speedlite 470EX-AI with an Auto Intelligent flashlight that moves by itself to create what it sees the best angle to bounce the light off of the ceiling.

On 25th of February, Canon had a press release announcing its new camera with the new lighting system. “The one-of-a-kind flash incorporates Auto Intelligent (AI) Bounce technology – engineered to automatically and intelligently configure the most appropriate bounce angle resulting in ideal lighting conditions,” said Canon on the press release.

The new Speedlite looks exactly like other Canon’s Speedlites, the only difference is that it has motors at the base and hinge, and sensors in the front corner. To use the flash, you have to press the shutter button twice, first the flash will aim itself at the subject you’re taking a picture of and then to the ceiling, and that to calculate distances, after that the flash would move to the best position to take a picture, however if you change your position you have to repeat the whole process again.

This new technology is good for new photographers who just upgraded from smartphone photography, and who are not familiar yet with the bouncing techniques.

It also saves a lot of time for professional photographers, it can operate semi-automatically them store flash positions in the memory and restore them when needed.

This new idea helps Canon against its competitors like Sony and Fujitsu, and it’s one step out-of-the-box. And it can still work like a normal flash in case you don’t like the new technology, it includes an optical receiver, however, it lacks a radio transmitter.