Freeze frame: shooting street trial cyclist Duncan Shaw with the Canon Speedlite EL-1

"I've kind of been stuck in my ways, shooting with bigger kit," reveals Scotland-based action sports photographer Dave Mackison. "I often pack battery-powered studio lights, but I really only ever use them on the lowest setting. Being able to use the Canon Speedlite EL-1 and travel light on this particular shoot was a game-changer for me."

The shoot in question was a three-day assignment to record his friend Duncan Shaw, a professional mountain bike and trials rider, who was taking an action-packed spin around the streets of Bristol in the south west of England. This would be no ordinary cycling tour of the city, though. Rather than sticking to the road, Duncan would be riding, balancing and jumping on features he found in the urban environment – and the photographer would need to keep up. This demanding action assignment was the first pro shoot with the Canon Speedlite EL-1, and an excellent test of the flash's capabilities.

Dave is no stranger to this type of fast-paced shoot, having started his professional photography career on the Drop and Roll bicycle stunt show tour devised by Duncan and fellow street trials cyclist Danny MacAskill in 2014. "I came on board to help with some of the building work," explains Dave. "But when it came to our first show in Switzerland, we didn't have a photographer. So, I ended up buying a camera at the last minute and shooting the event." Commissions snowballed from there, and Dave now counts Red Bull, Adidas and Santa Cruz Bicycles as repeat clients.

Being able to travel light and react quickly without compromising on lighting power were essential requirements for this latest job. So, rather than shoot with his existing, heavier kit, Dave used a combination of two Canon Speedlite EL-1 professional flashes and a Canon EOS R5.

"The wording in the menu is all super self-explanatory, with obvious terms such as sender and receiver. There was just minimal messing about, which is exactly what you need when you're trying to get stuff done quickly and efficiently. There's nothing worse than turning up to a shoot and having to spend too much time trying to get things set up, as you might end up missing a moment."

Dave typically used one Speedlite EL-1 on the EOS R5's hot-shoe and another mounted on a lighting stand, with the Speedlite on the camera acting as the wireless sender. "We also did some portraits of Duncan in a car park on one night. Here, I used both lights on stands, with a Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT on the camera to control them."

The Speedlite EL-1's built-in LED modelling light was a feature that Dave found particularly useful when photographing Duncan in the dark. "There have been times in the past when I've been shooting at night in locations where there's not been any street lighting, and I've struggled to focus. But having the modelling light really helped in this regard. It was bright enough to allow us to get everything set up and give me an idea of how it would look before we started shooting. Being able to adjust the temperature and brightness of the light is also a really nice feature."

The Canon Speedlite EL-1 is powered by a rechargeable and long-lasting LP-EL Lithium-ion battery, which delivers approximately 335 full-power flashes from a single charge. Reduce the output, and you can expect the LP-EL to power through as many as 2,345 flashes before it's fully discharged.

"Having a single Lithium-ion battery was a lot better than having to fumble around with AA batteries," says Dave. "The battery life was really good too. I was surprised, because we were giving the batteries quite a hammering on this shoot and doing quite a lot with them throughout the day. After a full day of shooting, they were only down to around 75% or so, which was impressive.

"The fact that the Speedlite EL-1's battery can be recharged using the Canon EOS R5's battery charger is really convenient too."

To avoid any power-loss surprises, the Speedlite EL-1 features a clear battery indicator which displays the remaining capacity of the internal battery as a percentage within the menu in addition to the familiar bars on the back. "This was useful," says Dave, "as it gave a more precise picture of how much shooting time we had left."

The enhanced precision extends to the power delivery of the Canon Speedlite EL-1's flash too. In another Canon Speedlite first, the manual flash output can be varied from full to 1/8192 power.

"Because it's mostly sports that I do, dropping to 1/8192 power is not something I would necessarily use much of the time," explains Dave. "I'm always pushing the lights to the limit, to be honest, and have them quite bright. But I think if I was doing, say, indoor work, where there was some close-up detail that needed only a little bit of light, it's definitely a good option to have available."

Reliability is just as important as versatility, and the Speedlite EL-1 is built to withstand the daily rigours of professional flash photography. It features an internal fan to prevent overheating, for example. This is a benefit when you're having to fire the flash multiple times in quick succession, such as when you need to keep up with the fast pace of a stunt cyclist. The Speedlite EL-1 also sets a new benchmark in construction, offering the same level of dust and water resistance as Canon L-Series lenses.

"I've had flashguns misfiring before or not firing at all, but the Speedlite EL-1s feel like they're a step up in terms of the way they're put together," says Dave. "I look after my kit, but sometimes you end up in situations where it's raining, or where you're shooting bikes as I quite often do, and you get covered in mud or dust. So, having kit you can rely on and knowing that it's going to take some knocks and a fair bit of punishment is a really important thing for me."

Since finishing the shoot, Dave confesses that the weather resistance and weight saving of the flagship professional Canon Speedlite EL-1 have made him want to invest in a set of them. "If you're going to use the Speedlite EL-1 a lot, as I would, then it's good value. The studio flashes I have cost over €2,000 each, but they're totally inconvenient. A lot of the time I'm shooting out in the field, and I can end up hiking up a hill or putting myself into difficult situations. The thought of having to take two big studio flashes and a heavy camera body with me isn't great.

"But on this shoot, I had both Speedlite EL-1s, the camera and all the lenses in a small bag. I wasn't used to being able to run about with something that's so small but can produce so much light."