My new T3i arrived this afternoon- And me being the curious guy I am, decided to open up that Manual and read it from front to back.

Lo and behold – on page 143 in the manual, in the section about video shooting….this is what I saw:My new T3i arrived this afternoon- And me being the curious guy I am, decided to open up that Manual and read it from front to back.

Lo and behold – on page 143 in the manual, in the section about video shooting….this is what I saw:This is a very curious statement. It has been very carefully worded, almost open to “interpretation”.

For those of you who didn’t know, last month Canon announced a hybrid LED Still and Video Flash, called the 320EX.

If you are Canon user who didn’t know about this, and you shoot both stills and video- that is great news in and of itself. Yes, Canon has made a flash that can do both flash and continuous light, based on LED technology- which is pretty freaking cool. You cannot even order them yet, but I will be one of the first to get one. Canon 320Ex Still – Video Hybrid Light

Thats said- what I am inferring from this vague statement is that Canon will be announcing at least one other Speedlite in the near future that has an LED light ability. If the 320EX was the only flash they had on the drawing board, I really, REALLY believe- they would have just said, “the 320 EX”.

A micro-lite panel, which is what many run and gun videographers are using runs about $300-400. A brand new 580 Speedlite runs about the same, and the 580EXII is definitely ready for an update.

This is obviously speculation, but putting these pieces all together, I would say that there is an very good “probability” of a higher end, more powerful still flash / LED Continuous Light Speedlite unit in the works. Can I prove it? No. Is the probability high? Yes.

Canon is taking the dSLR video shooting seriously and this is something I personally would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have. Something as powerful as a 580 for stills, and something I could flip a switch on for video. It would save a lot of bag space and represents a whole new market. I would gladly spend an extra $200 for a 580 that could do both.

Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Looking forward to testing the new video “zoom” feature on the T3i and seeing how it compares.