UPDATE: Thanks to one of you, we learned that the way the AD600 II is getting such fast flash durations at full power is by lowering full power by 4 full stops. This is a horrible decision by Godox to do this and make the stats of that test for this flash in "freeze" mode pointless. Also: I've just reviewed the Elinchrom Five here: ua-cam.com/video/3qaY68EvUIQ/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Fstoppers
The way they marketed this feature is pretty awful, and I think unnecessarily so. Freeze mode basically means that the flash can go as low as 1/4096 or 1/8192 power, depending on whether it’s a 3 or 4 stop drop (reported differently by different outlets). The flash duration at those low powers is very short and some folks might appreciate the flexibility for shots that benefit from a large light source with modest output, like macro. But I suppose that reaches a smaller market than being straight up deceptive about it.
@@graxxor Only Metz as third party, and their quality was in a different league. Besides Metz I only used brands like Nikon, Canon or Olympus and they were also built like tanks. I never had a door or hot show snap, I never had a lamp go out on me, or electronics fail. Never ! With Godox, this is very common.
@@d3xmeister Interesting... I have used Nikon speedlights for 25 years and still use my SB900... I switched over to GODOX for OCF about 4 years ago and use a multi flash setup but have never had a door fall off or felt that the build quality is any lesser than my SB900... Heck, even the batteries still last. On the contrary, the GODOX wireless system is so much cheaper and more reliable than my Nikon master/slave flash setup I used to use that I moved over to their ecosystem after just a few months of getting a V1.
One thing I see Lee overlooked that I personally REALLY REALLY love with the new Godox Pro II light is that little Red light on the side. This light gives you a quick visual reference of what channel/group the flash is set to so you can mount a light high up on a stand and immediately know it's group B or D or whatever based on the color. That is one of the smartest features I've seen in a strobe in the last few years and think that shouldn't be overlooked when comparing user interfaces or ease of use. -Patrick
The Broncolor has the color group lights as well. They call their groups Lamp - so you can add several lights to a lamp channel and they all flash on the same studio channel. Each lamp group will get a color assigned and display on the edge of the lights. The Broncolor lights are like 15 years old now and definitely starting to show their age. Pretty impressive how well they have held up for that long.
@@jaredwolfe8438 wow, it’s wild the oldest lights in this test already had this featured but no one else ever added it until the Pro II that just came out. I love that feature! -P
Do you have Elinchrom in the US? Their one, three & five series are pretty close contenders with Profoto. Would be nice to include them in this comparison. - But I guess you don't have them. =)
One thing that I particularly like about the Godox / Flashpoint AD600 Pro is the optional extension head. This makes the AD600 Pro significantly lighter on the top, making it much easier to mount and move and safer to mount on a boom. The body can also function as a counterweight. In addition, it and its accessories are very affordable.
Long time Profoto user, i was forced to use a borrowed Godox pro 600 while on a remote location shoot. Overcame the "eew" feeling once i realized how flexible and reliable the light was. Since then i switched all my location lights to ad 600 pros and reserved the 2400 & 4800ws profotos for studio work. Cannot justify the price premium of a profoto over the godox for what you get out of the box.
And a good news is, The GODOX AD400pro has a 'switch to Profoto mount' head, you can replace the original mount with it then you get a Profoto-mount-Godox-body strobe ;-).
After watching this and the speedlight comparison, you can see why these guys have a million subscribers. Clear, no nonsense, well presented, and fun. Love the variety of vids these guys churn out as well. Keep up the good work guys.
Lee, for the remotes; most of these work over Bluetooth and can be used on your phone or a tablet. Personally i use Godox and often have 4 to 8 strobes or leds. Easy to configure on my ipad; AND some have save functions, saving the flash settings on the phone or tablet.
I am a Italian fashion photographer and I own many Broncolor products... I often use Profoto and sometimes Godox. In my over twenty years of experience, I can say that Broncolor probably doesn't have the best design (like Profoto) and the best price (like Godox) but they are tireless flashes and rarely break (in 20 years it happened to me only once). I love the design of Profoto products, but in one photo shoot out of five in which I used them I had at least one problem with them breaking or malfunctioning (especially the battery-powered ones, because they were placed on the side) and all the rental services do not recommend them to me. I've tried Godox on a professional level but it's better to leave it alone. Great video anyway 🖖
@@simonenervi I would really like to know more about the problems you had with Godox. Misfires? Units breaking up? Something else? I'm eyeing the Godox AD600 Pro II at the moment but I have absolutely nothing from Godox at the moment and no experience with the system.
@@YogueDaddy I'm a professional photographer, I take thousands of shots a day and each shot must be the same as the other in terms of lighting, the colors must always be the same, I don't have to wait long for the flash to charge, and nothing should break . Whether it is an ADV campaign or a simple e-commerce, strobes must not be a problem for me. Godox products are excellent and relatively cheap, but if put under stress you inevitably notice the difference from other more expensive products. So probably for you it could be a great option if you do not have the same needs as me.
I'm curious, if you are shooting studio catalog work every few days, is there a reason you wouldn't want an even more powerful strobe that is AC powered with a pack? I'm the first to acknowledge how great all of these battery strobes are, but if my bread and butter was studio work day in and day out, I might buy a Move or B8 pack. Obviously the price is the pain point but you'd probably never rebuy that system again. -P
@@FStoppers I agree with this. Shooting in the studio multiple times per week, I can attest to the nuisance battery powered mono's can be . . . I use the Flashpoint (Godox manufactured) 1200 EXPLOR Pro II pack system, shooting on AC mains, and it's as reliable as Profoto or Speedotron (remember those?) packs. It's also a 10th of the price of Profoto packs, same features - and even more color-accurate. One other thing: the 400/600ws Godox/Flashpoint mono's have inexpensive options AC adapter packs that mount where the batteries mount, so you now have dual-power flashes for long sessions, studio days, or remote locations.
Touch screens are not always the way to go. You need bare fingers (and no rain) to properly control a touch screen. I think keeping the buttons is better for a wider variety of photographers.
So crazy! I literally planned on making a purchase this morning. I have several AD100 Pros and love them. But it's senior portrait season and was looking for more light. This video was perfect!
AD 200 Pro II just released... It's a smashing flash and you can double them up in a single mount (ADB2) if needed to get yourself a 400 flash with a kickass modelling light.
Correction. Even at the lowest power in freeze mode at 1/512 power, the Xplor 600 PRO II has the fastest flash duration at the lowest at 1/20400 at 1/512 and 1/2570 at 1/1 full power. I just did a full video on it as well
One thing I’ll throw in that I absolutely love about my Profoto’s is the mobile app. It’s so useful and just works! I use it all the time since I shoot manual power most of the time
Your reviews have no peer. Thank you. PS, I also favor Profoto personally and have some of their lights, but purchasing them is painful because of the seemingly excessive pricing.
Same, I have Godox and Profoto and prefer to use Profoto every time. They are so much easier to use, and I can actually see the screen with my bad eyes.
I think if you would have read the Broncolor manual and used the app on your phone or tablet with the Bluetooth function, your overall user experience would have been much better for the siros. That being said Profoto does make some of the best hard light modifiers on the market. Thanks for the test.
Another fine review you've gotten me into. Agree about how good the Profoto mounts are- just the practical design and tactical feel of them. they glide on like butter but once gripped down they are so firm...😏
Don't forget that the Westcott trigger can be used with most camera brands without having to buy a extra trigger. There is an adapter for Sony for $20 unless you want the Sony only trigger.
In the cases where I have placed Profoto flashes outside a building to shoot through windows at a distance of around 30’, I have not had issues with the flash trigger. Profoto is sensitive though to operating in full tropical sunlight and I generally shield the flashes from direct sun to prevent overheating.
I haven’t read through the comments yet but one thing you missed about the Godox X3 was that the dial SHOULD HAVE been on the left side instead of the right. Reason being is bcuz your right hand will be holding the grip of the camera and your left hand usually is the more freely usable hand which will help you change settings. Just be so nice to have that dial on the left instead of the right
I have to respectfully add my 2 cents. I access my Apple Watch on my left wrist in inverted mode with the crown on the left of the screen, easily accessible with my right index finger and pressible with my right thumb. As such, I actually found the Godox quite natural to handle in reverse... I find that my index finger hits the crown while my whole left hand naturally shades the entire screen and my thumb is perfectly poised for the test flash button. All while bracing against the hypothenar (the padded bit of your palm opposite your thumb) that keeps the camera steady. I, personally, have found this a godsend in bright daylight outdoors, but I have big hands so someone with small hands might find it more difficult.... Maybe a rotatable / opposable head is possible, like with their speedlights, then they can please all parties...
Excellant comparison test! Certain specs are definitely more important to different photographers. With that said, I love my Profoto B10x Plus flashes. VERY clean, polished and well designed. Kind of an "after the fact" thing here, packing and traveling with these various flashes. Again, the Profoto lights easily pack in a camera backpack. The size of the others and their bulk could make it more troubling to pack into your backpack. It's great we consumers have so many options available though.
This was an excellent review! Thank you for taking the time to do all the necessary research. It's much appreciated for more than just myself, I'm quite sure.
Totally appreciate t his Fstoppers, please dont stop what youre doing. I've been here since I was an amateur 12 years ago, and im still here learning still from you guys.
Yeah I was just going to comment on the same thing. I shot Elinchrom for years, but switched to Profoto because I got sick of lugging around Rangers (awesome lights just not very portable unless you have assistants 🙃).
I use Westcott FJ400 for 360 e-commerce photos and my usage matches your testing. I end with a few hundred sequences non-stop. The screen nav is annoying but what I truly can't stand is that it's on one side of the unit instead of the rear. I shoot tethered and rarely touch the remote but it always feels like it's going to break. I have had noticeable differences where the light is mounted. My under table and bg lights are sensitive to the radio power changes. Rotating the camera orientation has effects also. I've had more challenges indoors than out with flash. My only surprise was about the Broncolor Pulso bayonet. It's no different the a lens mount.
The bayonet on Bron works a bit differently from the one on a lens. It has more of a safety purpose than a locking one. When engaged, the bayonet part thickness is the only thing that stops you from rotating the accessory a full 360 degrees. It's very practical specifically for boxes, of all shapes.
Thank you for this. I was all set the purchase the Westcott FJ series. The introduction of the Godox AD600 pro ii has me rethinking my decision. The fraction system for light power is the only factor keeping me from purchasing the Godox AD600 pro ii. However, after I purchased the Westcott FJ series, I watched another youtuber demonstrate that you can change the fraction to a whole number system. Decisions, decisions.
Ok. So then I question. Why would you not just put the modefier down and mount the flash to it and not the other way around. Why lift the big modefier when you can lift the small flash. Regarding the bowens mount modefiers that is
Is the westcott remote an e-ink display? If so that could be a SUPER battery efficient feature. The weird screen refresh is what makes me think it's e-ink
shouldve included the FJ200 if you were going to include the Q model from godox.. the feature you loved on profoto with the push button is also on FJ200
I'm just starting to reach a point where I can charge for my photography (not much yet, but its a start!). So although I'd love to be using profoto, my budget only allows for godox right now. But the 600pro II is on my purchase list. If I ever start making decent money, I will consider switching to profoto then though. Great video though, thanks so much. Really interesting to see all those tests and the results!
I don’t think people can appreciate the simplicity and reliability of Profoto until they’ve used it and compared it to Godox. I tried switching to Godox to save a TON of money but I lasted a year before going back to Profoto. The consistency, ease of use, straightforward mounting options, build quality and durability, and size make them just a much happier experience when in stressful professional endorsements. That said, Godox offers a crazy amount of value for the price and the range of lights and accessories is staggering. (The variety can also be a con since it’s hard to keep up with the multiple mounting options and adapters for everything)
This made my day. We will chip in for your yearly colonscopy/prostate exam, as you are getting to that age. It is not the flash I would recommend, but what "the science" recommends.
Thanks for the review. I don’t share the obsession with touch screens though😅 I prefer buttons since i can memorize the placement and get haptic feedback. It’s just way quicker than any touchscreen and there‘s a reason why it’s there.
Fantastic breakdown, very insightful! I think, however, there is one important underdog light missing. Godox AD600BM. If you don't need TTL (who does?) it provides you pretty much the same stats as AD600Pros, just with less fancy modeling light. Battery lasts for 500+ flashes and it costs significantly less than the newer versions. I regularly use Profoto strobes for various projects and they are fabulous if you have the coin for it, but I personally own 4 of the Godox AD600BMs and cannot recommend them enough for the price. Also, the older version of Godox trigger's batteries lasts forever (10s of shoots). Compared to Profoto ones where I have to change batteries almost every shoot.
always choose your light based on what you shoot and where. the biggest light wont fit everywhere. because most of the time you don't need high power strobes. you need mobility. im a godox user and i shoot portraits and weddings. i have ad200, 300 & 400. for me the ad300 & 400 is absolutely fine in every situation because most of the time when you shoot outside the weight & size of your equipment's got headache when you using them. so for me, the size and the weight is more important than the power
@@ChaitanyaShukla2503 From what I was told by a Broncolor rep, the case is made by Godox but the electronics inside is made by Broncolor. Can't confirm that it's true, but apparently Broncolor does all of the electronic parts in Switzerland at their factory.
It's the only trigger with a hotshoe built in which is pretty weird to me considering Broncolor doesn't make a speed light. I do like those pass through triggers for wedding work because it lets you put a speedlight on your camera for bounce flash and also trigger wireless remotes. BUT, most of the speedlights now allow you to control their own speedlights remotely with the flash in commander mode so that's less of an issue. I do see Broncolor makes an RFS 2.1 trigger which maybe is what Lee should have compared for this test, but it looks super archaic as well and probably wouldn't have altered his overall impression of the Scoro system much if at all. -P
@@FStoppers Broncolor designed the Siros to work with the Broncontrol app, which you can download onto a tablet or onto your phone, This gives a huge amount of control to the system. That is the best way to change all the settings. The Broncolor trigger is really only for triggering the lights and nothing more.
Flashpoint R2 aka Godox looks exactly like the Broncolor with the hot shoe however there is no delay in transmitting to the light, everything is instant. I have used mine so much I can’t believe it still works . My backup transmitter is the Godox X2T with hot shoe and has updated physical buttons. I’ve never needed it.
@@FStoppers The RFS2.1 has been discontinued a long time ago. Why keep on hammering Siros for lack of knowledge on the product? Why no review on the Siros 400ws?
Likely the shape of the Neewer flash is likely due to it being cheaper to build to a single board loadout, or at most a single low voltage and a single high voltage board. For example, if you look at newer budget oscilloscopes, they are more commonly moving to single board construction, with at most a separate power supply module stuck outside of the RF shield. For exposed flash tubes, for larger modifiers, if you take a picture of one with an ND filter on, or a low output power, you will notice that an exposed tube more evenly lights them, especially when you want to go with lower powered flashes for larger modifiers, such as the Godox AD200.
I Invested in the Godox ad300pro with an X3S trigger for my Sony A7RV. I was using the Sony HVL-60RM2 with a Sony trigger for off camera before the Godox, wow what a difference! I am definitely buying into the Godox ecosystem now!
Thank you very much, this was very helpful. Many years ago I went with Profoto monolights, my fear is that I shoot with Pentax, and with film cameras. I have wondered how the compatibility would work. I know at one time you had to shoot with Canon, Nikon, or Sony, but never did.
how did you fire all the flashes at the same time with one camera, can 1 trigger fire different brand flashes? I thought the trigger had to be the same brand as the flash
I have the godox touch tiny remote. DO NOT USE THE TOUCHSCREEN. It's SO great to just use the dial...you can roll to the group and adjust on the fly. You can disable a group by double tapping the wheel. it's so good!
I'm Photix Indra500 and Einstein640 user, mostly use Indra with speedlight flashes. This competition might missed paulcbuff CELESTIAL(I knew this one but never try yet) Godox's freeze model duration really surprised me~ Broncolor looks stopped upgrade trigger...
Really good review, your audio is one of, if not the best on YT. One thing about the Profoto, you were rating them by if you would need the manual to figure out how to use it. While the 'pushing the knob in to do something different' is super cool, there's no way you'd figure that out unless it was by mistake or reading the manual. I've never used Profoto, and if someone had handed me a light prior to this vid I wouldn't have even thought to consider trying that. Nice work, Lee!
Curious which system you are leaning towards after this review especially if you aren't already invested in one of their ecosystems yet? As for the rotolight, they don't make a strobe right? I don't see any reason to buy LED lights for photography work if you have a strobe with a good modeling lamp. If video is your only discipline then maybe you can get a bunch for quick setups but modifying them with softboxes and stuff seems like a nightmare to me. -Patrick
Godox X3 needs a normal battery (yea make it a little bigger) if you don't do outdoor flash stuff all the time and have it in the shelf for months. For studio I use a Bluetooth capable trigger and already use a big smartphone screen to dial stuff in.
In the end, all that matters in photography is who delivers the best light. Lee demonstrates that the ten year old Broncolor's cheap reflector that comes with the Siros is at the top in 2024!
Great Video. If I win the lottery, then I’ll buy Profoto equipment. 🤷🏻♂️ I feel you guys should make a video on how to protect strobes from damaging when they accidentally tip over due to wind from the softboxes. The only one that know that has some type of protection is the AD200 flash. Other than that, I don’t see any other flashes that have some type of protective mechanism. Thank you
So I have the Q4 and the controller. I had the same problem where I couldn't get it to flash. What I had to do was set it ID to something other than stock, and it worked.
Is the ID different than the channel and group? I watched Lee go through so many channels and groups but I never dug around for some other ID myself. -P
@@FStoppers Yup! By default the ID is set to off. So after some digging I was reading that other devices can interfere with the signal. So I just set it, and the controller to ID 1, then it worked.
The biggest down side with Godox lights is when you don't use the light for a few months, the battery turnd off internally, you have to open battery using knife and press reset button on the circuit board, can you imagine do something like this these days ?
I’ve asked this before because this has happened to me. I never found a button but instead had to use a paper clip to short out two connections. Is this still a thing!?!? I have some AD400s and the battery constantly goes dead and won’t charge if I don’t use it once every 3-6 months. -P
@@FStoppers Same here. no button, i use a tweezer to touch the two contact points after opening the battery.... the first time it happened I thought i had bought a faulty battery.
@@FStoppers this is not talked enough, but when the battery goes in sleep mode you can reset it by pressing the battery check option on the battery itself without opening it and short the circuit. I am not sure why, but no one on the internet is saying it..
@@LucaZanatta-xq9ym hmmm, I’ll have to try that next time I notice the battery isn’t charging. I swear I hit every button and had to research the fix online. I thought it was a really rare issue but it’s been brought up no less than 5 times in these comments. -P
The possibility to expose the flash tube is essential for beauty dish use. If you use a reflector on the flash in a beauty dish, the light output will be different.
People say this and maybe with all these lights we can find a way to test it (we only have the collapsible beauty dishes here in Puerto Rico, not the solid ones). I did do a test about this concept using the Profoto Dome glass and to my eyes, it make almost no difference at all. Once you add retouching, color grading, and other pixel altering tools that goes into commercial and most professional work, the differences has to be negligible. I'd love to do a blind test with a fashion or beauty photographer and see how often they can tell the difference without knowing which one was which. Here is my test video: ua-cam.com/video/K249jEa7zA4/v-deo.html -P
I believe you touched on it in the stress test, but would have liked hearing about the number of flashes that can be , or occur before the battery needs recharging( at full power , and half power. Your charts indicated around 343 full power flashes, on average. I would not want to assume doubling that number if turned down to half power .And if the unit can be plugged in to a wall outlet, and continue to work, and to recharge at the same time. I will also try to research these answers on the godox website, if this information is not available, or possible to read here. Otherwise, great review, as always.
Fantastic video, guys! Rob Hall used to be my go-to for strobe and flash reviews, but since he transitioned to video, I've been looking for new sources. You've done an excellent job with all the detailed data. One suggestion regarding the Power Output test, which many people are particularly interested in: it would be really helpful if you could share your methodology. If the test was conducted using just the stock reflector aimed directly at the light meter, some might argue that it doesn’t reflect real-world usage, especially since different modifiers can significantly alter the results. For instance, using inverted modifiers like the Elinchrom Litemotiv Indirect or a zoomable parabolic softbox with a diffusion layer would likely yield results more aligned with the actual W.s rating by distributing the light more evenly. Personally, I rely on direct flash/strobe quite a bit, but it would be really helpful to see how they perform within a softbox setup as well. That said, I think you've surpassed even Rob Hall’s reviews from back in the day, especially with your coverage of system triggers, wireless range, and the stress test; I've never seen a review that covers all of these aspects. Excellent work!
@@FStoppers sounded like you used an umbrella (with a diffusion I assume), which is fine as well. Though you might find the output would be different when you leave all the protruded bulb bare instead of the reflector dish. The Godox reflector is well known to be extremely inefficient. Anyway, thank you Lee for the test! That flash duration table alone helped a lot.
It was a soft box with double baffles. The bulbs were all contained inside the Profoto speed ring so the light was all firing forward. We also did other tests too to try to balance out any inefficiency in one test over the other. You are right, using native reflector dishes did have a slightly larger gap in power settings but from weakest to lowest it was like an additional .5 stop max. That said, I’m going to make a new view about the exposed flash tube theory and see if it actually makes a difference or not. -P
Nice, thoughtful and balanced review. Since you opted for popular strobes, it shows how far in popularity Elinchrom has fallen since neither the Elinchrom Five nor the Elinchrom Three made the cut. It also looks like Neewer is swooping in as the low cost leader Godox once occupied. I’ll be curious to see if Jinbei (Westcotf) upgrades its offering with the color screens.
Great test as always! If you want top do a follow up, it would be nice to see how fast the remote triggers are when using an A9III or a leaf shutter camera. The Godox X3 seems to add a bit too much delay when shooting at 1/2000 on my Leica Q3 and the flash doesn't even show up in the photos when using a speed light and barely when using a strobe. I've heard that ProFoto have a "fast mode" with reduced lag.
Patrick here, while I haven't done a test on trigger latency, I just released a few A9iii videos and I haven't noticed any issue with wireless flash. You will need to manually test all your power settings and shutter speed settings (each combination) to find the perfect Flash Sync Timing in the Sony A9iii menu, but that should account for any delay the wireless trigger has. I know Tony Northrup mentioned using a wired connection to help reduce latency in one of his videos but I have not experienced the need to do that. As for "fast mode", the only setting like that which I've seen is Freeze mode and Lee mentions that in this video. It doesn't help with sync timing from the trigger but it makes the flash duration shorter which helps when freezing motion with flash and sometimes might help with fast shutters speeds on the A9iii but not always. -P
@@betterthanathousand9686 Elinchrom transmitters have that "Speed mode" for people using leaf shutter systems. I have no idea if it works well, though.
@@FStoppers Hi Patrick! Have already watched your video! 👍 The problem is, that only the A9III lets you change the timing. When using a cable, it works just fine on a leaf shutter camera. You'll see some loss of light but that's exactly what you've described in your video. At faster shutter speeds the flash duration is longer than the actual shutter speed, so a certain loss is to be expected. What also works is using a speed light to trigger the strobe or another off camera flash. This also get's rid of the delay caused by the radio trigger.
@@betterthanathousand9686 oooh so the issue is with non global shutter cameras (leaf shutters) or future global shutter cameras that may not have that timing feature? Unfortunately it seems like syncing to a global shutter opens up a whole other can of worms. -P
Hi, at about 10:35, the light shape part, I think you are wrong to use modeling light to check the light shape? The right way is to check the light which produced by flash tube.
Luck of the draw. We asked for the top selling flashes from BH and then filled in with a few fan favorites. Elinchrom just happen to not make the test. Paul C Buff didn’t either. It’s just how it happened. -P
@@YogueDaddy to be perfectly honest, I reviewed them a year or two ago on our channel and their remote was so bad I couldn’t see adding them to this review. The Bees and Einstein were great in the early 2010s but they feel dated now even with the update. -P
One metric I do not believe was mentioned is recycle times at full power? One thing that was fairly consistent in the past is the more expensive lights had more consistent recycling times as well as color temp when shooting quickly. Is it still the same? Or have things changed? I'm really surprised by the color consistency of Godox.
The reason why I didn’t do it is because the lights fire at different powers so a recycle test wouldn’t really be fair to the more powerful lights. I was surprised how fast they all were and I was also surprised that their recycle time didn’t really seem to slow as their batteries died.
Just an observation on your White Balance spreadsheet, both the Godox AD600Pro and AD400Pro don't have a 'freeze' mode. They have a 'standard' mode and 'colour' mode and by default the colour mode is slower flash duration.
Yeah we did the tests in both modes. We may have labeled them the same as other brands but the faster flash duration is the “freeze mode” which always has less accurate color. -P
Really appreciate the time and effort that has gone into this. I currently use Elinchrom ELB500’s they’ve been great and I like the fact that the flash duration is shown on the pack as you change power levels. The locking system for soft box attachment is useless and really annoys me but the soft boxes are well made. I’ve been looking at the Profoto for the size/portability and ease of use but the range of the trigger is worrying. Godox looks good especially with the new trigger but I didn’t like the look of that light pattern (not sure this makes a difference to the finished image?) … decisions
This reminds me of another test I want to do; are the advertised flash durations and those shown on some lcd screens accurate? In my limited testing, the numbers we were getting from the flash meter were not the same as the advertised specs. In the case of Westcott in particular, our readers were even faster than what was advertised but I bet in other cases they might be worse. -P
UPDATE: Thanks to one of you, we learned that the way the AD600 II is getting such fast flash durations at full power is by lowering full power by 4 full stops. This is a horrible decision by Godox to do this and make the stats of that test for this flash in "freeze" mode pointless. Also: I've just reviewed the Elinchrom Five here: ua-cam.com/video/3qaY68EvUIQ/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Fstoppers
Not if you have a global shutter
That makes a lot more sense.
The way they marketed this feature is pretty awful, and I think unnecessarily so. Freeze mode basically means that the flash can go as low as 1/4096 or 1/8192 power, depending on whether it’s a 3 or 4 stop drop (reported differently by different outlets). The flash duration at those low powers is very short and some folks might appreciate the flexibility for shots that benefit from a large light source with modest output, like macro. But I suppose that reaches a smaller market than being straight up deceptive about it.
I'm behind my Elinchrom ELB500 all the way!
After years of being a devoted Profoto user I switched to Godox, and I never looked back!
Me too, but honestly the quality of Godox is the worst of every other flashes I ever used.
@@d3xmeister really, what other flashes have you used?
@@graxxor Only Metz as third party, and their quality was in a different league. Besides Metz I only used brands like Nikon, Canon or Olympus and they were also built like tanks. I never had a door or hot show snap, I never had a lamp go out on me, or electronics fail. Never ! With Godox, this is very common.
@@d3xmeister Interesting... I have used Nikon speedlights for 25 years and still use my SB900... I switched over to GODOX for OCF about 4 years ago and use a multi flash setup but have never had a door fall off or felt that the build quality is any lesser than my SB900... Heck, even the batteries still last.
On the contrary, the GODOX wireless system is so much cheaper and more reliable than my Nikon master/slave flash setup I used to use that I moved over to their ecosystem after just a few months of getting a V1.
Same here ... For me it was right after I sent in a D1 1000 Air in for repairs after a fall.
One thing I see Lee overlooked that I personally REALLY REALLY love with the new Godox Pro II light is that little Red light on the side. This light gives you a quick visual reference of what channel/group the flash is set to so you can mount a light high up on a stand and immediately know it's group B or D or whatever based on the color. That is one of the smartest features I've seen in a strobe in the last few years and think that shouldn't be overlooked when comparing user interfaces or ease of use. -Patrick
The Broncolor has the color group lights as well. They call their groups Lamp - so you can add several lights to a lamp channel and they all flash on the same studio channel. Each lamp group will get a color assigned and display on the edge of the lights. The Broncolor lights are like 15 years old now and definitely starting to show their age. Pretty impressive how well they have held up for that long.
@@jaredwolfe8438 wow, it’s wild the oldest lights in this test already had this featured but no one else ever added it until the Pro II that just came out. I love that feature! -P
Do you have Elinchrom in the US? Their one, three & five series are pretty close contenders with Profoto. Would be nice to include them in this comparison. - But I guess you don't have them. =)
Elinchrom has had the color coding feature for group for a couple of years : since the release of the ELC 500/125.
This should be on the Broncolor as well.
This is the kind of "Taking one for the team" that I appreciate from channels like yours
Haha, ya this one was miserable. The color and flash duration specs took soooo long.
I am still using Godox AD600BM since 2017, works great. Faster recycle time and brighter LED of AD600 pro II looks sweet.
One thing that I particularly like about the Godox / Flashpoint AD600 Pro is the optional extension head. This makes the AD600 Pro significantly lighter on the top, making it much easier to mount and move and safer to mount on a boom. The body can also function as a counterweight. In addition, it and its accessories are very affordable.
Long time Profoto user, i was forced to use a borrowed Godox pro 600 while on a remote location shoot. Overcame the "eew" feeling once i realized how flexible and reliable the light was. Since then i switched all my location lights to ad 600 pros and reserved the 2400 & 4800ws profotos for studio work.
Cannot justify the price premium of a profoto over the godox for what you get out of the box.
And a good news is, The GODOX AD400pro has a 'switch to Profoto mount' head, you can replace the original mount with it then you get a Profoto-mount-Godox-body strobe ;-).
After watching this and the speedlight comparison, you can see why these guys have a million subscribers. Clear, no nonsense, well presented, and fun.
Love the variety of vids these guys churn out as well. Keep up the good work guys.
Lee, for the remotes; most of these work over Bluetooth and can be used on your phone or a tablet. Personally i use Godox and often have 4 to 8 strobes or leds. Easy to configure on my ipad; AND some have save functions, saving the flash settings on the phone or tablet.
I am a Italian fashion photographer and I own many Broncolor products... I often use Profoto and sometimes Godox.
In my over twenty years of experience, I can say that Broncolor probably doesn't have the best design (like Profoto) and the best price (like Godox) but they are tireless flashes and rarely break (in 20 years it happened to me only once).
I love the design of Profoto products, but in one photo shoot out of five in which I used them I had at least one problem with them breaking or malfunctioning (especially the battery-powered ones, because they were placed on the side) and all the rental services do not recommend them to me.
I've tried Godox on a professional level but it's better to leave it alone.
Great video anyway 🖖
@@simonenervi I would really like to know more about the problems you had with Godox. Misfires? Units breaking up? Something else? I'm eyeing the Godox AD600 Pro II at the moment but I have absolutely nothing from Godox at the moment and no experience with the system.
@@YogueDaddy I'm a professional photographer, I take thousands of shots a day and each shot must be the same as the other in terms of lighting, the colors must always be the same, I don't have to wait long for the flash to charge, and nothing should break . Whether it is an ADV campaign or a simple e-commerce, strobes must not be a problem for me. Godox products are excellent and relatively cheap, but if put under stress you inevitably notice the difference from other more expensive products. So probably for you it could be a great option if you do not have the same needs as me.
I'm curious, if you are shooting studio catalog work every few days, is there a reason you wouldn't want an even more powerful strobe that is AC powered with a pack? I'm the first to acknowledge how great all of these battery strobes are, but if my bread and butter was studio work day in and day out, I might buy a Move or B8 pack. Obviously the price is the pain point but you'd probably never rebuy that system again. -P
that said, have you rented the Profoto D1/D2 lights? I definitely us my B10s 95% of the time now but those AC D2 lights are super reliable. -P
@@FStoppers I agree with this. Shooting in the studio multiple times per week, I can attest to the nuisance battery powered mono's can be . . . I use the Flashpoint (Godox manufactured) 1200 EXPLOR Pro II pack system, shooting on AC mains, and it's as reliable as Profoto or Speedotron (remember those?) packs. It's also a 10th of the price of Profoto packs, same features - and even more color-accurate. One other thing: the 400/600ws Godox/Flashpoint mono's have inexpensive options AC adapter packs that mount where the batteries mount, so you now have dual-power flashes for long sessions, studio days, or remote locations.
Touch screens are not always the way to go. You need bare fingers (and no rain) to properly control a touch screen. I think keeping the buttons is better for a wider variety of photographers.
have a Wheel for this
@@cpabreaker Anything really that's physical. I'm not a big fan of too many buttons myself, but I'd rather take buttons than pure touch controls.
Good point on no rain. Especially when some have “outdoor” as a part of the description.
So crazy! I literally planned on making a purchase this morning. I have several AD100 Pros and love them. But it's senior portrait season and was looking for more light. This video was perfect!
AD 200 Pro II just released... It's a smashing flash and you can double them up in a single mount (ADB2) if needed to get yourself a 400 flash with a kickass modelling light.
Correction. Even at the lowest power in freeze mode at 1/512 power, the Xplor 600 PRO II has the fastest flash duration at the lowest at 1/20400 at 1/512 and 1/2570 at 1/1 full power. I just did a full video on it as well
One thing I’ll throw in that I absolutely love about my Profoto’s is the mobile app. It’s so useful and just works! I use it all the time since I shoot manual power most of the time
Your reviews have no peer. Thank you.
PS, I also favor Profoto personally and have some of their lights, but purchasing them is painful because of the seemingly excessive pricing.
Glad you like them!
Same, I have Godox and Profoto and prefer to use Profoto every time. They are so much easier to use, and I can actually see the screen with my bad eyes.
I love my older Profoto that I had some I had for 20 years. All still working with a lot of use.
“Our light underperforms most others that cost less than a third the price, but our buttons feel really nice! That’ll be $2,200.” - Profoto
I think if you would have read the Broncolor manual and used the app on your phone or tablet with the Bluetooth function, your overall user experience would have been much better for the siros. That being said Profoto does make some of the best hard light modifiers on the market. Thanks for the test.
Nice , u deserve a beer 🍺 for all that work
Thank you for making these in detail reviews
Glad you like them!
Another fine review you've gotten me into. Agree about how good the Profoto mounts are- just the practical design and tactical feel of them. they glide on like butter but once gripped down they are so firm...😏
Don't forget that the Westcott trigger can be used with most camera brands without having to buy a extra trigger. There is an adapter for Sony for $20 unless you want the Sony only trigger.
This is a good point. I wish more 3rd party flashes worked on more flash brands but that also opens up the ability to switch brands easier. -P
Thanks! Would be very interesting to also see a future 100 and 200 Watt flash comparison.
In the cases where I have placed Profoto flashes outside a building to shoot through windows at a distance of around 30’, I have not had issues with the flash trigger. Profoto is sensitive though to operating in full tropical sunlight and I generally shield the flashes from direct sun to prevent overheating.
Excellent video Lee. Really wonderful comparison of these lights. Thank you!
I haven’t read through the comments yet but one thing you missed about the Godox X3 was that the dial SHOULD HAVE been on the left side instead of the right. Reason being is bcuz your right hand will be holding the grip of the camera and your left hand usually is the more freely usable hand which will help you change settings. Just be so nice to have that dial on the left instead of the right
I have to respectfully add my 2 cents. I access my Apple Watch on my left wrist in inverted mode with the crown on the left of the screen, easily accessible with my right index finger and pressible with my right thumb.
As such, I actually found the Godox quite natural to handle in reverse... I find that my index finger hits the crown while my whole left hand naturally shades the entire screen and my thumb is perfectly poised for the test flash button. All while bracing against the hypothenar (the padded bit of your palm opposite your thumb) that keeps the camera steady.
I, personally, have found this a godsend in bright daylight outdoors, but I have big hands so someone with small hands might find it more difficult.... Maybe a rotatable / opposable head is possible, like with their speedlights, then they can please all parties...
Excellant comparison test! Certain specs are definitely more important to different photographers. With that said, I love my Profoto B10x Plus flashes. VERY clean, polished and well designed. Kind of an "after the fact" thing here, packing and traveling with these various flashes. Again, the Profoto lights easily pack in a camera backpack. The size of the others and their bulk could make it more troubling to pack into your backpack. It's great we consumers have so many options available though.
Totally agree!
I got the Neewer Q4. I really like it so far.
Same.
The very same.
This was an excellent review! Thank you for taking the time to do all the necessary research. It's much appreciated for more than just myself, I'm quite sure.
Totally appreciate t his Fstoppers, please dont stop what youre doing. I've been here since I was an amateur 12 years ago, and im still here learning still from you guys.
Awesome! Hope you are a seasoned pro now! -P
I wish you'd included the Elinchrom ONE, THREE and FIVE as they are big product here in Europe and other parts of the world.
Yeah I was just going to comment on the same thing. I shot Elinchrom for years, but switched to Profoto because I got sick of lugging around Rangers (awesome lights just not very portable unless you have assistants 🙃).
Yes, and now they did one crap video before knowing how to use product. Seems at Elinchrom didnt pay enough well for them LOL...
I use Westcott FJ400 for 360 e-commerce photos and my usage matches your testing. I end with a few hundred sequences non-stop. The screen nav is annoying but what I truly can't stand is that it's on one side of the unit instead of the rear. I shoot tethered and rarely touch the remote but it always feels like it's going to break.
I have had noticeable differences where the light is mounted. My under table and bg lights are sensitive to the radio power changes. Rotating the camera orientation has effects also. I've had more challenges indoors than out with flash.
My only surprise was about the Broncolor Pulso bayonet. It's no different the a lens mount.
The bayonet on Bron works a bit differently from the one on a lens. It has more of a safety purpose than a locking one. When engaged, the bayonet part thickness is the only thing that stops you from rotating the accessory a full 360 degrees. It's very practical specifically for boxes, of all shapes.
Thank you for this. I was all set the purchase the Westcott FJ series. The introduction of the Godox AD600 pro ii has me rethinking my decision. The fraction system for light power is the only factor keeping me from purchasing the Godox AD600 pro ii. However, after I purchased the Westcott FJ series, I watched another youtuber demonstrate that you can change the fraction to a whole number system. Decisions, decisions.
Ok. So then I question. Why would you not just put the modefier down and mount the flash to it and not the other way around. Why lift the big modefier when you can lift the small flash. Regarding the bowens mount modefiers that is
Is the westcott remote an e-ink display? If so that could be a SUPER battery efficient feature.
The weird screen refresh is what makes me think it's e-ink
One of the most detailed review.....Thank you !!!
I didn't see any tests on the recycling times of the strobes.
shouldve included the FJ200 if you were going to include the Q model from godox.. the feature you loved on profoto with the push button is also on FJ200
I'm just starting to reach a point where I can charge for my photography (not much yet, but its a start!). So although I'd love to be using profoto, my budget only allows for godox right now. But the 600pro II is on my purchase list. If I ever start making decent money, I will consider switching to profoto then though.
Great video though, thanks so much. Really interesting to see all those tests and the results!
I don’t think people can appreciate the simplicity and reliability of Profoto until they’ve used it and compared it to Godox. I tried switching to Godox to save a TON of money but I lasted a year before going back to Profoto.
The consistency, ease of use, straightforward mounting options, build quality and durability, and size make them just a much happier experience when in stressful professional endorsements.
That said, Godox offers a crazy amount of value for the price and the range of lights and accessories is staggering. (The variety can also be a con since it’s hard to keep up with the multiple mounting options and adapters for everything)
Exposed flash tubes can really help with big parabolics- like the big Broncolor ones.
This made my day.
We will chip in for your yearly colonscopy/prostate exam, as you are getting to that age. It is not the flash I would recommend, but what "the science" recommends.
Agree - we need the Godox X3 in an XL version 🤞
weird. i love that it's so small. I can normally keep it mounted with no issues.
Thanks for the review. I don’t share the obsession with touch screens though😅
I prefer buttons since i can memorize the placement and get haptic feedback. It’s just way quicker than any touchscreen and there‘s a reason why it’s there.
Fantastic breakdown, very insightful! I think, however, there is one important underdog light missing. Godox AD600BM. If you don't need TTL (who does?) it provides you pretty much the same stats as AD600Pros, just with less fancy modeling light. Battery lasts for 500+ flashes and it costs significantly less than the newer versions. I regularly use Profoto strobes for various projects and they are fabulous if you have the coin for it, but I personally own 4 of the Godox AD600BMs and cannot recommend them enough for the price. Also, the older version of Godox trigger's batteries lasts forever (10s of shoots). Compared to Profoto ones where I have to change batteries almost every shoot.
always choose your light based on what you shoot and where. the biggest light wont fit everywhere. because most of the time you don't need high power strobes. you need mobility. im a godox user and i shoot portraits and weddings. i have ad200, 300 & 400. for me the ad300 & 400 is absolutely fine in every situation because most of the time when you shoot outside the weight & size of your equipment's got headache when you using them. so for me, the size and the weight is more important than the power
That Broncolor remote looks like the X1 trigger from Godox, its possible Godox is the OEM for their triggers atleast.
@@ChaitanyaShukla2503 From what I was told by a Broncolor rep, the case is made by Godox but the electronics inside is made by Broncolor. Can't confirm that it's true, but apparently Broncolor does all of the electronic parts in Switzerland at their factory.
It's the only trigger with a hotshoe built in which is pretty weird to me considering Broncolor doesn't make a speed light. I do like those pass through triggers for wedding work because it lets you put a speedlight on your camera for bounce flash and also trigger wireless remotes. BUT, most of the speedlights now allow you to control their own speedlights remotely with the flash in commander mode so that's less of an issue.
I do see Broncolor makes an RFS 2.1 trigger which maybe is what Lee should have compared for this test, but it looks super archaic as well and probably wouldn't have altered his overall impression of the Scoro system much if at all. -P
@@FStoppers Broncolor designed the Siros to work with the Broncontrol app, which you can download onto a tablet or onto your phone, This gives a huge amount of control to the system. That is the best way to change all the settings. The Broncolor trigger is really only for triggering the lights and nothing more.
Flashpoint R2 aka Godox looks exactly like the Broncolor with the hot shoe however there is no delay in transmitting to the light, everything is instant. I have used mine so much I can’t believe it still works . My backup transmitter is the Godox X2T with hot shoe and has updated physical buttons. I’ve never needed it.
@@FStoppers The RFS2.1 has been discontinued a long time ago. Why keep on hammering Siros for lack of knowledge on the product? Why no review on the Siros 400ws?
Likely the shape of the Neewer flash is likely due to it being cheaper to build to a single board loadout, or at most a single low voltage and a single high voltage board. For example, if you look at newer budget oscilloscopes, they are more commonly moving to single board construction, with at most a separate power supply module stuck outside of the RF shield.
For exposed flash tubes, for larger modifiers, if you take a picture of one with an ND filter on, or a low output power, you will notice that an exposed tube more evenly lights them, especially when you want to go with lower powered flashes for larger modifiers, such as the Godox AD200.
What about the Godox AD1200Pro ? It's also battery powered ?
Godox was my first, and only, wireless system. They are continually improving their range.
Great Video!!!
Use the digital crown on the Godox X trigger to change flash power, it's awesome.
I Invested in the Godox ad300pro with an X3S trigger for my Sony A7RV. I was using the Sony HVL-60RM2 with a Sony trigger for off camera before the Godox, wow what a difference! I am definitely buying into the Godox ecosystem now!
What did you like more about the godox and dislike about the Sony? -P
Everything you didn't like about the Broncolor can be fixed by using their app. The app is so easy to use.
Thank you for this In-depth review of these lights I learned a lot watching your video.
I like that the godox x3 is rechargeable too
Thank you very much, this was very helpful. Many years ago I went with Profoto monolights, my fear is that I shoot with Pentax, and with film cameras. I have wondered how the compatibility would work. I know at one time you had to shoot with Canon, Nikon, or Sony, but never did.
how did you fire all the flashes at the same time with one camera, can 1 trigger fire different brand flashes? I thought the trigger had to be the same brand as the flash
Using Godox AD-300 and AD-100 (2 of each). Perfect for my needs.
A nice practical comparison. Thanks
I have the godox touch tiny remote. DO NOT USE THE TOUCHSCREEN. It's SO great to just use the dial...you can roll to the group and adjust on the fly. You can disable a group by double tapping the wheel. it's so good!
Great stuff! Would love to see a follow up with Rotolight and Elinchrom lights too if possible!
Rotolight doesn't make strobes, though. It wouldn't really be any kind of fair comparison.
For the freeze mode of the Godox AD600 Pro II, please check if the values of the flash duration you have in your chart are t0.5, not the t0.1
Flashpoint dropped an updated a manual XPLOR 600 SE that is incredible as well. I prefer it over the more expensive pro
Apple screen is so sensitive and nice, I wish one of the lighting companies uses their technology.
How is it that your AD600 Mark 1 set has a screw on the umbrella socket? I have four sets and none has and gaffer tape has been the solution since
thank you boss, im diving deep into the neewer system.❤
I'm Photix Indra500 and Einstein640 user, mostly use Indra with speedlight flashes.
This competition might missed paulcbuff CELESTIAL(I knew this one but never try yet)
Godox's freeze model duration really surprised me~
Broncolor looks stopped upgrade trigger...
Really good review, your audio is one of, if not the best on YT. One thing about the Profoto, you were rating them by if you would need the manual to figure out how to use it. While the 'pushing the knob in to do something different' is super cool, there's no way you'd figure that out unless it was by mistake or reading the manual. I've never used Profoto, and if someone had handed me a light prior to this vid I wouldn't have even thought to consider trying that. Nice work, Lee!
THANK YOU so much. I am on the market for 1 or 2, and you made my day. What do you think about the Rotolight?
Curious which system you are leaning towards after this review especially if you aren't already invested in one of their ecosystems yet? As for the rotolight, they don't make a strobe right? I don't see any reason to buy LED lights for photography work if you have a strobe with a good modeling lamp. If video is your only discipline then maybe you can get a bunch for quick setups but modifying them with softboxes and stuff seems like a nightmare to me. -Patrick
11:33 my guy.. on the AD400.. just attach the Bowens mount and toss the non-Bowens into the box and forget about it.
Since Godox recently updated the AD200Pro and AD600Pro to PRO II, any insight on a Godox adding a AD400 Pro II yet??
Godox X3 needs a normal battery (yea make it a little bigger) if you don't do outdoor flash stuff all the time and have it in the shelf for months. For studio I use a Bluetooth capable trigger and already use a big smartphone screen to dial stuff in.
In the end, all that matters in photography is who delivers the best light. Lee demonstrates that the ten year old Broncolor's cheap reflector that comes with the Siros is at the top in 2024!
Awesome content and video. Thank you!
Great Video. If I win the lottery, then I’ll buy Profoto equipment. 🤷🏻♂️
I feel you guys should make a video on how to protect strobes from damaging when they accidentally tip over due to wind from the softboxes. The only one that know that has some type of protection is the AD200 flash. Other than that, I don’t see any other flashes that have some type of protective mechanism. Thank you
A video on adding sandbags to your stands? 😂 In all seriousness, what is the mechanism on the AD200 that protects it from falls? -P
@@FStoppers Both the AD200 and 300 have rubber sleeves that help protect them from falls. Easier to make for smaller strobes like those.
So I have the Q4 and the controller. I had the same problem where I couldn't get it to flash. What I had to do was set it ID to something other than stock, and it worked.
Oh really??
Is the ID different than the channel and group? I watched Lee go through so many channels and groups but I never dug around for some other ID myself. -P
@@FStoppers Yup! By default the ID is set to off. So after some digging I was reading that other devices can interfere with the signal. So I just set it, and the controller to ID 1, then it worked.
The biggest down side with Godox lights is when you don't use the light for a few months, the battery turnd off internally, you have to open battery using knife and press reset button on the circuit board, can you imagine do something like this these days ?
I’ve asked this before because this has happened to me. I never found a button but instead had to use a paper clip to short out two connections. Is this still a thing!?!? I have some AD400s and the battery constantly goes dead and won’t charge if I don’t use it once every 3-6 months. -P
@@FStoppers Same here. no button, i use a tweezer to touch the two contact points after opening the battery.... the first time it happened I thought i had bought a faulty battery.
@@FStoppers I did the same, connected by a wire but I heard some models has a button.
@@FStoppers this is not talked enough, but when the battery goes in sleep mode you can reset it by pressing the battery check option on the battery itself without opening it and short the circuit. I am not sure why, but no one on the internet is saying it..
@@LucaZanatta-xq9ym hmmm, I’ll have to try that next time I notice the battery isn’t charging. I swear I hit every button and had to research the fix online. I thought it was a really rare issue but it’s been brought up no less than 5 times in these comments. -P
Hi
Good video but I would like to see a comparison on:
Flash action with liquids-freezing motion.
The only one online is very old.
Thanks
What exactly do you want to know? The flash duration t1 times will tell you the answer to that. -P
praying that ad200 II has the same flash mode at the new 600
Surprised you didn't include the 600 se in the mid range.
The possibility to expose the flash tube is essential for beauty dish use. If you use a reflector on the flash in a beauty dish, the light output will be different.
People say this and maybe with all these lights we can find a way to test it (we only have the collapsible beauty dishes here in Puerto Rico, not the solid ones). I did do a test about this concept using the Profoto Dome glass and to my eyes, it make almost no difference at all. Once you add retouching, color grading, and other pixel altering tools that goes into commercial and most professional work, the differences has to be negligible. I'd love to do a blind test with a fashion or beauty photographer and see how often they can tell the difference without knowing which one was which.
Here is my test video: ua-cam.com/video/K249jEa7zA4/v-deo.html -P
I believe you touched on it in the stress test, but would have liked hearing about the number of flashes that can be , or occur before the battery needs recharging( at full power , and half power. Your charts indicated around 343 full power flashes, on average. I would not want to assume doubling that number if turned down to half power .And if the unit can be plugged in to a wall outlet, and continue to work, and to recharge at the same time. I will also try to research these answers on the godox website, if this information is not available, or possible to read here. Otherwise, great review, as always.
Fantastic video, guys! Rob Hall used to be my go-to for strobe and flash reviews, but since he transitioned to video, I've been looking for new sources. You've done an excellent job with all the detailed data.
One suggestion regarding the Power Output test, which many people are particularly interested in: it would be really helpful if you could share your methodology. If the test was conducted using just the stock reflector aimed directly at the light meter, some might argue that it doesn’t reflect real-world usage, especially since different modifiers can significantly alter the results. For instance, using inverted modifiers like the Elinchrom Litemotiv Indirect or a zoomable parabolic softbox with a diffusion layer would likely yield results more aligned with the actual W.s rating by distributing the light more evenly.
Personally, I rely on direct flash/strobe quite a bit, but it would be really helpful to see how they perform within a softbox setup as well. That said, I think you've surpassed even Rob Hall’s reviews from back in the day, especially with your coverage of system triggers, wireless range, and the stress test; I've never seen a review that covers all of these aspects. Excellent work!
Good point. For this test all flashes were put in the same soft box with their reflector dishes on.
@@FStoppers sounded like you used an umbrella (with a diffusion I assume), which is fine as well. Though you might find the output would be different when you leave all the protruded bulb bare instead of the reflector dish. The Godox reflector is well known to be extremely inefficient. Anyway, thank you Lee for the test! That flash duration table alone helped a lot.
It was a soft box with double baffles. The bulbs were all contained inside the Profoto speed ring so the light was all firing forward. We also did other tests too to try to balance out any inefficiency in one test over the other. You are right, using native reflector dishes did have a slightly larger gap in power settings but from weakest to lowest it was like an additional .5 stop max.
That said, I’m going to make a new view about the exposed flash tube theory and see if it actually makes a difference or not. -P
@@FStoppers will you also do a Global Shutter test with these strobes? Thank you.
Phenomenal video, super informative
Excellent Review. Just one request: use the metric system. I don't know how far 60ft is. The whole world uses the metric system, it is the standard.
Great video! Love the content. But is it me or does the overall UA-cam video look choppy? What’s your shutter speed on this?
Which should I buy Godox SK400 or Godox AD 200 pro ? Please suggest and what's the difference in both ?
the broncolor trigger is probably produced by godox, its in the same housing as the X1r receiver housing
Did you do some search? no.
Which is the budgeted Strobe flash for Portrait and product photography to learn first of all Lighting techniques? Pls guide
yongnuo and godox
Nice, thoughtful and balanced review. Since you opted for popular strobes, it shows how far in popularity Elinchrom has fallen since neither the Elinchrom Five nor the Elinchrom Three made the cut. It also looks like Neewer is swooping in as the low cost leader Godox once occupied. I’ll be curious to see if Jinbei (Westcotf) upgrades its offering with the color screens.
Neewer might be the new low cost leader, but my guess is that their stuff is all made by Godox. So it's Godox by proxy, I'm pretty sure.
Great test as always! If you want top do a follow up, it would be nice to see how fast the remote triggers are when using an A9III or a leaf shutter camera. The Godox X3 seems to add a bit too much delay when shooting at 1/2000 on my Leica Q3 and the flash doesn't even show up in the photos when using a speed light and barely when using a strobe. I've heard that ProFoto have a "fast mode" with reduced lag.
Patrick here, while I haven't done a test on trigger latency, I just released a few A9iii videos and I haven't noticed any issue with wireless flash. You will need to manually test all your power settings and shutter speed settings (each combination) to find the perfect Flash Sync Timing in the Sony A9iii menu, but that should account for any delay the wireless trigger has. I know Tony Northrup mentioned using a wired connection to help reduce latency in one of his videos but I have not experienced the need to do that.
As for "fast mode", the only setting like that which I've seen is Freeze mode and Lee mentions that in this video. It doesn't help with sync timing from the trigger but it makes the flash duration shorter which helps when freezing motion with flash and sometimes might help with fast shutters speeds on the A9iii but not always. -P
@@betterthanathousand9686 Elinchrom transmitters have that "Speed mode" for people using leaf shutter systems. I have no idea if it works well, though.
@@FStoppers Hi Patrick! Have already watched your video! 👍 The problem is, that only the A9III lets you change the timing. When using a cable, it works just fine on a leaf shutter camera. You'll see some loss of light but that's exactly what you've described in your video. At faster shutter speeds the flash duration is longer than the actual shutter speed, so a certain loss is to be expected. What also works is using a speed light to trigger the strobe or another off camera flash. This also get's rid of the delay caused by the radio trigger.
@@betterthanathousand9686 oooh so the issue is with non global shutter cameras (leaf shutters) or future global shutter cameras that may not have that timing feature? Unfortunately it seems like syncing to a global shutter opens up a whole other can of worms. -P
Hi, at about 10:35, the light shape part, I think you are wrong to use modeling light to check the light shape? The right way is to check the light which produced by flash tube.
Those are the flash exposures. -P
Why weren't the Elinchrom lights included in the review?
Luck of the draw. We asked for the top selling flashes from BH and then filled in with a few fan favorites. Elinchrom just happen to not make the test. Paul C Buff didn’t either. It’s just how it happened. -P
@@FStoppers LOL. I have to say, I'm not really surprised that Buff gear wasn't on B&H list of best selling strobes 😁
@@YogueDaddy to be perfectly honest, I reviewed them a year or two ago on our channel and their remote was so bad I couldn’t see adding them to this review. The Bees and Einstein were great in the early 2010s but they feel dated now even with the update. -P
@@FStoppers I was just kidding, meaning that B&H doesn't sell them so they couldn't be on their best seller list.
Thank you.
One metric I do not believe was mentioned is recycle times at full power?
One thing that was fairly consistent in the past is the more expensive lights had more consistent recycling times as well as color temp when shooting quickly.
Is it still the same? Or have things changed?
I'm really surprised by the color consistency of Godox.
The reason why I didn’t do it is because the lights fire at different powers so a recycle test wouldn’t really be fair to the more powerful lights. I was surprised how fast they all were and I was also surprised that their recycle time didn’t really seem to slow as their batteries died.
Cool video dude. Although am almost sure the Ad600 Pro II's Flash Duration (freeze mode) is 1/20400
Source?
@@FStoppers On the "Essential Photo" website
www.essentialphoto.co.uk/products/godox-ad600proii-battery-flash
Just an observation on your White Balance spreadsheet, both the Godox AD600Pro and AD400Pro don't have a 'freeze' mode. They have a 'standard' mode and 'colour' mode and by default the colour mode is slower flash duration.
Ya it's just another name for the same thing. "color mode off" means freeze mode is on.
Yeah we did the tests in both modes. We may have labeled them the same as other brands but the faster flash duration is the “freeze mode” which always has less accurate color. -P
Really appreciate the time and effort that has gone into this. I currently use Elinchrom ELB500’s they’ve been great and I like the fact that the flash duration is shown on the pack as you change power levels. The locking system for soft box attachment is useless and really annoys me but the soft boxes are well made. I’ve been looking at the Profoto for the size/portability and ease of use but the range of the trigger is worrying. Godox looks good especially with the new trigger but I didn’t like the look of that light pattern (not sure this makes a difference to the finished image?) … decisions
@@ChrisBoultonPhotography you shoot direct strobe using the stock reflector frequently? If not, the light pattern in this test is not an issue.
@@hiepvophan Thanks
This reminds me of another test I want to do; are the advertised flash durations and those shown on some lcd screens accurate? In my limited testing, the numbers we were getting from the flash meter were not the same as the advertised specs. In the case of Westcott in particular, our readers were even faster than what was advertised but I bet in other cases they might be worse. -P