It's Better AND Worse Than I Expected - Godox V1 Pro In Depth Review
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- Опубліковано 12 лют 2024
- The original V1 took the world by storm and dominated the flash market for years. But it's been a long time since then, and technology has continued to move forward. What has Godox brought to the table to move things forward, and what makes a flash "pro" anyway? We're going in Deep to find out how the new Godox V1 Pro, or Flashpoint R2 Zoom Li-Ion X S Pro measures up.
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Chapters:
0:18 Intro
0:36 Build Quality & Teardown
3:44 Feature Set
9:07 Usability
10:30 Light Quality
12:54 Photoshoot BTS
15:17 Value
17:33 Conclusions
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Your channel is massively underrated, Wes. I love your analytical approach, but obviously that’s not something many people do. In depth info is not as popular as quick and generic videos 😢
Great review. A proper in depth review as titled. Thanks Wes.
I’ve been thinking about transitioning to Wescott even though I have 5 Godox flashes in my kit as of now.
I keep gravitating towards the simple yet bright and easily visible interfaces of their products.
Great video. Excellent breakdown. I almost understand it now haha
Great video - AGAIN!😮
That is a superb work Wes, amazing test with severe procedures and accurate measurements... bravo !
Owning the V1 original, I use it for events and it had its fair share of usage and abuse. I was surprised by how well it performs, based on my past experience with older mobile flash units (Metz, Nikon, Olympus, and a few others) from which I always came back disappointed. This V1 was, after a few days of errors and thoughts, a much more efficient tool than I originally expected.
Then... it just gets utilized occasionally, not daily or even weekly, probably 3 to 4 times a month. Considering this type of usage, it falls just perfect for me.
Especially considering the higher retail price of this new version, the exact same interface, the strangely bad LED assistance light, the just-as-slow charging time (when they included a very clever USB-C connector, theoretically allowing for a faster refill !), and many other details not going the right way...
For a photographer with an almost daily use of flash, in need of a better resistance to heat, an easier (yet not faster) way to recharge batteries, buying this new V1 Pro makes sense... under one condition : she/he must have a fixed way of operating the unit. Because, and specifically with this NOT improved interface, we loose time as soon as we need to dive into the menu/pages.
To get the most out of it, you must set the unit to your liking before shooting and not touch it for the whole gig.
I suspect Godox had to get rid of a stockpile of shells and screens and dials and elements, so they revamped it just a bit and sticked a "Pro" to make it look cool. But that is not a massively better item than the original one.
Godox, if you ever read this - which you should if you don't want to end up like Canon, that "sells" their flashes almost only to sponsored pro photographers and barely any to regular customers, making this department a money-loosing one - be assured we are now more than ever careful about what we buy. Because we are (most of us, at least) not millionaires, we have dozens of purchased equipments in boxes, storages, collecting dust before eventually being thrown or given, we live in small places (for the non-millionaires ones) and refuse to stuff our gear in every empty corner !
Godox... you did really great with the original V1, it was a hit from the start, then you built a whole universe with interoperability between most items. We loved it, and it showed in your statistics !
Only this time to come with a "mild" proposition, a "Pro" unit that is just as non-Pro than the previous one.
I never will buy this new one, it does NOT live up to its tags, and shall wait for the next generation. Hopefully, it will look like something of its times. 🤔
We give this review 10:10 - thank's a million - so much appreciated
Had to come back to West because his topics are what I need explained and organized. Liked the video before watching it
IMO, even if everything else stayed the same, the heat performance is worth the additional price for event/wedding photographers.
Idk, when I have to push the flash to 1/1 I bring my AD200 around. The V1 stays on camera and for running and gunning with a flash I'm usually around ISO 1600/3200 where the flash doesn't have to work as hard and I can retain some ambient light, I've done a few weddings and I regularly shoot full pitch black events and I've almost never overheated the V1
@@Galf506Pitch black events are much less demanding on the flashes. It’s when you have to overpower strong backlight coming in through windows behind the ceremony or head table, or when you have a reception venue with strong ugly downlighting that needs to be overpowered, that you must keep the ISO down and crank up the flash power… and that’s where you run into overheating issues.
As a long-time V1 owner, the interesting Canon competitor IMO is the EL-5, which was announced after the EL-1. It is on sale for $350 after an instant rebate and I got one like new in box from a major retailer for $300. Probably due to the competition from Godox, it introduces a lithium-ion battery. On the pro's side, it has a nicer feeling build and weather sealing, a slightly more compact build, a faster recycle time, and my experience so far, the metering is more predictable when bouncing vs. the V1. The interface is a bit nicer, though not on the level of what I see in the Westcott. On the con's side, it isn't part of an affordable wireless and accessory system and even basic accessories are currently unavailable, particular a color filter set. It also isn't compatible with Canon DSLRs or even current R cameras from the R5 and earlier due to a new foot/shoe design.
I got mine last week to replace my SB5000 as primary on camera. A few test shots and it seems to be much improved. I have a wedding on Saturday and that will be the real test. So far I really like it and the connection to my Godox studio lights is a huge plus.
Let us know how it goes. I also shoot on Nikon and iTTL has been somewhat inconsistent on mirrorless compared to DSLR. With both Godox and Nikon flashes.
@DrGreenthumbPhd The shoot is complete and the flash is great! I tried ttl and it was overpowering each shot so I switched to manual and all went well. Fill was great at 1/8 to 1/16 and battery life is fantastic. I'll work on ttl when I'm not on job. The SB5000 I shot almost exclusively on ttl on a D750 and the Z8 and it was pretty much perfect. I'm sure I can tweak a little on the V1 Pro and get it better.
@@jshields67 Yup I find I have to set flash compensation to -0.7 or -1 with TTL. I wonder if it's a metering mode issue.
@DrGreenthumbPhd I'll do some studio test and see what the relationship is and if it's consistent I'll report back to Godox. They could do a firmware update to improve.
Last night I used TTL for a bit and ended up going with +0
But there were a lot of black curtains in the room skewing things.
Improving the shoe with larger screws was necessary, it was a very weak shoe.I use the on-camera flash with a flashbracket and front flash, I carry other flashes to give volume, the front flash only to fill out,connect an external source directly to the flash if it would improve the response in shooting speed , Good Job 😀
Hi Wes! Great video series on the V1-Pro (so far, as it sounds like you're going to do more.) Thank you for all of your efforts. Question: Does adding the PB battery pack reduce the refresh times at all, or in any other way alter the flash's performance beyond the total flash count going up from the internal battery? Maybe extends the overheat duration, since the load (and HEAT) is on the external battery instead of the internal battery, thus not raising the temps inside the flash body's housing as much?
As far as I know it has no effect on the recycle times, and overheating it more constrained by the head generated inside the flash head rather than the power system, so it’s just more about having endless flashes. Although I’m looking forward to someone putting that to the test.
Please let us know if anyone tests this with an external battery pack. (such as Quantum Turbo SC)
A very good review
A very good comment
nice review. at 1:19, we see the junction between two plastic parts. My godox V1S, now with metallic on camera foot (so that foot doesn't break anymore), breaks there in portrait mode between the big recatngular flash body and the "foot with its secured ring attach", full extension, magsphere2 under the weight of the parts. Did they make these 4 screws also longer... ?
great review as always Wes.
I don't ever see overheating on my V1 so seems like i'm better saving my dosh for now.
I have suffered many time from the overheating issue of V1. I had owned three of them. And they all overheated during half hour shooting.
this was almost what I was looking for, great video, in depth analysis, If I use 1/8 power for example how many shoots could I make in a row?
300 in a 10 minute period.
With the user interface not changing, that is a positive for many, particularly when mixing the old with the new. Same reason many use identical cameras when shooting a wedding, less chance of a screw up when changes have to be made on the fly.
I did say it’s good for Me (and likewise others already in the system).
But at what point does that stop being an excuse to keep doing things the same way as always, even when there’s a better way? Heck, they could even emulate the old user interface on a new screen as an option for people who want to stick with the legacy UI. That would be pretty easy to execute on their end.
@@WesPerry For me it's a double whammy. What does the new add or improve over the old? And, does this new improvement positively affect me? Let's take this whole global shutter thing with the ability to shoot at 130 fps. If you are like me and don't like editing massive numbers of images, the 130 fps really is almost a negative.
But sometimes I have to ask myself, do I not like the change because I am an old fart and the change is a positive? Or is the change a genuine negative. When I got my Canon 5D mk 4 at first I didn't like the touch screen but overtime I've become a full time convert. So when I recently purchased a used 7D mk2 for its crop factor for my Sigma long zoom, I got all whiny because it didn't have a touch screen. When electronic viewfinders first came out I was an old fart reluctant to change until I realized you can see the exposure changes in the viewfinder. Now when I go back to my DSLR Canon cameras, I get all whiny because I can't see the changes in the viewfinder.
might pick up the westcott speedlight instead.
You have a very thorough analysis of the Pro V1 flash unit. I used to use Nikon SB flash units with Pocket Wizards. I do not miss using the PW flex units at all. While the control wheel and the icons are a bit confusing, and a bit difficult to use at times when performing on-camera flash, I find that when I am using off-camera flash, that things are simplified. I use a Seknonic 858 with a Godox trigger. I can make all of my flash changes dynamically. I also use the Godox trigger on the camera, and that is not all that bad. I agree that Godox needs to update the screen on the V1 Pro, and I am guessing that there will be an evolution to the V2 Pro.
There is also Jinbei, not as easy to get but I might get one for my next flash.
I don’t think they really exist where I am.
thanks for doing this breakdown Wes. I wish the news was better, but alas.
Hoping for better buttons?
@@WesPerry better interface but mostly better color consistency and performance.
@paulgero yeah the original “pro” promise from godox to have better colour and output consistency seems to have been forgotten (since then AD100 Pro came out)
thank you for the review! Let's be honest, how many of photographers use those dials often? Most of the time triggers are used, and speedlight buttons usability issue is almost gone, right?
If you're an event photographer who uses an on camera flash, then you're using it all night long in a reception or commercial event to control it as well as other lights.
Great review ~Thank you! Could probably care less about the mini sub front flash, but would benefit from the better thermal shutdown, as my V1's have shutdown on me several times in middle of critical shoot. Like you said, the price is too much for the "features." LOVE my new R2nano Tx, so why not upgrade the screen on this v1pro? So, probably pass and hope/wait for a V2.
Wondering if you have tested the Neewer Z2 in relation to Godox V1/pro for recycle time and thermal shutdown? Z2 is now $150, so quite a savings (if it functions well enough).
Appreciate any insights you can add!
Great vid. Would like to know more about your setup during the dance shoot. Did you bounce the light and use the smaller flash? Was it multiple flashed going? It's hard to tell.
Bounced the main head, and used the direct sun flash, while also using a V1 as a kicker
does the sub-flash have a distance limit in TTL? my copy will only fire at subjects around 4-5 ft away. anything closer it doesn't pop
I bought Godox v1 pro and AD100 pro. V1 can be set to be a transmitter and a receiver. When I try to link v1 with ad200 pro oddly I saw they link only in M mode and not in TTL mode. Please help me to understand what I am doing wrong. Gr ch and ID match between v1 and ad200 pro.
I had to switch from V1 to AD100 Pro because of the overheating issue. Do you know how the Pro compares to AD100 in terms of overheating/recycle times?
Thank you for the most detailed review!
The 100 will always win here, as it has an internal fan, and about 50% more power. But the update brings them a lot closer together.
Thank you for your very clear and detailed analysis! I own a profoto a1 and godax v860ii, the a1 can always guarantee the quality of photos, accurate white balance, but the sony brand a1 hotshoe bit is too easy to bend, has been repaired twice, now not quite dare to use it for work; the v860ii has a very adequate battery, but the shocking white imbalance, and also at high speed bursts of shooting does not work.Thinking about a flash for event and wedding shooting, might get your advice on whether to go for godax v1pro or sony f60rm2?
I’d have a hard time justifying the f60rm2 for the price and limited versatility. But it is the flash likely to give you the most stable white balance and ttl due to the tight first party integration.
Best review
The over heating taking way longer while pushing the flash might be worth the difference
Smashing review: Hobbyist only here. I went with the Neewer Z1 (super deal at the time): Neewer has a much more limited ecosystem and if I had never fancied the round head (because I could) I would have gone Godox, and also Godox if I were not just a hobbyist. I would easily buy the Godox V1 pro over the new Neewer V2, but they both look tough sells over their older counterparts. If I were doing it for money I would be Godox (for the ecosystem) and would consider the V1 pro for battery life, likely be OK with the downgraded button feel and likely not be really concerned about the lack of the new swish rest of UI (market prices in mind).
I’ve heard from some people with bigger hands/thumbs that the control wheel is literally unusable for them, and had to return the flash. Rather a shame that something so simple can cause such an issue.
I would like to ask for your opinion, coming from tt680iii should i buy the pro or normal one?
Great review! The fact that they didn't change the D-Pad is a HUGE fail! I've had my D-pads go out twice. They are mush.
Hi Wes, is the Westcott umbrella you used the 7’ one? Was yours the white version? I noticed on my silver version, the silver (pigment?) has rescinded and deteriorated leaving bronze coloured patches. A little disappointed with the quality
Mine is the opaque white one
I haven’t tried the silver one yet
I bet they will make a new line with the better screen
And more $$$ 😩😂
Hello Wes, I have a question regarding the XPros trigger. I tried to do a undate, and now the trigger will not turn on. I made mistake and installed the wrong firmware!!! What is my next move to get this correct and thank you in advance.
Did you try going back to install the right firmware after? I’ve done that before myself, and it worked again after putting in the right one.
My Godox commander and flash can drive just 3 channels in TTL, the other just in manuale mode! I don't know why because Godox can have all them in TTL with other brands and also Nikon can run al lot of TTL Nikon flashes. Can the new one have more than 3 TTL channels with Nikon? Thanks so much.
hello, i would be interested by tutos on sony hvl-f60rm2, its capability to discuss with a7rv for best face illumination,... Unfortnately, no modeling linght anymore, a strong magnet inside for diffuser detection incompatible with magmod products, especially latest V2 ones stronger magnets and, no TCM to keep tt values as starting point for manual mode.
Hey Wes! Which kind of belt camera holder do you use (4:40)? Can you give me a link? Thanks from Hungary.
I probably can’t give you a link that works in Hungary, but it’s a Spider Holster system: spiderholster.com/collections/camera-holsters
@@WesPerry Thank you! I know the brand, it's available in Hungary, I wasn't sure it's Spider because it's directly on your belt. But we can wear this kind of way as well.
Have you got Sony A7 IV to measure light with V1 in TTL mode properly?
What’s “properly”? Lol
I used the V1 and V1 Pro side by side at an event last night, did a fair amount of ttl just to try… but I’m a bad one to ask because I always hate ttl 😂
Once I switched back on manual I was so much happier as usual.
I was hoping the front facing flash would be more useful/versatile.
Canon EL-1 seems to be out of stock and they have EL-5 for $400 which seems to have taken its place in terms of features and performance(only thing missing is the internal fan). So overall this V1 Pro certainly fall short and feels outdated compared to Westcott and Neewer lights with round head.
Not everyone likes a touchscreen interface.
A lot of professional photographers appreciate buttons because they can use them blind.
I’d like to have Both 👌🏻
🤔
Do you think the pilot light should be 5500K, be on the axis of the flash and zoom? I changed the LED to the V1 with 4 5500K LEDs and removed the magnifying glass so that the light would open up more and now it can be seen in the dark to take the photos.If the light is 5500K and you put a
F CTO both the light and the flash are 3200K, if you have that LED the light will be just 1000K
Yeah I don’t get why they don’t make it the same temp as the flash, or at least approximately the same? 🤔
I told GODOX the same thing, and they told me that they would pass it on to the technical department. 🤔🙄🙄, Have you done any testing of a flashbracket?🤔
I really wish they would unlock multi shooter mode. I shoot with someone else, and we share lights occasionally during winter wedding ceremonies in a tent. The triggers have a mode with 3 people as the icon. That allows every shot to send a power and trigger signal. These flashes only send a trigger signal, and you have to power cycle or hit the test button to update. Wish they added that in a firmware update.
Can i change the canon hot shoe and install sony shoe ?
That doesn’t seem to be the case. Others have tried. The firmware in the flash has specific protocols to speak to different camera brands, unfortunately.
(And also swapping firmware doesn’t seem to work, either. More often just bricking it until the original firmware is reinstalled).
Nice that they improved the thermal management, but it still can’t even come close to competing with the Profoto, which can shoot continuously forever it seems, even outdoors on hot sunny days. It’s really not even close. Too bad Godox didn’t steal that part of the design.
Thankfully they didn’t steal the price, either 😏
True, however if you’re a specialized event photographer with fast recycle needs like me, this flash simply won’t cut it and the price of the Profoto becomes well worth it, as nothing else competes without going much larger/heavier. Believe me I’d much rather save the money if I could. Maybe the V2 will address it.
Does the new trigger have Bluetooth
Hmm. It doesn’t seem to.
Neewer Q3, $200 with transmitter.
Great review, i have the V1, and need the power bank charging ootion, should I buy the pro, or will getting the battery alone as it has the usb-c port be enough?
It’s not recommended to use the flash while the battery is charging. Too much heat.
Take one point off usability for no backlit buttons! We use flash in dark environments, why can't a few key function buttons be backlit? Bummer!
Oooops! Great vid too! Thank you.
The subflash is really stupid, besides this wiithin this price range it is the best flash you can find, keeping in mind the included ecosystem, and at least you can read the power settings on you other flashes on your controller (profoto ???) . My remote controller is the X pro II S the screen is dull but the info you need is available, the same with the flash v1 pro ,ad400 pro,ad300 pro etc…. they do a good job. But If you work at a hour rate of 3000 usd don’t hesitate go for profoto ( if you have to replace the flash you have to send it to the dealer and wait 4 weeks) with Godox, just replace it in 5 min. Spend some money on your softboxes and other diffusers, they make the difference. If you are a pro , your foto quality depends on your lighting skills, but you can always say the flash is not good😂.
You didn't mention the fact that you can't charge the battery with a USB C to USB C cable if the power supply you are using supports PD (which is, I think, all of them). That's lso true of the little charger that comes with the V1.
I tested that and it worked fine for me.
And conversely the tiny charger Doesn’t work for me with my PD chargers, and I need to plug it in via USB A 🤔
USB charging is such a disaster of mishmashed specifications 😑
@@WesPerry it's because they are using weird cheap tech in the chargers - they should be able to detect and talk to/modify the current coming into the unit, but instead it just refuses to charge.
The new battery appears to use the QC handshake instead of PD, but also will accept passive 5V. An odd choice for sure. QC has been on its way out for years now.
I hate their flash has color temperature and color tint all over the place. You literally can not use mutiple different model flash set up for product shoot. If you need mutiple flash set up, they all have to be same model.
My stupid v1 gets hot after less than 1/32 power shots, it's almost 2yo but I expected better
After how many 1/32 shots?
No weatherproofing these days is minus 20 points, not 1/2.
I am going to progressively move that point larger, but some have been greatly offended in the past at my suggestion that an “outdoor flash” should be in any way weather resistant 🤦🏻♂️
OLED screen would be nice but would probably raise the price at least another $100
At scale a 2-3” oled with lower resolution (as these flashes always are, no need for “retina” is only $5-20.
Nice review, btw It named “god-ox” instead of “go-dox”. 😅
They actually gave up on that a year or two ago. And as such my pronunciation often ends up somewhere between the two 🥴😂
Godox color issues are maddening. 7150K is outrageous.
I thought all flash all had high cri.
CRI talk is regarding the LED
@@WesPerry oh ok
Ah, I also thought your CRI and R9 ratings were of the flashes main lamps. I had ordered the V1 a few days ago and was almost going to cancel the order :)
It's a shame you didn't put the links for all those competitive flashes in the description. Some of them I've never even heard of!
I long time ago I used to, but could tell almost no one ever clicked on anything other than the main topic item, so I stopped, since it was just a bunch of work for no reason 😬
The UI and worse control wheel will keep me from buying this.
Thankfully I have a huge nose that prevents my forehead from hitting the wheel 😂
V1 Pro, I'll pass on that. Seen someone else's V1 main function buttons fall off and the build quality very poor and over priced with no real big improvements. You'll be better off with the ProPhoto brand, which has the touch screen and B&W display interface of this V1 Pro. My old Godox 860II works floorlessly still today with the gimmicks of today's speedlights have.
You mean Profoto. And flawlessly. Need a spell checker
You almost can buy 3 V1’s for the price of one ProFoto A10 . Hard pass.
Not really an attainable comparison for most photographers unfortunately
Profoto A10 does not have touch screen. I own two of them.
oh cool, our Ukrainian flags 🔵🟡
Slava Ukraini 💪🏻🇺🇦