When I bought my first flash gun I was under the illusion I
had to spend a lot of money to get something that would get me started in the
world of flash photography. Consequently I (naively) ignored the third party
branded external flash guns and speed lights and headed straight for the Canon
branded speed lights.
There are some “cheaper” Canon branded speed lights
available however I knew it was a waste of time going for something low powered
like the Canon 270EX when I would only be wanting more and spending on a speed
light with a bit more oomph in the future, so rather than buying cheap and then
replacing it in the future I figured I would be better off buying a powerful
speed light in the first instance. With this in mind, I dug deep (and very
deep) and bought the Canon 600EX.
I have to say that the Canon 600EX is an awesome speed light
and it did everything I needed it to (and some). The build quality of the 600EX
is exceptionally good, it is very powerful and it is packed full of features
(including manual mode, TTL mode and HSS). The only criticism I have other than
the price (it is damn expensive) is it doesn’t have the friendliest of
interfaces, which surprises me given Canon cameras are so intuitive.
I no longer use the Canon 600EX and, even though it is a
great speed light, I don’t intend on using one anytime in the future either. Unfortunately,
I had a slight accident with my 600EX and ended up breaking it beyond repair a
few days before an important shoot, so I had to get a new speed light, and fast.
With money a bit tight at the time there was no way I could
afford to replace the 600EX with another 600EX, and the only option I had was
to buy budget. Looking around I had two options, the Yongnuo 568 (which was the
most popular and had some very good write ups) and the Godox Ving (which had
some good write ups but was nowhere near as popular). The Godox Ving was
cheaper than the Yongnuo 568, but only marginally cheaper, but what clinched it
was the delivery. I could get the Godox Ving delivered free within 2 – 3 days
whereas the Yongnuo 568 was going to cost me around a tenner for delivery
within 5 days. A tenner may not sound like much, but given the speed lights
were just under a hundred quid each, the delivery cost was another 10% - which
is a fair old whack. With the free (and faster) delivery I made the decision to
buy the Godox Ving.
I wasn’t expecting much from the Godox Ving so when it
arrived I have to say I was surprised. It was no Canon 600EX but given it cost
a fraction of the price I wasn’t expecting it to be. That said, the Ving is
just as powerful as the 600EX, it has TTL metering and it also has HSS. The
Ving is also more user friendly and intuitive than the 600EX, which was a bit
of a bonus. Overall I was very impressed with the Godox Ving (read my review of
the Godox Ving speed light here), and the shoot went as planned.
I had originally planned to use the Ving for the shoot and,
in time, replace it with another Canon 600EX however that plan soon changed. I
was so impressed with the Godox Ving I ended up buying 3 more so I could have a
ganged 3 speed light set up and an on-camera fill flash. I managed to buy three
Godox Ving speed lights, plus three radio triggers (Yongnuo 622’s – read thereview here) for less than the cost of a single Canon 600EX. Now that’s what I
call bang for the buck.
I still have all four of my Godox Ving speed lights and all
of them are still going strong and as good now as they were the day I bought
them. Buying the Godox Ving speed lights has shown me that there really is no
need to spend a fortune on a speed light since it is only used to add a burst
of light when needed and it doesn’t matter whether a top end Canon 600EX or a
cheap and cheerful (but still exceptionally good) Godox Ving is used to provide
the light.
If you are looking for a new speed light don’t dismiss the
Godox Ving because it is a budget unit. Take a punt, give it a go, and I
guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
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| The Godox Ving speed light - an absolute steal and my flash of choice. Buy the Godox Ving from Amazon.com (US citizens) Buy the Godox Ving from Amazon.co.uk (UK citizens) |
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