Monday, 24 July 2017

The must have Godox lighting equipment

I’ll start this post explaining how I discovered the Godox brand, and why I use Godox speed lights and flashes…….

I was booked to do a photography shoot and a week or so before I ended up damaging my Canon 580EX speed light to a point beyond repair. At the time I was poor, very poor, but desperately needed a speed light for the shoot. I needed a speed light that was as powerful as my Canon 580EX and also had all the features (TTL and HSS modes) and the only options was a Yongnuo speed light or a Yongnuo speed light.

In my part of the world Yongnuo and Godox speed lights are only available on line therefore it was going to be an internet purchase. After looking at both the Yongnuo and Godox speed lights they both seemed similar and I ended up ordering the Godox speed light because delivery was free.

My intention was to use the Godox speed light for the shoot, save up and when I had enough money buy another Canon 580EX.

The Godox was meant to be a short term fix only. I wasn’t expecting much from the Godox, and when it arrived I was pleasantly surprised. The Godox speed light felt well-made, the buttons were a nice size and everything was in easy reach. Changing the mode and adjusting the settings was quick, easy and intuitive. The single cell battery was powerful and held enough juice for several hundred full power pops. I wasn’t just pleasantly surprised by the Godox, I was very impressed.

I was so impressed with the Godox speed light I ended up buying three more (for a ganged 3 light set up plus an on-camera fill flash) and the set up cost less than a single Canon 580EX. Since discovering the Godox speed light I haven’t looked back and I have purchased many other Godox flash units too.


The Godox speed lights I own and use comprise:-

Godox TT350 (full review here)

GUIDE NUMBER (35MM @ ISO 100) – 36M/ FOCAL LENGTH COVERAGE – 24MM – 105MM/ RECYCLING TIME – 0.1 – 2.2 SECS/ ETTL - YES/ EV COMPENSATION ON FLASH - +/- 3EV/ SLAVE - YES/ VERTICAL TILT – 0 – 90 DEGREES/ HORIZONTAL TILT – 0 – 90 DEGREES/ DIMENSIONS – 140MM X 62MM X 38MM/ APPROX PRICE $USD/£GBP -  $85/£70/ POWER – 2XAA BATTERIES

I wanted a small speed light that was powerful, had manual/TTL/HSS/stroboscopic modes and had a built in wireless receiver for travel photography. There are a few speed lights that satisfied my needs, however I chose the Godox TT350. All of the speed lights are very similar, but I know the Godox brand, I have experience with the Godox brand and I trust the Godox brand so it made sense to buy the Godox TT350.

The Godox TT350 doesn’t disappoint and I have no regrets buying it. 


"Quick whistle stop tour of the Godox TT350, courtesy of Youtube"


Godox V860 (full review here)

CLASS – MID-RANGE/ GUIDE NUMBER (200MM @ ISO 100 IN METRES) – 60M / RECYCLE TIME (FULL POWER IN SECONDS) – < 1.5 SECONDS/ MANUAL POWER SETTINGS - 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32,1/64 AND 1/128  /TTL MODE - YES/ STROBOSCOPIC MODE - YES/ HSS MODE - YES/ FLASH EXPOSURE COMPENSATION - -3EV - +1EV/ OPTICAL SLAVE – YES/ OTHER TRIGGER – WIRELESS TTL SLAVE MODE/ SWIVEL FLASH HEAD – 0 DEGREES TO 360 DEGREES/ FLASH HEAD TILT - -7 DEGREES TO +90 DEGREES/ MANUAL ZOOM HEAD – (14) 20 - 200/ AUTO ZOOM HEAD – (14) 20 - 200/ BOUNCE CARD - YES/ LCD DISPAY - YES/ BATTERIES REQUIRED – SINGLE CELL BATTERY/APPROX PRICE ($USD/£GBP) - $199 / £161

The Godox V860 was the first Godox speed light I bought, and I am so glad I did. Although I didn’t realise it at the time braking my Canon 580EX was the best thing that could have happened. If I hadn’t damaged my 580EX I would never have discovered the Godox brand.

The V860 is an awesome speed light. It does everything the Canon 580EX does but at a fraction of the cost, so you get a lot of bang for the buck with this flash. Okay, the Godox V860 isn’t as bombproof as the Canon 580EX, but given the cost differential this is to be expected. I can guarantee that the Godox V860 is very well made and will provide years of trouble free service. 

Godox Witstro AD360 (full review here)

The Godox Witstro AD360 is basically a super large speed light. Whilst it has a hot shoe attachment I would not recommend putting this flash in the hot shoe because it is too big, too heavy and would be too top heavy and make an unbalanced and unusable set up. The Godox Witstro AD360 is an off camera flash solution only.

The Godox Witstro AD360 is a powerful light that is perfect for outdoor use in the midday sun. It is also a great flash to freeze the action using HSS and fast shutter speeds. The power of the AD360 is something else, and you have to see it to believe it.

The Godox Witstro AD360 is powered by an external battery pack, so the set up isn’t light and carrying it around can be a bit of a faff. That said, it is a good flash for lighting on location and this is what I use it for. 

Godox Witstro AD200 (full review here)

The Godox Witstro AD200 is the newest member of the Godox family, and what a member it is. The AD200 is as powerful as three V860 speed lights in a package that isn’t much bigger than a single speed light. The AD200 is powered by an internal single cell battery, so there is no power pack and no power cords with this – making it very portable.

There is no hot shoe foot on the Godox Witstro AD200 but it is so light you can simply hand hold it if you don’t want to use a light stand. The AD200 has a wireless receiver built in which means you need the Godox X1 to fire it. This is an additional cost, but it’s not that expensive.

Please feel free to check out the following footage about the Godox lighting equipment.


Related reading:

Below are links to other flash photography articles, posts and tutorials you may find useful/interesting. Please feel free to head on over and take a look.



Photography ramblings video playlist that may be of interest

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