Godox - Photo Lighting Solutions
Back in 2010 I was working mainly in graphic design and photography, I was a Nikon shooter!
U may wonder why I'm telling you this? To give you some context on how I ended up working on manly video production. I think it was a natural progression and I can see the benefits of training as a graphic designer and then training in photography and video production.
When video became my main source of income I got rid of my still photography kit, as I was not really using the gear that much. Flash forward 5 or so years, in December 2019 I decided to get a new Dslr without making a commitment to do more photography professionally, just for me to be able to create more YouTube and Instagram content for my personal brand.
I ended up getting a canon 6dMK II, because all the lenses I use for video production are canon mount, so the Canon DSLR made sense.
I have been looking to create more complex photos with cooler and more controllable setups. For a few months I was researching what Speedlight system would allow me to create better imagery without breaking the bank.
I had a few requirements:
The Speedlights have to be powerful
They have to have wireless communication
They need to be TTL / manual
Have great built quality
They have to be reasonably priced
We have all owned a cheap flash in fact is the first flash we should all own. On Amazon or eBay you can buy a cheap manual flash for 50 euros. These flashes will allow you to experiment and understand how flash photography works and if it is something you want to further develop then you go and purchase a better flash unit.
There is no point in having a flagship Dslr that will set you back 5 grand and 1000 euro Speedlight just to take photos of your dog.
I have owned YongNuo and Neewer equipment. They make some seriously cheap equipment for photography and videography, in fact have a few of the YongNuo 360II lights that I use constantly on productions, they are like a cool RGB lightsabre that has an internal battery.
At some point during my search for the perfect Speedlight “for my needs” I came across a company called Godox - this led me to countless hours on the internet on review videos and tutorials. In general people were talking highly of this relatively unknown brand (in my opinion) and the consensus is that they had a very solid system, vast product range, the flash units have wireless communication, high speed sync, TTL capable, they are powerful and their prices seemed to be reasonable.
So I decided this is the system I'm going to invest my 2 cents in and I went ahead and over the course of a few months I bought the following gear.
Flashes:
GODOX V860II-C TTL Flash 2.4G GN60
Light modifiers:
2PCS Godox 12"x 47" 30 x 120cm Strip Honeycomb Grid Rectangular Softbox
Godox® 120cm / 47.2in Portable Octagon Softbox Umbrella
Accessories:
GODOX BD-07 Dedicated Barn Door with Honeycomb Grid
Godox S2 Bowen Mount S-Type Flash Holder Bracket
Wireless Trigger:
Godox XPro-C TTL Wireless Flash Trigger
Conclusion
My initial thoughts with this equipment is that I'm very pleased with the products Godox has created, and although I have not had time to experiment extensively with all of them I can already feel they are well built.
Regarding the flash units the OS is very easy to understand and navigate, the wireless protocol lets you control the units remotely giving you great freedom when composing your shots, even if the units are mounted on difficult to reach places, you are able to change the power setting remotely. This speeds up your workflow allowing you to try different light configuration in minutes and that's a very nice quality to have.
I'm working on writing more in-depth and detailed reviews on the individual items on my Godox photo kit. So stay tuned.
