There are two types of photographers with their own opinions: those who love Godox lights and those who think Godox lights are not suitable for professional use. Here are some considerations to consider if the Godox system is right for you.
Just as we use our professional judgment to select the right lenses and other equipment for the job, we must also use our judgment to decide which lighting system is best for our own workflow, regardless of which system is best. For example, a four-wheel drive vehicle can bring groceries home from the supermarket just as easily as a two-wheel drive car, so if you never drive in the mud or mountains, it doesn’t matter what vehicle you use. The same goes for lighting. If you can do your job 100% with one set of lights, that’s all you need to worry about.
Here are some popular YouTube channels from outstanding educators explaining why you should use brands other than Godox.
John Gress: Elinchrom
In a recent video, John Gress, who admits to never having owned or used a lamp, explains why he believes Godox lamps are not for professionals. The title of this video has been changed from „Disposable Lamps“ to „Non-Professional.“ He states that Godox lamps are disposable because if they ever break, you just throw them away and buy a new one instead of fixing them. But the same can be said about everything from a Ferrari to a flash. If the cost of repairing them is more than buying a new one, you just buy a new one. If not, you fix it.
To support his opinion, Gress focuses primarily on the cooling system by pointing to specific pages in the manuals. For Godox lights, the manuals state how many times you can fire the flash at full power in rapid succession to activate the heat protection settings and before there is a delay in the recharge time. For the Godox AD200, it is 40 flashes at full power in rapid succession.
In his video, he explains, „I’m almost certain that anyone who uses these Godox lights is probably damaging them during use.“ And referring to the Godox AD200, he said, „So let’s say that after maybe 3 to 5 years of use, this Godox light is probably going to stop working because, like a normal photographer, you shot more than 40 frames at full power during that period before it overheated and the light was damaged.“
I’m not sure what kind of photography would ever require you to shoot 40 full power shots with a 200 watt lamp in quick succession, let alone at such regular intervals that you’re constantly stressing and destroying your lamps. If you were ever photographing dancers or action sports or anything where you need to use the flash in quick succession, you would use a stronger lamp with a lower power to get a faster recharge time. A Profoto B1X (500 watt lamp) has a recharge time of 1.9 seconds at full power and 0.1 seconds at the lowest power. So if you need a fast recharge time for shooting in quick succession, you would never use a full power flash regardless of the lamp manufacturer. You would use a flash twice or four times as powerful as you need and then shoot it at a lower power to be able to take advantage of a flash recharge time that matches your camera’s ability to shoot quickly.
So the assumption that „normal photographers“ do this so regularly and that the lights would likely stop working in three to five years if using Godox is probably far-fetched. But it’s easily proven. The AD200 has been on the market since 2017, so you can do a quick Google search to see if one of the most popular external flash systems on the market has seen an increase in bulb degradation to the point where they stop working completely after three years.
Gress further speculates that since the AD200’s $40 replaceable bulb wears down to the point where it no longer works, the entire AD200’s housing must also wear out completely, rendering it worthless and requiring the entire unit to be replaced every three years. He explains that Elinchrom lights would typically lose about $300 of their $900 value in three years, so purchasing an Elinchrom is an equivalent financial investment. The Elinchrom One, for example, costs $900 and is the equivalent of the Godox AD200, only it is only about 60% as powerful, being a 131-watt light compared to the 200-watt AD200.
YouTuber Wes Perry noted that when using the AD200 at 50% power, it would take about 5 minutes to see a lag in recharge time. Another option for the same price as an Elinchrom One would be to buy a 600 watt Godox AD600 Pro and use it at ¼ power to match the performance of the Elinchrom One and get a recharge time of about 6 flashes per second at that lower power.
What does all this mean? The whole argument about inadequate cooling is only relevant if you’re a photographer who regularly shoots 40 images in quick succession at full power. If that describes your workflow, it’s an important consideration. If you can spend $900, you can go for either the 131-watt Elinchrom One or a 600-watt AD600 Pro from Godox. With the Godox lamp, you would have a much more powerful lamp with a larger battery, giving you more shooting options while still allowing you to continuously shoot every second for a long period of time.
If a 600 watt lamp is out of the question for you because it is too big and you carry your equipment in a belt bag or simply in your hand and regularly take over 40 pictures in quick succession at full power, then this tip makes sense and you should consider whether the Elinchrom lamps are not better suited for you.
Miguel Quiles: Westcott
Miguel Quiles has thoroughly tested the Westcott FJ400 400-watt light and calls it the best light for beginners. The specs of the Westcott 400-watt light are very similar to the Godox AD400 Pro. If you buy a light and a trigger, the Westcott light is a bit cheaper than the Godox light, but a Westcott trigger works with all major camera brands (for a Sony, you’ll need a $20 adapter because of the weird hot shoes). So if you ever switch camera brands, you may have to replace all your lenses, but at least you won’t have to buy a new $60 trigger.
Another advantage of the FJ400 is that you can use it while charging. The AD400 has a power adapter, but it costs extra.
My biggest concern with the Westcott system is that they have a very limited selection of flashes. Currently they have an 80 watt flash, a 200 watt flash and a 400 watt flash. Godox on the other hand has several flashes, a 100 watt flash, a 200 watt, 300 watt, 360 watt, 400 watt, 600 watt, 1200 watt and a 2400 watt flash. There is also an adapter available for the 200 watt flash so you can combine two 200 watt flashes into a single 400 watt light.
The importance of choice
I started out lighting with a single flash. Once I learned how to bounce and modify light and then wanted to learn two and three light setups, I bought two AD200s and the adapter that allowed me to shoot outside more comfortably. Later, I needed more powerful lights to expand my capabilities and the types of photos I could offer my clients, so I bought two AD600s. Most of the time I shoot indoors, but since I live in a city known for its perfect weather and beautiful beaches, I am occasionally asked to shoot outside.
When I’m shooting outside, I primarily use my AD600 because I either need as much power as possible to compensate for ambient light, or because I need to shoot more shots and want to shoot at lower power, as well as longer battery life and faster recharge. I chose the AD300 because it’s the size of an 85mm f/1.4 lens and has much smaller batteries than the AD600. Because of its size, I don’t have to worry as much about it tipping over and becoming top heavy when shooting outside. I was able to carry the light and multiple batteries in a bag that was smaller than the size of an AD600 with one battery. It was portable and powerful enough for virtually all outdoor shooting. The AD200 wasn’t powerful enough for all my uses. The AD400 was a bit too big for me. I had several options and got a light that worked perfectly for me. As I added new pieces to my collection, they all worked with the same trigger and I was able to expand without giving up the pieces I already had.
If you’re going to grow and expand your lighting, it helps to have a system where you have multiple choices. Westcott’s current most powerful studio light is the FJ400. It came out two years ago. The FJ200 and FJ80 came out about a year ago. It’s a tiny selection that’s not really growing at a serious pace for a competitive company. I’d be concerned about buying from a line of lights with so few options. It just seems like Westcott wants to dabble in the strobe light space and see where it goes, much like Microsoft did with the Zune.
Stopper: Profoto
Almost three years ago, Lee Morris compared the Godox AD400 Pro to the Profoto B10 . He found that there were some categories where the B10 won and others where the AD400 won, and concluded that the AD400 is the obvious choice for the majority of people. For example, the B10 had better flash durations in freeze mode, but lost out on color accuracy compared to the AD400 in regular mode.
One of the most common criticisms I hear when comparing Profoto and Godox lights is that Profoto’s lights are built like a tank and have a much higher build quality. If you are in a situation where you need a light built like a tank, then this should be an important consideration for you. I work primarily in the studio and my flashes are not usually exposed to hazardous conditions, so lights built like a rugged jeep rather than a tank are sufficient for my needs.
Another common problem I hear about is that Godox lights are made in China so there is no customer service. Godox lights are rebranded as Flashpoint in the US and are sold exclusively through Adorama, where you can get your customer service through Adorama. They have a phone number and email for customer service specifically for Flashpoint systems.
Profoto users also talk about needing to use Profoto because that logo impresses people and shows them you mean business. They say if you go to a commercial shoot with anything other than Profoto lights, the creative director or art buyer will laugh at you and wonder if you’re a real photographer. Again, if you’re in the small group of photographers who work with people who would laugh at you if you had anything other than Profoto, you should definitely only use Profoto. But if you’re shooting weddings, high school graduations, food, products, cars, test shoots for modeling agencies, events, or any other area of photography where the client doesn’t see or cares what type of lighting company you’re using, then it really doesn’t matter.
Should professionals use Godox lights?
As I said at the beginning, professionals who charge money for their work should use their own judgement when choosing lamps. If you only need to use a small battery-powered lamp and regularly need to use it over 40 times in quick succession at full power, you should definitely look at the Elinchrom lamps.
If you need lights that are built like a tank and will impress people, then you should definitely check out Profoto. If you need lights that have been thoroughly tested with various light meters and color accuracy tests and are almost identical to Profoto’s lights but cost a fraction of the price, then check out Godox.
I have never seen an image that was only possible because it was shot with a specific lighting company’s lights. I have never seen a photo that was better because one brand of light was used over another. I have never seen an image and immediately recognized that a Godox light or a Profoto light was used. I challenge anyone to show me an image and prove to me that it was only possible, or even made better, because it was shot with a specific lighting company’s lights. No one can beat the.
You may be on the road a lot and need the ruggedness of one company. Or you may be doing something where you need another company’s ability to run a low-powered flash at full power in burst mode. Or you may not care about the scalability of your system. There are many considerations to take into account when choosing a lighting system that will make you money. Godox lights are certainly lights that can be used by professionals in many genres.
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