blackest Loc: Ireland

Hi all,
I recently came across an interesting range of flash made by a chinese company Godox, Adorama and B&H have rebranded versions which they support locally. They have a fair range of different lights with a common wireless flash system which is shared across their products some have dedicated system versions eg one ending -n would be for nikon, -C canon , ect including sony, panasonic, olympus, and Pentax, fuji too i think.

depending on which model you are looking at you can get HSS to 1/8000th of a sec shutter speed and TTL modes as well.
As well as the extremely sophisticated wireless system they tend to use dedicated L ion batteries. Some interesting models are the AD600, 400 AND 200 Models. 600 watt/sec 400 watt/sec and 200 watt/sec. The ad600 and ad400 are pretty pricey but the ad200 is more affordable and about 3 x as powerful as a regular nikon or canon flash. there is a pro version of the ad200 which improves on the original ad200.

What makes the AD200 quite unusual is that it comes with a fresnel head and a bare bulb head. Other heads are available an LED head a round head (with a whole eco system of modifiers which are magnetic and can be stacked) The AD-B2 head is a bowens mount head that takes 1 or 2 Ad200 bodies giving a combined 400 watt secs along with 2 20 watt led modeling lights (you can configure 1 single 200 watt flash bulb in the centre position or 2 200 watt side by side. The 2 halves are isolated from each other and sit on a chunky metal fanless heat sink.

Another thing is a 2 meter extension cable which allows you to mount just a head at a top of a stand and keeping the main unit safe. If the stand topples you might lose the flash head but they are a lot cheaper than the whole thing.

These are pretty much studio lights but with the hss and ttl and battery operation a lot more flexible and relatively affordable and the design is well thought out. I just got the AD-B2 head today and its packed in a split foam that would easily transfer into a flight case.

I hope you are tempted to investigate further. The only drawback to this system is the urge to add to it one AD200 is nice but 2 AD200's is more useful still.

There are 3 types of trigger and these are dedicated to different camera systems so for me the XPro-P is appropriate but you could use the same ad200 with other brands and a different trigger. There are also some fairly cheap flash units which can be used as a master...

There are plenty of videos reviewing these units and accessories.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

Been out for a while!
Welcome to the club.
I have an AD-200 with the extension cable, AD600 and a couple of speedlights, one is the 860 with the li-ion battery.
Awesome system!
The Pro triggers are much better than the first version.
I’ve tried the round head V1 and it’s amazing.
There are a few FB groups dedicated to the AD200.

Magaliaman Loc: Magalia, CA

Yup, I have an AD600Pro as well as 2ea V860II-N with an XPro-N Trigger. I Like it a lot, works flawless at a fraction of the cost of the Nikon speedlights. Now all they need is a Radio Module for a Sekonic Meter and their system would be complete.

I Have a few nit-picks about their menu system not being terribly intuitive, and the process of updating the firmware requires an old XP Computer (Win10 Wont work) but the performance, and price, and apparent durability makes them hugely attractive.

-Gary

blackest Loc: Ireland

I'm waiting on my pro trigger i have an AD200 and the AD-B2 head but without the trigger, i can only use it in manual mode, it's due on tuesday.

jonyrot

Godox recently released the FV150, which uses an LED for a light source. Waiting for full reviews.

mrtaxi Loc: Old Westbury NY, Fort Lauderdale, FL

I have the Godox V860II , when in ttl mode using my canon 5Div, it’s way too bright and overexposes by about 2-3 stops. I have to adjust the power or use manual.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

When I bought the Godox TT350o for my Olympus bodies I had lots of problems because the instructions to me were not clear enough. It was not till I learned that the in camera flash has to be set to on that things began to change.
The little flash has plenty of technologies including FP flash sync. Its guide number is 36 and I have used it for bouncing with excellent results.

How these portable units will take the punishment of professional shooting I do not really know. A local professional here bought a set of portable flashes and I do not know the brand but they did not last long. I hope they were not Godox.
I am very happy with my little unit.

joseph premanandan

i have been Godox flash for the last few months in my Fuji X-T3 camera and it works very well,especially with manual flash

blackest Loc: Ireland

Does anyone know what the usb port is for on the AD200? There is actually 2, a usb c which i think is for updating firmware and a second which i think is used for a wireless port but its got wireless built in??

I also found there is a godox A and A mini which use bluetooth to connect a smart phone / iphone.
The mini is a small smartphone dedicated flash but the godox A can also control other godox flash units such as the ad200.
On the iphone the sync speed of the camera is really low due to the electronic shutter but it does make for a way to save a preset for a group of flash units which might be useful.

The Xpro trigger doesn't have a ( hot shoe or cold)which is a bit of a shame since you can use the extension to put a head on camera. but i guess a bracket is possible.

i'm thinking the usb/wireless port is kinda redundant?

A10 Loc: Southern Indiana

Love my Ad200pro's. I sold all but two of my White Lightnings because I could do so many things with the GODOX's. The portability is great when shooting outside or when I need to shoot in a small space. Recently shot a wedding outside on a warm November day and everyone was very pleased with the results.

Magaliaman Loc: Magalia, CA

You're correct, the usb c is for firmware updates, is the other port a round sync port for Wired applications?

As far as the Xpro trigger, you could consider the X2Pro which does provide a hot shoe, and also allows Bluetooth triggering from your smart phone.

-Gary

rick_n_wv Loc: Charleston WV

Don't have the ad200 but know some people that do and they love it. I have other Godox units though. Ad 400's, 360's, 685's and a few manual 600's. So far they have been solid for my needs. I am not a pro, just a amateur but enjoy stuff that just works. There are some who bash the ad360. The ad200 out now pretty much fills the same slot. Not sure but they say it does not have the rated 360ws advertised (I have not measured it) and some dislike the external battery. I can say I have multiple (pre ad200) and they have not burped. They make an cost effective step between hot shoe and strobe.

blackest Loc: Ireland

There is a cover and there is a round port (i think is pc-sync cord) + a usb port thats labeled wireless sync. I think they have made various transmitters over the years so if you have bought into the older system you can extend with the port I think there are speedlights with a usb port for a wireless receiver. Adorama have their own version of the XPro which has bluetooth built in. There are a few options for transmitters.

looks like if i wanted to use my manual yongnou i could use a pc-sync cable to my rf603 and have the xpro trigger from the hot shoe. If I wanted to rig a cold shoe to my camera i can use the extender option for the ad200. There really is a lot of choices available with godox.

Magaliaman Loc: Magalia, CA

Could the cover with the round port be a Charging Port for the Battery? I Downloaded the manual and couldn't find what you're referencing.

-Gary

blackest Loc: Ireland

you should be able to see it on this, there is a rubber cover labeled wireless control port and under that 3.5mm sync cord jack.

AD200 pro

(Download)