Your reviews are so thorough, Rob!

Great and very informative! Thanks for putting in the work. I’ve been eyeballing this and the VL150.

You did a great job , on this review, I salute You

Great video! Your videos are some of the best!

enjoying your work bud, keep it up. recently picked up the AD1200 and two 600s to replace an old lighting set up. are you able to test the 1200 again the elinchrom 1200? it's been a 'dream light' for some time, and I'm considering adding it later. the output of the AD1200 meets my needs unlike the 600s. all the best man

Great review dude!!! It would be Awesome if Godox releases soon the UL 200 and UL 300, they already fixed all fan noise issues and colour accuracy, what do you think?

nice review, just wondering if there's any flickering at higher frame rates such as 120 fps?

Very great review! If we put both battery, how long will it last? 2 hours?

do you think this is better than the nanlite forza 300? Does it make a difference that the godox vl 300 doesn't have practical effects or does that not matte much? thanks!

Robert, do you mind sharing your lighting setup for this video? I see a lot of videos with a key light and colored backgrounds and I'm curious how you achieved that look so well? Thanks.

@robhallphoto

3 жыл бұрын

sorry I just seen this. All about fall off, especially in my close-quartered setup. LED lighting me is just out of frame, at a very lower power. As close as I can possibly get it. And then two RGB panels firing at the walls behind me, mounted overhead with a boom stand.

Hello, I have a question and you're one of the few channels I can think to ask. Might be silly, but it just occurred to me as a beginner in regards to an upcoming gig. Can two camera bodies, each using a transmitter, trigger the same strobe? I've only seen videos about this with optical trigger, not wireless. So for example, shooting a wedding with two bodies, each with an X1T on them, can they each fire the same AD200 so I can switch between bodies seamlessly? All set to same channel and group of course. I would assume that's the case but maybe I'm missing a reason why it can't be done.

Very informative. Awesome video. What do you think about the 300d ii, 300x and Godox VL300?

@robhallphoto

3 жыл бұрын

I think the VL300 is a better value than the 300d ii, because the critical specs (output and color quality) are so close and the advantages to the 300d ii are either cosmetic or minor luxuries that may not even appeal to most users. As for the 300X, if you want bi-color then obviously that's the option.

What’s the brightness of the vl150, vl200 and vl300 in comparison to a tungsten 1K?

it you're attaching an umbrella to this light do you really need the reflector at that range? all your light is going to be captured by the umbrella regardless when attached by the typical umbrella rod length

How much brighter is the VL300 compared to the SL200?

Robert I have to ask, you make a lot of Godox video equipment reviews. Is your channel or any of your videos sponsored by Godox? You videos are so informative and I’m super close to making a purchasing decision because of your videos but I’d hate to make a purchase based on biased info. Not a slight on your character, just an honest inquiry. Thank you for making these videos

Did you have issues issues with this VL300? Many reported this light is defective and had problems.

If you get a chance to test the NanLite Forza 300 that would make for an awesome video! Since both are $750 and the NanLite 300 has higher output than the Aperture 300.

Have you done any tests using that reflector on actual strobes? Do they also help strobe output?

@robhallphoto

4 жыл бұрын

I haven't yet, however I plan to try and pair it with the AD1200 Pro to see what happens. I don't think we'll see the same type of output gain as the COB though. The COB is flat, so it makes sense that using the ribbed squares concentrates the light. And omnidirectional bulb won't experience the same benefit, at least not as significantly.

Updates?

mandatory using 2 batteries ?

Thanks so much for your thoughts on this light! Would you say that the VL150 is the same in all respects except output and weight?

@robhallphoto

4 жыл бұрын

Output obviously close to half, weight/siz is less, only requires V mount battery, and from what I've seen, fan doesn't pop on until roughly 50% as oppose to 35-40% on the VL300.

@colinjudge1261

4 жыл бұрын

@@robhallphoto Awesome, thanks a mil! You're the man Robert!

Do you think it'd be cool if all ac strobes come with such an dc option which uses standard LED batts like v mount, gold mount, NP-F etc whatever's the standard in cinematography. Strobes draw less power on average and their batteries are often similar/lower speced than flash ones (in terms of voltage and capacity) I'm not thinking about flash specs (color accuracy, recycle time, flash duration, portability etc) but just not having to pay the premium for battery powered strobes (and the added bonus of versatility being able to plug and shoot seamlessly as it is an ac unit by default). I see so many chinese knockoff LEDs of the aperture/godox line/cheap knockoff led panels with battery capability some proprietary some standard NP-F, V mount etc. Yes they flicker, have non linear output, have color casts etc but they do not seem to have a substantial premium added to them save for the cost of battery and charger when compared to their ac only counterparts (which are no better in the former category and are hardly a thing now) A good analogous scenario would be those clunky (no digital display, radio etc, just sync jack, on off switches for slave and beep and a knob/slider for strobe and modeling lamp output), voltage controlled (no auto dump is fine!), less accurate (godox sk400's color accuracy has been fine to me, no wild color variation on same power flashes i often hear alien bee users say, only 100k drift in total i'd say, the bigger issue is power consistency but i was firing only full/half power bounce flash during events taking pics of different parts of the venue with the flash in the same spot firing into the middle of the ceiling so not the best consistency besides same power level but it was 0.2-3 stops difference and less than 2/3rds at worst, i can only see 0.2-0.5 varience shooting products at similar power levels but product orientation changed, light mod and distance stays the same so a bit more constant) flashes take standard batteries as dc power (proprietary batts are fine as long as it keeps costs down per watt/hr, v mount batts are not the cheapest i know. ) that would really revolutionise photography. Cheap chinese steobes cost $100-150 for 400-600ws, add the $10-30 cost to add dc option like LEDs and another $30-50 it cost for batts and charger, at worst we have a $230 600ws outdoor portable strobe that has a 50W modeling lamp (if those batts can run 300w continuous factoring flash power usage 50w should be cool). That would be cheaper than all battery powered flash units or inverter solutions...... just sharing my thoughts cause it seems you are the few who can advocate change within manufacturers.

@robhallphoto

4 жыл бұрын

Personally, I want the battery that best accommodates the size of the strobe while delivering the necessary performance. So, I don't mind their proprietary batteries when it keeps the size down. If there was 0 compromise and a V mount could be used on a 600 that'd be great, but I think the discussion stops there. For more portable lights like the AD300 / AD200, an NP-F wouldn't provide the Voltage necessary for their recycle speeds and V mount batteries are as big as the light itself. It does call into question why the cinema industry has so much standardization while the photo industry fights it so hard.

@lailewis4885

4 жыл бұрын

I'm just suggesting standard batteries (18650 cells loose or packed into power boxes/catridges which are easily user replaceable with tabs to open and spring loaded holders rather than welded/soldered batteries and glued/screwed shit cases count too!) is based on the assumption that some strobe companies (Godox for example) are less willing to fork in the extra r&d and support (in designing and making batteriesx chargers, etc available) for their low end ac strobes (sk400, dp series etc) unless there is a substansial premium involved (see ad600 price difference from the average 600w ac strobe) Yes I know the average 600w ac strobe is non igbt, no hss etc but let me ask: why is godox (or jinbei, visico, nicefoto etc) not willing to design dc option (with battery of their choice into their traditional ac strobes without making it double the cost? (ok double is the most i can accept from diying an inverter, sla and 400ws strobe, I believe a native circuit that allows direct charging with the battery instead of converting dc to ac, then converting ac to dc to charge capacitors is cheaper and more efficient hence more pops per watt hour) Take away charging while using/ac option if that is necessary to keep costs down, switch the tungsten to a non dimmable/ 3 step crude dimming 20w led with crap cri if necessary to keep power requirements down, I could care less. A case in point why I feel that way is the price of the official ad360 charger is $7, but an ebay search of 12.6v chargers with a 5.5x2.5mm port meant for lithium drill batteries etc cost only $2.5. Sure, the 3rd parry charger is 1A-2A depends on vendor (official godox is 1.5A so either you get slightly slower or superior charging times) and the current can "backflow" which is the green indicator lights up when the charger is pluged into battery but not into mains and the fact the 3rd party charger is slightly larger but as a company that chargers "honest prices" for gear rather than insane markups like profoto I'm kinda surprised actually. This is why I'm campaigning for open standards through commonly used voltages like in power tools etc so it is easy for us to just put x number of 18650 cells in series without voltage regulating circuits or batt packs from rc stores erc for the lazier/less talented of us because I feel like even godox isn't trying to give us the best deal. The best they can do is use a standard battery and let us find the best battery/charger deals ourselves. Per my calculations if the proprietary batt/charger costs more than 50% than buying individual cells/ battery pack it's too pricey. Often the manufacturer can get lower costs due to bulk buying and the battery case is negligible. I compare prices using sony/samsung budget cells whilst godox uses god knows what chinese cells which are inherently cheaper. For the record i have no issues with the ad200, 360, 600 battery value. For the ad600 charger I found an alternative for 2-3 times cheaper. I have problems with the ad400/600 pro battery and charger as they are smaller batteries than the ad600 and cost more. The bummer is I couldn't find 3rd party batts/chargers cause of the quirky voltage they use (21v like power drill would be schweet) Re the np-f batteries it is 7.2v the v350 is the same the use of external mounting could allow small capacities to keep the size small or larger to have endless capacity. For the v860 which uses 11.1 batteries, either an internal voltage step up circuitry or more current drawn could give similar recycle times. Assuming overall watt hour requirement stays the same, a 6300mah and 3000mah 7.2 v battery is roughly equivalent to a 4000mah and 1950mah 11.1v battery. The v860 battery is only 2000mah and the 6300mah npf is only 20-30% bigger so its cool. Otherwise, 2 smaller capacitiy NPF batteries in series could providenan whopping 14.4v for faster recycle times/larger capacity. It should also satisfy the 12-16v requirement of most outdoor strobes.Otherwise, 4 NPF/ 1-2 V mount batts will satisfy 28v requirements (I'm not familiar with npf size/capacities besides the 6300mah one I googled, don't quote me on that, just hypothetical guesses) Like I said I have no problems with the value of the AD200's battery so I'm not trying to make a case for an NPF powered ad200/300. However, if brand X decides to make their $30-50 150-300ws ac strobes have a DC option, are unable to produce their own batt with similar value to the ad200 batt or just use the ad200's just have 1-2 npf slots and that would be so cool. Imagine if alien bee 400/800 units cost the same/ $50 more at most and could take 2 NPf batteries not needing VMLs? That would make it so much more attractive. Remember when yongnuo first came out and the average joe blow could have 5-6 full powered gn60 speedlites for $500 rechargeable batteries included rather than 3-4 lower powered sb600,24,28,430ex speedlites used? I foresee a day where for the same cost joe blow would be totting 2-3 150-300w lithium powered strobes. Speedlites are inherently "pricey" even godox and yongnuo compared to strobes when power is concerned perhaps due to complex LCD, ui requrements (strobes have nothing more than a knob/slider for power adjustment and on/off switches for modeling lamp, slave and beep indicator), zoom motor, fresnel and swiveling head with electrical connections (rather than a simple mechanical light stand swivel). The only thing seemingly keeping speedlites viable is the great hike in price between ac and battery powered strobes which baffles me. I just hope to see every indoor studio/headshot budget shooter could be "location photographers" just by spending another handful of peanuts of what they spent on their existing strobes.....

Dang man the ONLY thing for me about these lights is the power unit. If they had something similar to aputure they'd be on top

In your opinion how would this light work for photography I am looking for led light

@robhallphoto

4 жыл бұрын

I don't think any LED works great for photography. Even this 300w, it's not bright enough for flexibility. F/11 +.7 at 1/50 ISO 100 is equivalent to F/5.6 +.3 at 1/250 ISO 100. For a 4 foot measurement in a reflector, that's nothing compared to flash, a V350 would be more capable. Additionally you're exposing the subject to light the entire duration of the shutter, which just means way more opportunity for motion blur. And if you increase the shutter speed more to compensate, you're just eating into your light output more. I can see it for still life, though I'd still recommend flash instead.

@Jantonvid

4 жыл бұрын

You could probably use this for high ISO work such as night time wedding photography

@MoonkeyGroup

4 жыл бұрын

Can the unit operate with one V mount battery or are both needed?

@nightdonutstudio

3 жыл бұрын

Sometimes client want photo and video from one set. It is not easy to switch strobe to LED during the shoot or vice versa. So LED does come in handy. I mean as long as it is not high end photoshoot. I think you can get away with use LED for photo.

How many stops different in brightness are the 150 and 300?

@robhallphoto

4 жыл бұрын

theoretically 1 stop, but I haven't tested side by side. But Godox has a track record of making their products wattages correlate directly with their output across models of the same series.

@SirRelith

4 жыл бұрын

​@@robhallphoto Thanks! I'm thinking the 150 will be good enough for me then. Now if only I could find a budget version of aputure's spotlight.

Great review. Gotta stop watching your reviews. They make me spend all my money.

Phurzd.

How much brighter is this, compared to the SL200?

@robhallphoto

3 жыл бұрын

not sure, never used it, you'd have to find a direct test or something to cross reference.