Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
05-12-2014, 02:44 PM - 1 Like   #1
Administrator
Site Webmaster
Adam's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Arizona
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 51,584
Godox V850 Review

Forum member bdery has just written a very thorough review of the Godox V850 flash system! You can check it out on our homepage here:
Godox Ving V850 System Review - Introduction - Pentax Camera Forums


Adam
PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide | Site Help | My Photography)



PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:
05-12-2014, 05:16 PM   #2
Pentaxian
Class A's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
Posts: 11,250
Congrats, bdery, on the publication of your very well-written review.

For instance, I liked the animation of the flash head and agree that unrestricted swivel control is a very nice feature.

There is was a typo:
"1/5 second recycle rate at full power" should be
"1.5 second recycle time at full power".

I don't understand why you write
"The head’s illumination pattern is perfectly usable but will serve the photographer better behind a light modifier such as an umbrella (the same is true, to a greater extend, of the Cactus flash)."
What makes you think that the RF60 has a worse illumination pattern?

Note that the test patterns I provided for the RF60 were probably taken at a lower distance and, most importantly, were from a beta unit. The production version has a different lens and diffuser panel; it yields visibly smoother output than the beta unit.

We probably won't be able to agree on the following, but I don't see how the Godox's trigger system "covers all the bases" when it does not support adjusting the power levels of all groups simultaneously. The latter operation is required when you change the f-stop on your camera but want to maintain the same flash exposure. The Cactus V6 supports this use case with a simple dial turn.

I also don't think that scrolling through 1/3 stops from 1/1 (in the extreme case) to zero and back again is just "a few more clicks" compared to two group button presses.

What if you are using three groups and only want to see the effect of a single group? Using the Godox transmitter you'd have to
  1. memorise the two power settings for the two groups you need to turn off temporarily,
  2. scroll the power levels of both groups down to zero (through 1/3 steps),
  3. take the test shot, and then
  4. scroll the power levels of both groups up to the two levels you memorised earlier.
This is a lot more inconvenient than toggling two groups with four button presses in total on a V6.

The four group buttons of the Cactus V6 for quickly checking individual flash contributions (in any combination) and the immediate adjustment of all groups simultaneously (even the RF60 can do that in master mode) are features I always use in every shoot without exception. To refer to these features and the V6's ability to remote power control a large range of flashes in a brand-agnostic manner as "exotic functions" seems odd to me. Yes, the V6 has more functions such as "delay" or "remote camera triggering", etc. that could be considered "exotic" but the ones I mentioned are bread and butter functions, AFAIC.

I understand that the text was written before full information on the V6 became available so some of the phrasing seems justified from this perspective, but it is a bit of a shame that some of the text makes an outdated impression already on the first day of its appearance.

Anyhow, very nice review overall!

Last edited by Class A; 05-13-2014 at 06:15 PM.
05-13-2014, 07:12 AM   #3
Pentaxian
bdery's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Quebec city, Canada
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 9,352
I'll be glad to answer any questions people might have about the review! I hope you enjoy it.

The review was indeed written before the Cactus products became available in their final form. "Exotic" is a word I used to illustrate that these functions are rarely found in a trigger system. It's just a word...
06-02-2014, 05:46 AM   #4
Pentaxian
bdery's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Quebec city, Canada
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 9,352
A new distributor just started selling the V850 (an d the rest of the Godox lineup) under their rebrand : Lithium Battery Speedlight V850 Stable Output & Good Lighting. They don't seem distributed everywhere, but for customers in Europe and Asia-Pacific it's another interesting source for the products.

06-02-2014, 07:47 AM   #5
Pentaxian
Class A's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
Posts: 11,250
User "malow" from a Canon forum created a DIY battery solution for the Godox that increases the stamina even more.

Unfortunately, his investigations revealed that Godox designed a dumb charger that is unable to balance the cells in their battery. This may also be the reason behind some of the recent battery failures reports.

Hopefully Godox will update their charger design.
07-28-2014, 03:30 AM   #6
Pentaxian
Class A's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
Posts: 11,250
Some concerning news about battery issues with the Godox V850.

A number of users at the new TruthHavoc forum are reporting dead batteries, e.g.,
"I own two v850 s and since I have purchased them I have managed to convince 4 of my photographer friends to do like wise. A few months later and all of us are having problems with the batteries , so much we would have been better of with standard AAA batteries. "
As nice as the Li-Ion batteries are when they work, if they don't it means that one basically cannot use one's flash anymore, unless one has a working backup battery.

I hope Godox will be able to fix their battery issues soon.
09-24-2014, 04:35 AM   #7
Senior Member




Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: St. Gallen
Posts: 149
I visit the Godox booth at the Photokina and strange enough their was no V850 visible?

Maybe they are working on a new revision?

09-24-2014, 04:59 AM   #8
Pentaxian
bdery's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Quebec city, Canada
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 9,352
QuoteOriginally posted by Gerard_Dirks Quote
I visit the Godox booth at the Photokina and strange enough their was no V850 visible?

Maybe they are working on a new revision?
Did you ask them where it was?
09-24-2014, 05:06 AM   #9
Senior Member




Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: St. Gallen
Posts: 149
To many people, i had other priorities for my 1 day visit :-(

On the Canon and Sony booths you could walk over the head ;-)
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
flash, godox, godox v850, lighting, photo studio, review, strobist, system, v850
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Anyone using the Godox V850? jbsg02 Flashes, Lighting, and Studio 77 03-19-2016 01:15 AM
Df mini review / impressions - in disorder. Seriously this review is crap. spade111 Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands 37 04-03-2014 11:48 AM
K-3 review on Phoo-review wizofoz Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 5 12-13-2013 01:44 AM
Pentax K-30 and Godox ML-150 macro ring flash Spamer Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 0 05-11-2013 04:23 PM
Godox wireless remote controll RonHendriks1966 Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 3 10-03-2011 01:11 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:00 PM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top