Battery powered location strobe recommendations?

CambsPhoto

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Battery powered location strobe recommendations?

I’m looking to buy a battery powered strobe for location use.

500 or 600 watt should do the trick.

I’m thinking possibly the Bowens XMT500 or the Godox AD600 as I have a load of Bowens studio strobes (GM500) and lighting modifiers already so I’ll be able to use them with either of these battery powered strobes.

I’ve done the math and the prices, including the required trigger, come in at:

Bowens XMT500 – £699
Bowens XMRT remote (Canon) – £129
Total: £828

Godox AD600 manual version (not TTL) – £485
ST4 trigger – £59.99
Total: £544.99

So, Godox is £283 cheaper.

I think there is some connection between Godox and Bowens, but I suspect the Bowens might be build to a slightly higher standard? Not sure, but the Godox (being a Chinese knock off) seems a bit on the pricey side also, I would have thought cheap Chinese brands would be just that, ‘cheap’ but the AD600 seems far from it.

Any advice here as to which head to go for, or if there are any other brands to consider, excluding Broncolor and Profoto for price reasons. Not sure about Elinchrom as I have loads of Bowens modifiers.
 
The later Bowens models were in fact made by Godox, and not to a better standard.

Godox isn't a Chinese knock off of anything, it's the leading Chinese - and now leading world - manufacturer. It's become the go to brand, mainly because of the very heavy price competition from their myriad of unofficial suppliers. Godox have finally taken control of the re-sale pricing, as far as they can, and of course prices have risen because of this, and in addition they bring out multiple new products on a continual basis, each with a theoretically better spec at a higher price, so you're right, they're not cheap.

I think that the only alternative worth considering is the Visico 5, very similar performance, much lower price. Not pretty, dull grey colour, but it takes S-fit modifiers and is an impressive performer.

https://www.lencarta.com/visico-5-with-818tx-canon-trigger-kitv5002
​
 
Godox

The Bowen’s is also Chinese and an older design
 
I know theyare dearer but check out Profotos range, They have a lot of welly if you need it at a later date.
 
swanseamale47 said:
I know theyare dearer but check out Profotos range, They have a lot of welly if you need it at a later date.
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Not a fan of Profoto, they are stupid prices for what they are and I don't like their silly mount and the way the flash tube is set too far back in the head. And, like I said, I have tons of Bowens gear so needs to be Bowens mount.
 
CambsPhoto said:
Not a fan of Profoto, they are stupid prices for what they are and I don't like their silly mount and the way the flash tube is set too far back in the head. And, like I said, I have tons of Bowens gear so needs to be Bowens mount.
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I agree, IMO Profoto is just a premium brand that simply isn't worth the prices. If I wanted to buy the best, regardless of brand, then it wouldn't be Profoto anyway, it would be Bron.

But, the brand is almost irrelevant when a job of work needs to be done. Spending a fortune on a name is a bit like buying a new Range Rover Sport to tow cattle trailers in fields when a Japanese 4x4 would do the job better at a fraction of the cost:)
 
CambsPhoto said:
Not a fan of Profoto, they are stupid prices for what they are and I don't like their silly mount and the way the flash tube is set too far back in the head. And, like I said, I have tons of Bowens gear so needs to be Bowens mount.
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That's ignoring that they came first to market with the current battery powered monoblock design, it was and is excellent even if the Godox Pro heads compete directly at lower prices.

Why call the mount silly though? I've always found it nice to work with and much better than the horrible job Godox did of copying Bowen's.
 
Profoto do noting that other big brands. Profoto simply puts off the shelf components into a profoto shaped box
Profoto have not researched, developed and manufactured their own resistors, capacitors etc
Profoto have not researched, developed and manufactured their own IGBT chips and other intergraded controllers etc
Profoto have not researched, developed and manufactured their own flashtubes
They use off the shelf components just like those Lacie portable drives that use WD\ Seagate internal hard drives or the Bang & Ofufsun HiFi that uses transplanted Phillips audio boards.

Premium product are usually premium mostly because how they are marketed rather than how it is manufactured.
 
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I'm using a couple of Godox AD-400's and find them very good. I used to use Elinchrom mains powered lights - but these seem much more flexible - so definitely a supportive vote for Godox if you need one.
 
simonbarker said:
I'm not sure how relevant those points are to the ones I raised.
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That's because this thread is not all about you or the points you choose to raise. I am just pointing out that so called premium products are rarely what they pretend to be.
 
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redsnappa said:
That's because this thread is not all about you or the points you choose to raise. I am just pointing out that so called premium products are rarely what they pretend to be.
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No one here is claiming they're something they're not, is the B1 somehow not a viable product for the reasons you outlined?

It seems odd to complain about Profoto for this especially in a thread which brings up the XMT range, even if all those things you mention are true, do they matter to most photographers and what exactly was the better alternative to the B1 when it launched?
 
redsnappa said:
Profoto do noting that other big brands. Profoto simply puts off the shelf components into a profoto shaped box
Profoto have not researched, developed and manufactured their own resistors, capacitors etc
Profoto have not researched, developed and manufactured their own IGBT chips and other intergraded controllers etc
Profoto have not researched, developed and manufactured their own flashtubes
They use off the shelf components just like those Lacie portable drives that use WD\ Seagate internal hard drives or the Bang & Ofufsun HiFi that uses transplanted Phillips audio boards.

Premium product are usually premium mostly because how they are marketed rather than how it is manufactured.
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So true.
 
I've spoken to Lencarta and they say that the AD600BM, although still current, is a few years old and the AD600Pro is the new kid on the block. It's more expensive, so it's a toss up between that and the Bowens one, they are both the same price.

Thanks all for the input and advice, all relevant.
 
CambsPhoto said:
I've spoken to Lencarta and they say that the AD600BM, although still current, is a few years old and the AD600Pro is the new kid on the block. It's more expensive, so it's a toss up between that and the Bowens one, they are both the same price.

Thanks all for the input and advice, all relevant.
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It may not be the latest, but the performance is outstanding and it's much better value than the Pro version.

Godox seem to have adopted a practice, now that they are in a very strong monopoly position, of introducing new models with some improvements to spec and at a much higher price. It's for you to judge whether these improvements to the spec translate into must-have improvements for you and so possibly justify the increased cost.

Both models are streets ahead of the Bowens.
 
Thanks, Garry.

I actually missed – so annoyed, the seller didn't respond to my question in time and it got sold – a Godox AD600BM on eBay the other day, buy now for £220. I should have just snapped it up, but wanted to ask the guy if the battery still held charge for 400 flashes and what condition the tube was in, while waiting for him to answer, it sold.
 
CambsPhoto said:
Thanks, Garry.

I actually missed – so annoyed, the seller didn't respond to my question in time and it got sold – a Godox AD600BM on eBay the other day, buy now for £220. I should have just snapped it up, but wanted to ask the guy if the battery still held charge for 400 flashes and what condition the tube was in, while waiting for him to answer, it sold.
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Bad luck. Ring Lencarta, speak to Alex and see whether they will discount the list price, my guess is that they will if you ask. At least by buying new from the authorised dealer you'll have peace of mind.
Edit: While you're at it, mention my name and tell him that I suggested you phone, it may help.
 
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As Garry says, the AD600M is a great flash. I looked at the pro when it came out but I didn’t feel I needed anything more considering the cost. I did buy the AD200 which again is a great flash.
 
I’m still having good results with the older Godox AD600, very handy to have in the field
 
I just watched a bunch of PooTube videos on the Godox AD600Pro and most reviewers have mixed feelings about it. This guy seems to be on the money and fairly accurate with his evaluation of it (see link below). It would appear that it can trip up when it comes to reliability and it can, and often does, overheat too. Also, the build quality is not exactly top-drawer either. People say the 'tech' is better and more up-to-date than the Bowens XMT500, but I don't want/need TTL (for me, TTL is a bit like playing Russian Roulette anyway, never totally accurate and often hit and miss) or fancy features, just need it to flash at a power output I set it to, that's it. After watching about 70 minutes worth of YouTube reviews on it I'm having second thoughts. Time to watch some reviews (if I can find any) on the Bowens XMT500.

Shame about these negatives with the Godox as it seemed like a good bet. Watch clip below and judge for yourselves.

View: https://youtu.be/rBATLA_CPqI
 
I have both and when used properly the AD600PRO outperforms the AD600, overheating is only an issue when you use it in HSS and expect it to take 100s of images in seconds, strangely any light would do the same, build quality is good, in fact the PRo model is built to a higher spec, for 95% of users and maybe 98% the AD600 would suffice - having played with the XMT500 when they first showed it at SWPP conference there was nothing really that said to me it is a better light

Mike
 
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