Mount ID please?

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I've only ever used Bowen mount strobes before, but I've just picked up four of these (brand new and boxed) for the price of a few pints of beer, but don't know the mount type - is it Profoto by any chance?

They measure 95mm diameter across the front.

Thank you.

300DI.jpg
 
No, not Profoto - it is, sadly a non-changeable mount..
There are some accessories available to fit it, look on fleabay with the search term "Universal fitting" or similar. There are however some drawbacks
1. The accessories that are made with this "universal mount" or "universal fitting" are usually pretty poor quality
2. The fitting is insecure, so things like big softboxes tend to fall off
3. Because the reflector is built in and non-changeable accessories such as softboxes and beauty dishes don't work as well as you might expect.

Here's an example, which also shows the fitting https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Godox-50...706474&hash=item4add58f2f5:g:8u8AAOSwlxxbqwyr
 
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Sky said:
I've only ever used Bowen mount strobes before, but I've just picked up four of these (brand new and boxed) for the price of a few pints of beer, but don't know the mount type - is it Profoto by any chance?
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As a general rule heads that use this type of mount are best avoided, they're the result of early attempts by Chinese firms to pump out monoblocks as cheaply as possible.
 
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Garry Edwards said:
No, not Profoto - it is, sadly a non-changeable mount.
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Thanks Garry, that makes sense why they were so cheap then - never mind; they work fine with brollies so I many pass them on to my daughter who's just started taking an interest in studio work - she's a cake maker/designer so I'll teach her how to improve the photographs of her cakes. :)

I appreciate you taking the time to reply. :)

mike weeks said:
have a look in the catogue http://www.godox.com/EN/InstructionManual/Godox_Catalog_28th_En_20180627.pdf
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Thanks Mike - that's handy to keep. :)
 
Sky said:
They were definitely cheap at £30.00. :LOL:
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That's 11.4 pints of Juction Blonde. . . Could have been worse:)
 
Garry Edwards said:
That's 11.4 pints of Juction Blonde. . . Could have been worse:)
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I don't know that beer, but in my local pubs most beers are getting on for a fiver a pint now. :eek:

My daughter will appreciate them as a starter package with a couple of brollies anyway - they'll be an improvement on her flashguns. (y)
 
Sky said:
I don't know that beer, but in my local pubs most beers are getting on for a fiver a pint now. :eek:

My daughter will appreciate them as a starter package with a couple of brollies anyway - they'll be an improvement on her flashguns. (y)
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Real ale brewed in my local free house, £2.60 a pint - but I always try to get it free by winning the pub quiz:). Not the smartest pub but they let me in and you can't have everything.

Godox make both good and bad products and this isn't at the better end. We normally advise people against getting this level of flash on here and I'm sometimes then accused of being a gear snob, stupid and obtuse - but then you can't please everyone and some people aren't worth the effort. . .

The issues you'll find are less power adjustment than claimed, slow recycling (which doesn't matter for cakes that aren't going anywhere), inconsistent power and inconsistent colour between flashes, the modelling lamps are pretty poor and the colour will be noticeably warmer at the low end of the adjustment scale.

But, they are perfectly usable and, as you say, an improvement on flashguns.. Despite the lack of an accessory mount and the built in reflectors it's well worth being even more fatherly and getting your daughter a not too big softbox, it will give a lot more lighting control than an umbrella.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Real ale brewed in my local free house, £2.60 a pint - but I always try to get it free by winning the pub quiz:). Not the smartest pub but they let me in and you can't have everything.
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Sounds ideal; I like cask beer too (providing it's fresh) - I can't drink keg or lager. I like quizzes as well, but I think I might be barred from the next one as my team tend to win a lot of the time and I always seem to get the blame. :rolleyes:

Garry Edwards said:
We normally advise people against getting this level of flash on here and I'm sometimes then accused of being a gear snob, stupid and obtuse - but then you can't please everyone and some people aren't worth the effort. . .
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Not at all - crap is crap no matter how you try and 'big' it up. If it hadn't been for the price, I wouldn't have given them a second glance. I have a good friend that may appreciate the second pair to practice with as well, so they certainly won't go to waste.

Garry Edwards said:
But, they are perfectly usable and, as you say, an improvement on flashguns.. Despite the lack of an accessory mount and the built in reflectors it's well worth being even more fatherly and getting your daughter a not too big softbox, it will give a lot more lighting control than an umbrella.
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Indeed - I was thinking of getting her that one you linked to for her to use as a keylight plus a shoot through brolly for a fill. I suppose I'll have to let her have a couple of my lightweight stands too. :facepalm:
 
I bought a kit of these, they did a job but in truth couldn’t do what I needed.

I got £30 less than your mate by giving them to a member here who was cash strapped and wanted to learn to light.
 
Phil V said:
I bought a kit of these, they did a job but in truth couldn’t do what I needed.
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In what way did they fail you Phil?

I've had a play with them this morning and was happier with them than I expected to be. The colour is pretty consistent across all four, recycling time on low power is faster than I thought they'd be too. Can't turn the bloody beep off though.
 
Sky said:
In what way did they fail you Phil?

I've had a play with them this morning and was happier with them than I expected to be. The colour is pretty consistent across all four, recycling time on low power is faster than I thought they'd be too. Can't turn the bloody beep off though.
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There’s not really enough power adjustment and the mount is appalling; mine came with soft boxes that were just a push fit, which obviously meant they couldn’t be tilted down without bodging something more secure.
For a little casual use for a non ‘photographer’ they’ll do a job, but decent flash heads are so cheap now, that they’re not worth the frustration.
 
Haha, yes the mount is pretty bad isn't it?

I think before I give them to my daughter, I shall play a little further this morning, but I think they will end up being donated to my local club to to be given away as a freebie to anyone that may want to try them. I don't want to put my daughter off by giving her a load of rubbish - just as well I've not mentioned anything to her. :rolleyes:

Thanks for your input. (y)
 
Sky said:
Haha, yes the mount is pretty bad isn't it?

I think before I give them to my daughter, I shall play a little further this morning, but I think they will end up being donated to my local club to to be given away as a freebie to anyone that may want to try them. I don't want to put my daughter off by giving her a load of rubbish - just as well I've not mentioned anything to her. :rolleyes:

Thanks for your input. (y)
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Personally I think that she'll benefit from them.
Yes, they are one of the poor end Godox products - which flood the market under various brand names - and the technology and specs is basic at best, but we're cossetted by current technology and now expect everything to be perfect and to do all of the thinking for us.

Go back a few years - OK a lot of years - and pretty much all flash heads were of similar quality. Some people still rave about the old Bowens 200 / 400 series, they were even worse than this, they did have an accessory mount but very few accessories were actually available and those that were were also poor, and the mount (L fit) was awful. Same with the Courtenay, different mount but again hopeless, and the colour shift on those was unbelievable. And yet they were used by the professionals of the day and could turn out outstanding work. Knowledge and care can often compensate for technical shortcomings.

So, not great but definitely usable for subjects that don't need short flash durations, fast recycling or today's standards of colour and energy consistency.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Personally I think that she'll benefit from them.
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Having had a play for the last hour or so, I'm inclined to agree Garry. They work perfectly well enough for what she wants - certainly better than the old Courtenay Solaflash rubbish that I started with - the light was almost yellow.

She can have a pair as I've said and I think I'll put the other two to one side for backups - you never know I may need them one day. Although if I collect much more gear I'm going to have to get a bigger house - although another shed would be cheaper. ;)
 
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