What's the difference between these two speedlites? Help pls :-)

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Adamcski

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Adam
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Could someone help the useless noob that I am understand what the difference is between these two speedlites?

www.essentialphoto.co.uk

GIO1 (V1) TTL & HSS Round-Head Speedlight By PixaPro

The PixaPro GIO1 TTL & HSS is a revolutionary new type of round-head speedlight which produces beautifully smooth graduated lighting. UK Warranty | Trusted Shop Guarantee | 28-Day Return Policy | UK Stock | Expert service & advice | Next-day delivery
www.essentialphoto.co.uk www.essentialphoto.co.uk

And

www.essentialphoto.co.uk

V1 Round-Head TTL Speed Camera Light Flash & Metal Hot-Shoe - Godox

The GODOX V1 TTL Speed Camera Light Flash features a revolutionary round flash head, enabling it to produce smooth-gradated lighting. UK Warranty | Trusted Shop Guarantee | 28-Day Return Policy | UK Stock | Expert service & advice | Next-day delivery
www.essentialphoto.co.uk www.essentialphoto.co.uk


Or these two:

www.essentialphoto.co.uk

Li-ION580III (V860III) TTL & Manual Powerful Speedlight - PixaPro

The PIXAPRO Li-ION580III TTL Powerful Speedlight is powered by a High-Capacity 7.2V/2600mAh Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery. UK Warranty | Trusted Shop Guarantee | 28-Day Return Policy | UK Stock | Expert service & advice | Next-day delivery
www.essentialphoto.co.uk www.essentialphoto.co.uk

And

www.essentialphoto.co.uk

V860III TTL Photography Speedlight with Metal Hot-Shoe by Godox

The VING V860III TTL Photography Speedlight is a powerful TTL Speedlite with a 7.2V/2600mAh rechargeable battery. UK Warranty | Trusted Shop Guarantee | 28-Day Return Policy | UK Stock | Expert service & advice | Next-day delivery
www.essentialphoto.co.uk www.essentialphoto.co.uk

They look the same to me. Is it just the branding that's different? Any advantages for the more expensive round head flash?

Any guidance appreciated as I was looking at this cheaper one....

www.essentialphoto.co.uk

Li-ION580II TTL Camera Speedlight Flash

The LI-ION580II Camera Speedlight Flash uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery which produces 650 Full-Powered Flashes Per-Charge. UK Warranty | Trusted Shop Guarantee | 28-Day Return Policy | UK Stock | Expert service & advice | Next-day delivery
www.essentialphoto.co.uk www.essentialphoto.co.uk

Thanks
Adam
 
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Pixapro sell rebadged Godox items.
uk.linkedin.com

PIXAPRO | LinkedIn

PIXAPRO | 504 followers on LinkedIn. Committed to being the one-stop lighting solution for the photography and videography industries in the UK. | Providing award-winning lighting equipment for the Photography & Videography industries at affordable prices. Serving everyone from professionals...
uk.linkedin.com uk.linkedin.com
 
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Terrywoodenpic said:
Pixapro are rebadged Godox items.
uk.linkedin.com

PIXAPRO | LinkedIn

PIXAPRO | 504 followers on LinkedIn. Committed to being the one-stop lighting solution for the photography and videography industries in the UK. | Providing award-winning lighting equipment for the Photography & Videography industries at affordable prices. Serving everyone from professionals...
uk.linkedin.com uk.linkedin.com
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Yes I gathered that, but is there any difference or is it just one is labelled Godox and the other Pixapro?

I'm after a flash, is there any real advantage to the more expensive ones for general use? I was looking at the ad200 Pro unit...but that's probably overkill for what I need? I could buy two of those normal flashes for a similar amount
 
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Adamcski said:
Yes I gathered that, but is there any difference or is it just one is labelled Godox and the other Pixapro?

I'm after a flash, is there any real advantage to the more expensive ones for general use?
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Yes however they each do their own guarantees, with different periods. As do Lencata who do their rebadged studio flashes and equipment. They are also sold in different countries under badged names.
 
As with pretty much everything, if I was looking for a flash, I'd make a list of features I need, another of what I want then see which met as many of the wants as possible within my budget, possibly stretching the budget if I need to to get a few more wants. As for the badges, I'd ignore them and choose based on warranty and price.
 
None, pick the cheapest one.

Round Vs rectangular will mostly depend on modifiers you intend to use, if any. And it seems ak-r1 kit is highly recommended for anyone getting the round one.
Round is in fact fake round here. It is rectangular with round frame just over it. H200r for ad200 is proper round head on the other hand
 
As above - they're the same items the warranty may be different.

However the round head is a gimmick, I'd want a discount for a round head cos it'll waste storage space ;)
 
Adamcski said:
Yes I gathered that, but is there any difference or is it just one is labelled Godox and the other Pixapro?

I'm after a flash, is there any real advantage to the more expensive ones for general use? I was looking at the ad200 Pro unit...but that's probably overkill for what I need? I could buy two of those normal flashes for a similar amount
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AD200 pro or non-pro (see below) with XPRO trigger is much much better option as long as you don't need to use it on camera in a run and gun scenario and vice versa.

You buy this to use predominantly with bare bulb head, with modifiers, as simple as a cheap 130cm pixapro deep umbrealla or basic 60x60 godox softbox all the way to the really fancy ones. Rectangular head is really nasty, only good for some emergency ceiling bounce. Round (separate purchase) is better but nothing equals bulb head.
And the main things AD200 is some 3-4x more powerful than any speedlite.

Pro vs non-pro is actually nearly the same thing, same as godox vs pixapro.

Pro will go down to 1/256 power instead of 1/128. Personally that's not very important but your experience may be different.
Pro has a bit more protection for the rear screen of the flash. That is the biggest difference
Finally pro comes with a much worse stand bracket, that will sag under its own weight with any modifier. Frankly useless bracket. Not that non-pro is great but that is at least usable.
What you want is AD-B2. These come very cheap on ebay.

AD200 can come to less than V1 price on ebay quite frequently. Pick reasonable clean little used example and you should be fine.

Now you will eventually want some 3 or 4 of them, and ideally one bigger one like AD400 or 600pro.
 
IF you are anywhere near Birmingham I would just recommend going to pixapro showroom and playing with the gear a little. I found this quite helpful myself.
www.essentialphoto.co.uk

Our Showroom - EssentialPhoto

www.essentialphoto.co.uk www.essentialphoto.co.uk

YT is useful but they usually can leave out important, and particularly somewhat negative detail as most reviews try to please the manufacturer (hope for further free gear to review) and can be even paid for. You probably will never see comments I made about AD200pro bracket or the not-really-round V1 head. Maybe the latter doesn't matter that much in real life - that's what the showroom is for.
 
I'm in a probably similar vein to you... I think the law of maximum inconvenience would suggest that any unique pattern rechargeable batteries would be flat on the day I wanted to use it. So I went for the one that took AAs.

Downside is that the recycle time is longer on alkalines. So a dozen out of my trusty bag of AA envelop pros gets slung in the bag "just in case"
 
hunnymonster said:
I'm in a probably similar vein to you... I think the law of maximum inconvenience would suggest that any unique pattern rechargeable batteries would be flat on the day I wanted to use it. So I went for the one that took AAs.

Downside is that the recycle time is longer on alkalines. So a dozen out of my trusty bag of AA envelop pros gets slung in the bag "just in case"
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I have a bunch of ad200s and I mostly never exhausted the battery on the day. It is however a good idea to throw in the charger to the car.

I also still have AA powered 600ex flash throwback which was the go to unit before godox. It's definitely slower. It's noticeable and power is nowhere near there. Lion cell and a spare or a charger in the boot is definitely the way to go
 
Adamcski said:
I've looked at lencarta, pixapro and godox and they don't seem to have many, if any AA battery flashes available, especially if shooting with the dark side brand (Lumix)
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Unlike Jason, I'd go for the LiOn battery version, they'll easily do a full shoot and recycle faster than the AA version (I bought the AA version)
hunnymonster said:
Godox TT685II-O (The Olympus/Panasonic variant) still seems to be widely available.
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But if you want the AA version, that's the one, and they're not so rare. But I wouldn't
 
The godox 685 II is one of the best buys at not much more than £100 new on eBay. I do not use mine very often so keep a supply of eneloops handy as they hold their charge for months if not years. I would get the LI ion variety of flash if I used it professionally.
 
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Adamcski said:
I found these on Amazon...are they worth a punt at £60 each?

It's Godox which is the brand I have already (a tt685o v1, thx to @Phil V recommendations a while back). I have a xpro godox trigger which I use also.

What do you think?

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I believe it’s manual only. Which for me is a no for an only speedlight. However, as you already have one speedlight, it’ll depend on use.
 
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Yes there is no TTL on them. I can use the trigger but it won't work with TTL setting. I'm just learning in my house at the moment however, so I am using M mode and off camera flash (making it a harder learning curve for myself) so I could use them just as Off camera options knowing that TTL won't work...has to be a downside to £60 I suppose
 
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Adamcski said:
Yes there is no TTL on them. I can use the trigger but it won't work with TTL setting. I'm just learning in my house at the moment however, so I am using M mode and off camera flash (making it a harder learning curve for myself) so I could use them just as Off camera options knowing that TTL won't work...has to be a downside to £60 I suppose
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Tbf
TTL is only really useful for run and gun photography, if you’re doing impromptu studio work, manual is not only good enough but better.
 
Phil V said:
Tbf
TTL is only really useful for run and gun photography, if you’re doing impromptu studio work, manual is not only good enough but better.
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To be honest, I'm just messing around in the house trying to learn a little about lighting and portrait photography whilst the weather is bad. I'm never going to do a wedding or a pro studio shoot lol
 
Adamcski said:
To be honest, I'm just messing around in the house trying to learn a little about lighting and portrait photography whilst the weather is bad. I'm never going to do a wedding or a pro studio shoot lol
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Apologies my language might sound like I'm talking pro advice but that's not my intent, they might (?) be pre terms but the situations apply to all

TTL flash is the right tool to use in a dynamic situation, where the flash to subject distance is likely to change regularly, and bear in mind that also means where you're bouncing flash off ceilings and walls. It's impossible to calculate consistent flash exposure in these conditions.

Manual is the right tool where the flash to subject distance is constant, once you know the correct setting, it's a set and forget solution.

In film days we needed a flash meter to get the correct flash exposure in studio conditions, nowadays I start with my flash set at 1/4 power, and the camera at f5.6, and by simply shooting and checking, I can get to correct quite quickly (changing ISO or flash power to taste)
 
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