Godox Studio Strobe Comparison – Studio Lighting Review

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My entire kit of gear :
QT600ii:
QS600ii:
SK400ii:
DP600ii:
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SPREADSHEET COMPARISON WITH ALL INFO:

I was wrong the XT32 and XT16 provide .1 stop control. The X1/XPro do not offer this!

I know a lot of people are confused by the ridiculous amount of studio strobes offered by Godox, so here’s a quick explanation for which one will best fit your needs.

uilt for speed, the QT600IIM Flash Head from Godox is a powerful 5600K daylight-balanced flash source with sophisticated core and convenience features and the kind of technology and flexibility that is the hallmark of advanced equipment. The head features 0.05-0.9 sec. recycling with flash durations as short as 1/19,606 sec. The QT600IIM offers power that’s variable from 1/128 to full power, while the 150W modeling light’s output is variable as well. Settings are accessed via rear panel push buttons and displayed on the easy-to-read LCD screen. The head has several flash modes for performance options. Ideal for most shooting situations, Stable Color Mode prioritizes precise 5600K color rendition. High-Speed Mode favors short t0.1 flash durations for ultra-sharp capture of peak action in sports or for creative studio work like freezing splashes or water droplets. The QT600IIM also supports High-Speed Sync enabling the use of shutter speeds as short as 1/8000 sec allowing you to use wider apertures and other creative effects.

With a guide number of 249′, the QS600II Flash Head from Godox is a 5600K daylight-balanced flash source with sophisticated core and convenience features at an affordable price point. The head features 0.3-1.5 sec. recycling with flash durations as short as 1/2000 sec. Power is variable from 1/32 to full power, adjustable in 50 steps, while the 150W modeling light has a Proportional mode to aid in light placement and a Percentage mode that adjusts brightness from 5 to 100%. Settings are accessed via rear panel push buttons and displayed on the easy-to-read LCD screen. Triggering options include sync cord, test button, and slave triggering. The QS600II has a built-in 32-channel X1 radio system, making wireless function control possible with separate purchase of the XT16, FT16 or X1 transmitter. The head also has an anti-pre-flash function that makes it easy to work with point-and-shoot and other cameras that employ pre-flash. The QS600II weighs in at 6.4 lb, making it easy to assemble a kit with 2 or more heads without having to lug a heavy case around. The QS600II has a Bowens front accessory mount allowing it to use Godox modifiers as well as accessories from the many manufacturers that use this system. The head has a tilting stand mount and runs on 100 to 120 VAC mains power.

With a guide number of 213, the SK400II Studio Strobe from Godox is a 5600K daylight-balanced flash source that offers solid core and convenience features at a budget-friendly price point. The head features a 0.4-3 sec recycling time with flash durations as short as 1/2000 sec. Power is variable from 1/16 to full power, adjustable in 40 steps, while the 150W modeling light has a Proportional mode to allow you to preview your lighting effects and a Percentage mode that adjusts brightness from 5 to 100%. Settings are accessed via rear panel push buttons and displayed on the easy-to-read LCD screen. Triggering options include sync cord, test button, and slave triggering. The SK400II has a built-in 32-channel X1 radio system, making wireless function control possible with separate purchase of the XT16, FT16 or X1 TTL transmitter. The head also has an anti-pre-flash function that makes it easy to work with point-and-shoot and other cameras that employ pre-flash. The SK400II weighs in at 4.6 lb, encouraging the assembly of a kit with two or more heads without having to lug a heavy case around. The SK400II has a Bowens front accessory mount, allowing it to use Godox modifiers as well as accessories from the many manufacturers that use this system. The head has a tilting stand mount and runs on 100 to 120 VAC mains power.

he DP400II Flash Head from Godox is a full-featured 400Ws monolight with several professional and convenience features. The head has a color temperature of 5600K, a recycle time of 0.3-1.2 sec, and flash durations from 1/800 to an action-stopping 1/2000 sec. Power is variable from 1/16 to full power, while the DP400II’s 150W modeling can be set to a percentage or proportional to the flash power to allow you to accurately preview your final shot. All of these functions can not only be made manually on the unit, but also wirelessly via the head’s built-in Wireless X System receiver. Remote operation requires separate purchase of a transmitter.

50 Comments
  1. Majed Morsi says

    i wanna ask about Sk300 II and Sk400 II , are they support HSS or not because i got confused , specification said flash duration between 1/800s to 1/2000s so that mean HSS , but a lot of people said that mean on camera you will shoot on 1/220s by maximum so i need to know the clear answer.
    Also if the strobe support HSS is that must to use a specific trigger that support HSS or i can use any type of triggers . Thanks

  2. Rizwan Ali says

    5:16

    I believe you meant to say QS 1200 not QT 1200

  3. Rizwan Ali says

    At 1:40 which possibility of battery operation did you mention; kindly provide URL

  4. Eduardo Ramos says

    Thank you for your video very helpful.  I'm about to pull the trigger for 1 AD200 to do environmental portrait session and also in home studio $300 us. 1 questions you mentioned on this video the light could be power by a vagabond? could you provide me with a link or model #?  for the price of the AD200 I could get 2 SK400ii if I can get them to work in the field.  Would you recommend going this way?  thank you!

  5. Afonso Santos says

    I have watched this video (multiple times on the last 5 months, it was the reason why I subscribed to your channel afterwords) to figure out what should be my next (400W) strobe (already have 1x V860ii and 1x AD200).
    Was undecided between QT400II and QS400II and finally inclined towards the QT400II until …. … I opened your great spreadsheet and saw that QT400II does NOT have multi mode if running under 220v !? (my case in Europe).
    Does this mean that if I want stroboscopic/multi mode in Europe I will have to go for the QT600ii model ??

  6. makemoneyrelax says

    How can godox be comared to einstein e640 or honeybadger? Is godox chinese?

  7. Paulo Parreira says

    Can i tune flash power via the X-Pro trigger in all of them?

  8. Sajjad Malik says

    much better explanation than pathetic godox website. i wish i can meet their website developer and ask him to see your video. well done sir. keep it up.

  9. Darryl Lee says

    Hey man, any info regarding the DE, DS, GT strobes and where they fall in relation to these?

  10. Jose Soriano says

    Hey, thank you for the video. I didn't know there were so many options, actually, in Canada, I see only 3. Quick question, which head goes down in power to 1/128? or 1/256? is it only Ad600? what about consistent color temperature?

  11. Tricia Disandro says

    You are my new favorite. Great video!

  12. Joe Dusel says

    Great review! Thanks!

  13. Xerxus Xerus says

    thank youu.. it help me so much

  14. fulmenincauda says

    Can I mount a 250w modeling lamp on QT/QS strobes? I already did it and It worked but I'm not sure it's safe! Any suggestion?

  15. VisionsByJuice says

    For a small home studio (8 ft. Wide backdrops, 10 foot ceiling height ) would you recommend the SK400 or the QS400? Also would you recommend a 38 inch EZ lock deep parabolic?

  16. r8guearts says

    What triggers and receivers do I but for these

  17. Irak Perez says

    THANKS A BUNDLE! Agree with your conclusion.

  18. Zlatan Pasic says

    Thanks for the video, very clear and informative. Is there any update on the X Pro control of the studio lights, can the power now be correctly adjusted via the trigger? I'm afraid that they are quite uselesss to me if it can't…. :/

  19. Steve TQP says

    HI Robert. Excellent intro to the Godox brand! I'm looking for a quality, semi-fast flash duration, 2 or 3 strobe with softbox and remote trigger kit for my Fuji X-System. I was actually considering Einstein brand strobes as well. Would you know how the Godox DP600 II compares to Einstein models and if either offers a "kit" with the above items for a not-too-crazy price? Thank you sir!

  20. Aleš Mohorič says

    Thank you! Very helpful. Godox product line is really a mess regarding too many products with too many similarities.

  21. NEK says

    So with the SK300ii won’t be able to capture motion in studio? Splash photography? I was able to do it with regular TTL speed light but this one doesn’t right? What is the best budget choice which allows up to 1/1000s flash?

  22. Norman Pimlott says

    You say bin the GS series ! But this is the only one that has a 200W option & it goes down to 1/32 power. We run a pretty small home studio, been using Bowens 200W lights but now moving over to Godox. ( already have a couple of AD200s and several speedlights all wired in to the Xpro triggers ) So I bought an SK300II & 300W at 1/16th power is too bright for what I am trying to do, the whole studio is white/light grey and I ended up pointing the strobe at the wall behind me and bouncing it back, I also put two layers of white cloth over the softbox to further diffuse/dim it down. Next for me is to get the GS200II and try that. That will give me 100W less and the ability to turn it down another stop ! Or get a 200W bulb and put it in the SK300II, don't know if that would work or not though

  23. sam sams says

    Waaaaay to complicated.

  24. Great video…!!! Very helpful and informative!

  25. Kai Sheng says

    I have two DP600II and 2 AD600BM. I found the two series have more than 500 difference in color temperature. The AD series is more close to 5500, the DP series is more close to 5000, (4800 gives more neural color.) I bought them all in china, where there are tons of retails stores. The sales guy admits that the DP is warmer. In same case it can really give me a hard time for post production. I have light, say AD600, shine direct to the back drop when doing high key family portrait. Some time the kids move around and get some spill one the face. If I set the WB in camera for DP series, the spill on kids face will be blueish, very visible. If I set for AD, the whole image will turn ugly yellow. But in other cases, like portrait, ues one series for main, other for kicker, or even add color gel, won't be a issue at all. But I decided to buy two more AD400pro. I believe they provide color more close to AD600.

  26. Alessandro LinuxBSD says

    How many fstop are available between each type of flash?

  27. alfredolunafoto says

    Hi Robert. Also note that the SKII series needs to be discharged when the flash output is adjusted from high to low. The "test" button is used for this purpose.

  28. Kamen Minkov says

    I can't remember when it was, but Godox did release a firmware update for the XPro allowing it to use 0.1 power increments (instead of 0.3).

  29. dheeraj naik says

    what is the maximum shutter speed i can achieve on SK300II by using godox x1 trigger? i

  30. agus joharudin says

    I agree with the last point that Godox has too many options that can complicate decision

  31. swargarohini tours says

    Hi!Can you tell which is better light elinchrome frx 400 or godox sk 400??

  32. Marc-Sanchez-Photographie says

    Vous parlez trop vite pour un Français, dommage.

  33. MIN HUANG says

    i have question about the QS 600 II, 1/1 – 1/32 is really confusing me as reading, I used to read it as F-stop when I use propoto strobe . so how does my camera set right about the F stop and shutter speed when the QS 600II shows it's 1/32?

  34. Visual Reason Photography says

    Wow. I’ve been so hung up on the ad600 and the 200 battery flashes, I didn’t even know these existed. And I mainly do studio. Wow this is great news! lol

  35. Asmr Patient 2472 says

    Wich set up would you buy for a complete studio set up, starting with the AD600BM(for outdors) Please help!

  36. Accion Positiva says

    Very helpful Robert! Thanks Again!

  37. Dongyang Zhang says

    This is the clearest and best video I've seen in these months. You explained everything very clearly, and you save me a lot of time searching the products detail. Thank you so much for this video!

  38. Nick Le says

    Greatest findings for the Godox lineup. I’m a bit surprised ad600 line isn’t here though given this vid was made this year. Thanks anw.

  39. Sylvain Boudet says

    salut à tous, je cherche le manuelle d'emploi des flash studio godox, QS 600 et ainsi du X pro C en français, merci avance.

  40. Sylvain Boudet says

    salut à tous, je cherche le manuelle d'emploi des flash studio godox, QS 600 et ainsi du X pro C en français, merci avance.

  41. Mark Flower says

    Thanks for the great video and breakdown. I might give these another try and get a different series. I bought an Godox SK400II back in November and returned it as the output of the flashes was wildly irregular (not colour, output). Haven't had the same problem with the battery ones (ad200, ad360ii, ad600bm). Do you experience much variance in power output? (Yes I did allow for recycling) 🙂 Probably what I should have expected being a cheapskate and buying a lesser series but I expected it to output correctly..

  42. Edvin Rushitaj says

    Extremely useful video. Thank you for making this! It was about time! 👍

  43. Brett Harris says

    There a DE too..

  44. Sainaa & Photography says

    QS and DP series difference ?

  45. Chavin says

    I’m considering buying the sk400ll I have looked it in different websites but some say that recycle time at full power is 1sec, others 3secs, you said 1sec. So have you actually test it to check if indeed is 1sec?

  46. philaw123 says

    Thanks for the comparo. You missed the DE line but, the funny thing is, so did Godox. I noticed it on sale on Aliexpress and Amazon but when I visited the Godox website, they don't have it listed. What gives? Any idea whether this line is legit and, if so, how it compares to the SK line given how close in price it is?

  47. Hega Productions says

    Hey Robert thank you for you video. I have 3 neewer ds 300 and ti the same with the godox ds 300? and one of the strobe flash bulb and model lamp burned out, and I can't find them anywhere, I really want help to find them thank you.

  48. william wallace says

    Does anyone know why whatever settings I make with my camera. Ie white balance card and setting to auto and adjusting up and down I can never get a white backgroind? Unless I overexpose the image!
    I'm using a night meter and set it to read f stip at ISO 200 and shutter 1/60. Manual focus..

  49. RJ Bradbury Photography says

    Hi Robert.

    The XT32 trigger will allow 1/10th stop control. Press and hold the set button to get to the menu where you can cycle through ( 1.0 , 1/128th +0.3/0.7 or 1/10th) increment settings.

    It does however baffle me why they remove it from the XPro trigger. I picked up the XT32 for that reason alone as it retains HSS and all you lose is TTL which is no great loss.

  50. william wallace says

    thanks for the spreadsheet. great work

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