Most flashes aren’t just expensive, they’re also really difficult to use for many of us who don’t understand how to see light. That’s one of the reasons why so many people reach for LEDs instead. But if flashes were more affordable and easy to use, more folks would pick them up. That’s exactly why so many photographers have been reaching for Godox over the years. And with their new Godox AD100PROII, they’re delivering a light that costs only $300 but performs far better.
At a similar price point, Canon and Nikon only offer very weak on-camera flashes, like the Nikon SB700, for example. But Godox is offering up a full monolight. Here are the specs about the new Godox AD100PROII that real photographers will care about:
- Light stand handle that can double as a handle that you handhold easily
- USB-C charging
- A claim of 1.5 second recycle at max power
- Magnetic mount for light modifiers
- Modeling lamp
- Adjustable zoom head
- TTL for pretty much every camera manufacturer. Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, OM SYSTEM, Panasonic, Pentax, and Leica. Hasselblad uses Nikon’s flash system.
- X3 and X3Pro trigger sync
- LED light display
- Compact size for shoving into your camera bag
- 32 radio channels
- High speed sync up to 1/8000 second
- 100 watt seconds, which is good enough for photographing conventions
Brands like LUMIX over the years have also been working with Godox to get their flashes to work more seamlessly with their cameras. So if you’re trying to figure out what flash to get, we’ve got a whole guide to choosing the right flash for you, too!
For several years, I was much more trusting of products from companies like Profoto. But these days, I’m really not sure anymore. And for $300 and all the improvements that have been made by the company over the years, Godox looks more like a company that was working on itself while Profoto stood still.
I think that for event photography, the Godox AD100PROII would be a great addition if you’re shooting indoors and have a small light modifier of some sort. But outdoors, I’m not quite sure that it will be powerful enough. 100 watt seconds really isn’t all that powerful. At 131 watt seconds, the Elinchrom One could barely overpower the natural light of NYC’s summer when we tested it. If you really wanted that effect, you’d have to use it with the Sony a9 III. And at that point, it just doesn’t make sense to spend that much money on a camera and almost nothing on a flash.
This could also be a great light for journalists and street photographers looking for something more powerful than a hot-shoe flash. Considering the design of the bracket, photographers can probably just handhold the light and use their other hand to shoot. That’s how I’ve been working very often over the years when I shoot events. However, I’ve been doing that with much heavier Profoto lights. The new Godox AD100PROII isn’t all that heavy.
We’re excited to test one out and hope that it holds up.