I am about to make a purchase of AD600pro. But I got feedback that it's difficult to carry for outdoor shoots for a single shooter. Due to its weight. Can anyone suggest to me the best choice? I don't own any studio and I have no studio work.
I am about to make a purchase of AD600pro. But I got feedback that it's difficult to carry for outdoor shoots for a single shooter. Due to its weight. Can anyone suggest to me the best choice? I don't own any studio and I have no studio work.
I have the AD600 and it's not really so bad weight-wise (an extra KG, or around 2 extra lbs vs the AD400). I carry the stand and strobe in a medium duffel bag and that works well - though I wouldn't take it hiking with me or anything.
The advice I was given that you would want this power at a minimum if you are shooting into the sun, for example. But for most everything else the 400 would probably suffice. If I was buying just one more powerful strobe, I would want to make sure I could use it for all applications. But that's just me.
Honestly the weight of the stand and sand bags or whatever will be just as heavy if you don't have someone to help you. And if there is any wind...it's going over.
Nothing wrong with the previous comment. The weight difference I think is excessive for the value added. It's at most a 1 stop difference for twice the weight. If the one stop is important than a AD600 for sure. If not the Ad400 is excellent (I have 2) and much easier to carry around.
jmmaher wrote:
Nothing wrong with the previous comment. The weight difference I think is excessive for the value added. It's at most a 1 stop difference for twice the weight. If the one stop is important than a AD600 for sure. If not the Ad400 is excellent (I have 2) and much easier to carry around.
This is a valid point, and I don't mean to be pedantic. But just to clarify since I had double checked upon making the comment, the AD400 is 2.1KG vs 3KG for the AD600. So not quite 1.5 times the weight. Still heavy, of course, especially if you find yourself needing two. But usually a less powerful lightweight strobe or even a speedlight/reflector works for fill. At least it has for me in my modest two light kit!
Also consider cycle times, battery...I haven't taken the time to compare these, sorry. Or do you need to use it for HSS often, as maybe that would be a scenario where the additional power will be helpful?
My guess is that for the vast majority of your use, AD400 will be perfect. It's just whether or not it will bother you in those select scenarios where it is not quite enough.
I would agree with abadger with regard to having only one light.
Another point to consider for the more powerful light is that it's working at less of its capacity more often. That makes a big difference when you want HSS, faster recycling or longer time before overheating even at lower power levels. When a less powerful flash is maxing out, the AD600 will still be loafing. Oh, and that goes for the use of the modeling light as well; the larger flash has a larger heat sink so it can run the modeling lamp longer before getting as hot.
One thing I have done with all my godox AD flashes has been to get the extension head. All of them have too much weight in the head, and if your stand tips or blows over on location, the head comes down like a hammer. If you're shooting alone and have nobody to secure the stand, that's going to cost you.
I have not found sandbags on any kind of stand (that I can carry myself) to be satisfactorily secure enough to guarantee a stand will never blow over without a human attending it. But if you have the bulk of the weight down low, at least there is far less chance of catastrophe when it happens.
I agree with everything @abadger and @RDKirk have mentioned and would emphasize the benefit of the extension head. If shooting in bright outdoors or trying to over power the sun the extra power of the AD600Pro is an asset and frankly with all the other gear you need to make the shot happen, the extra weight is less significant.
If you are trying to save weight and size, then the AD400Pro and its dedicated modifiers from Godox with the smaller mount can be an advantage. Like all choices, there is usually never one clear answer since situations change from shoot to shoot.
Apparently my memory on weight was wrong. However the weight and size of the 600 is substantial. For me, it's not worth that difference as we are talking about an ISO 100 versus ISO 200 difference with all else being equal. With modern cameras very little if any difference in image quality.
Now if you routinely shoot at full power and need the fastest possible recycling the AD600 is essential. I rarely am close to full power when I shoot.
Recycle time for the AD600 at full power is .9 seconds and for the AD400 is 1 second.
There are situations where the AD600 would be essential. The question is will you use it that way.
Both are excellent in their own way. I have owned both.
A handicapped shooter here who shoots without any assistants and has no problems with 2 AD600s. Get a nice wheeled stand and extension head and shoot. Simple. Been using my AD600s now for 4-5 yrs. The wheeled stands for almost 10.
Power wise, I would prefer to have 1200ws. All depends on when you shoot. When I am shooting evening with f1.4 glass and keeping more balanced look then even AD200 would be plenty IMHO. Don't need AD400 or AD600. When I shoot during sun, I need as much power as HSS takes lot of juice and 600ws is not enough.
Example max power of AD600 in an octobox. Sun is on the side not directly behind. See it is hard to match the sun. 20180531_Model_0410 by Vishi A, on Flickr
