Event Photography: Godox V1 vs Canon 600EX II-RT. First Impressions and a Bit of Flash History 

Are you a Godox user? I'd love to hear about why.

Just discovered your content - so excellent and highly useful. Shooting an event this weekend and your advice is going with me. Really helped fill in the gaps and boost my confidence. Thanks

Thanks Mik for a great and timely video. I am a hobbyist and still building my tool kit. I have a Nikon Flash but started doing some research on the Goddox Flash. I am looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts on Goddox after you have used it on a few events. Thanks again for looking out for us Event Photographers. 😀

The battery on the V1 is superb. I can shoot 2-3 weddings without having to charge it. I hate having to switch AA batteries during events. Got so used to the V1 that I am now getting rid of all my other flashes that take AA batteries and replacing them with V860's and V1's. I have all godox portable strobes, monolights, and flashes. They all work seamlessly together and all my godox flashes have Master/slave functionality. The way the V1's buttons are set up allows for easy control over your other godox strobes.

Hey Mik, thanks for this - great vid - just about to buy the V1 for weddings.. thank you these videos have been so helpful

Hi man thanks for your time, I'm still waiting on the r6 + flash settings for events. Hope you get time to get it done, as your no bullshit approach it's priceless.

I have always been a Canon user, including their flashes going back a lot of years. I still own and occasionally use two 500EX's and two 500EXII's. I have three of the 600EXII-RTs and mostly use one or two of them on shoots. That being said a couple of years back I bought a couple Godox AD200s, (for outdoor daylight shoots) along with the flash trigger to operate them and they are excellent flashes. I bought the V1 and have used it, (as a hair light or accent light outdoors mostly) I haven't run into the color issue that some photographers, or reviewers, complain about. Some say it and the AD100 have a greenish cast to them, most notably when used in conjunction with a regular Godox 860 type flash unit. I've never had an issue with a Canon flash over several decades of professional work, maybe I've been lucky. I trust them. So far, the Godox has held up well and time will tell. Canon has their flashes made in China and I strongly suspect that what you are buying is essentially a Canon flash packaged in a Godox body--with a few tweaks. You won't be able to control your V1 (or any Godox flash) using the Canon wireless transmitter. You'll need the Godox trigger, which in turn will not trigger your Canon flash. You can trigger either of them optically, back to old school which sucked. So, if you plan on using your Canon flash as the Master unit and the Godox as a Slave unit, it won't work. All Godox flashes, and there are tons of them, will work with the same Godox (such as the XProC Wireless trigger, which sells for $69), however, they will not work with Canon triggers, or to my knowledge any other flash manufacturers triggers. I'm saying that because if you want you or your second shooter to be able to use an off-camera flash, you'll need to purchase the Godox (Canon) trigger. The other drawback, is that after you buy a Godox unit, say from B&H the only warranty that I know of is from B&H and once that warranty is over, you're on your own. Godox doesn't, to my knowledge, have a place in the U.S. for repair work. You can download firmware updates, which I have done but that's about it. Adorama sells Godox under their name "Flashpoint" and offers a warranty with it, I'm not sure if their warranty is any longer or better than B&Hs or not. I'll sum it up by saying so far, the V1 has been an excellent flash and for the price is unbeatable. I need to add that you can buy a Godox "Receiver" for your Canon flash and then using the Godox trigger fire both the Godox flash and the Canon. No trigger is needed for the Godox flashes, they're built into the units.

I only recently got the V1 for myself and my partner who also shoots with me. We have used the godox previously with the ad200 and ad400 pro with softboxes for on location shoots and found the eco system very reliable and easy to use so was just natural to choose their on camera flash when looking to upgrade from old Nikon/yongnuo ones

Curious how the V1 held up for your SS. I constantly have trouble with my 600ex2-rt and the recycle time, I’m over it. I have a Godox v860 and am spoiled by the rechargeable battery, I feel like it lasts for months. I love how seamlessly Godox sync. speed lights and strobes.

The Canon screen also changes colour depending on mode. I usually adjust FEC from the camera while I'm looking through the viewfinder and this would not work with the Godox which would drive me crazy. I use the Orange gels all the time for creative effect. I tried magnetic grids but I kept losing them so now I use a 5" reflector with grids on a Bowens speedlite bracket.

Canon EL-1...expensive, but an awesome event flash!

While I haven't used a first-party Nikon flash for comparison, I have been pretty happy with my Godox flashes, and their radio trigger compatibility with each other. My brother and myself have several of the Godox/Flashpoint (Adorama's rebranded version of the Godox lights) speedlights and strobes, and they just seem to work seamlessly with our Godox triggers, which makes it convenient when we need to borrow each other's lights. I enjoy using my V1 quite a bit. My only real gripes about it are that I wish the locking mechanism for the hotshoe mount felt sturdier and more secure, and that every once in a while, after firing off a bunch of shots, I'll get a random color temperature change from the light; the outlier temperature is slightly warmer, but noticeable. Not a big deal if shooting in RAW, since it can be corrected in post, but it is something I did notice. Otherwise, the color temperature matches my other Godox lights (I don't have the AD100, with it's infamous green tint). I will say this, though: I find the battery life of the V1 to be quite good!

Very good

I have the 860IIf, TT685f, and a couple of little TT350f's. I've found them to be very reliable, but I don't think the menu system is that good. Apparently the V1 and newer models have a newer/better menu system, but now I know the menu's I'm not that bothered. I have the AK-R1 accessory kit, which is all the round head bits and bobs you get with the V1, plus an adaptor for the flash head so it can utilise the magnetic add ons. I found the performance to be pretty good, and IMHO they don't overheat too much.

Talking about the History of flashers, some 40 to 50 years back the Metz 402 was king. I just thought I'd bring this one up.

I was about to get a V1

All i care about is if it has a rotating head to bounce light and the power output of the light . More light output power can always be modified

I had the Canon 600ex for many years but always found it overcomplicated for what I needed. Since changing over to Sony I've purchased several Good flashes including the V1 and prefer it.

Also, just bought the V1 for upcoming shoot so we'll see....

If you are a pro spend the extra I had a flashpoint Godox fo down on me yeah it was 32 degrees outside but it was border like embarrassing. I had a football team with a trophy and it flailed. I pulled out two 600’s and they worked great. That moment I went to profoto Same situation two years later and it was now 28 degrees and no issues with the profoto In Arizona Godox flashpoint and yongnuo over heat like crazy in the summer I would much rather have relatable than cheap 😊😊

What? Still no Brixton?

if i could rewind time i'd definitely not get the v1c.. i got mine brand new and it broke less than 4 months of use under 15 sessions. i didnt drop it nor did i blast away like it's a machine gun

sorry, your mic is clipping everytime you look down to the right side. I would increase the distance. And showing small black stuff and wearing something black is not the best option if you don't have a 2.camera for close ups/down shots.

I just lost my Canon 580EXII... Went to the store to get the 600EXII RT... And instead I went out with Godox A200PRO, TT600 and a X2t trigger for the same money... I just could not resist how much more I'm getting... I never use TTL anyway...

I have godox v1 and v860ii and ad200, they all have the same problem, if you are using mirrorless canon cameras, they changed the TTL protocol and godox no longer works reliably on ttl, it's all over the place, and ttl + hss causes it to always fire at 1/1 power...it's a shame, but if you don't have mirrorless canon then they are fantastic and reliable! i wonder why nobody talk's about this, every photographer i know that has godox and mirrorless canon has the same problem, and i know a lot of them and it's a big problem...and btw canon is to blame, since canon older flashes work fine on mirrorless cameras, so it's effecting only 3rd party flashes, they truly are assholes, they are doing the same thing with lenses

@9:15 What are you talking about? Canon also changes colors depending on mode but also you can customise these colors. Did you read your manual before this review? This is not a tiktok, get your stats right!

ok, ok. But!!!! Why u dont speak about the most important thing . The sync speeds. ? And maybe better if u record this video again, because the babla is too much. Sorry

Not enough introduction keep talking about what not you gonna talk about