Gaffers Salon EP#21 - Godox Knowled 600 4'x4' Bi-color Mat - Full Review 

Thanks Andrew

Hey buddy, yeah these are an exceptional value... (Travis wears even had a sale on them in his CKL group and i got a 2nd unit for $1350) and i upgraded both OEM LCD to ones from Grid2order.com out of the Ukraine for like $300/each. The color metrics i think on a lot of these various new mats are pretty much on par as to TM30/SSI/etc.... If you want to look closer at inshot DMX cue tests, Andrew does a good job in his review of the 600B: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--VLippMT0W8.htmlsi=vdGuaaJaaLJflPtW

Thanks… it’s a very good. I own 2 of these and two intellytech Mega 8 rgbww… both very solid offerings.

yeah for sure. I hate dealing with dongles and really feel pro lights should have built in... just one less thing to deal with, imho. Agree on rain jackets for sure. that was large oversight. Intellytech managed to offer built in CRMX as a $150 option at time of purchase which is prob best option for everyone. The issue with full spectrum is, of course, output. I argued with Aaron @ Intellytech that the new Mega 3.0 RGBWW should do what arri did on the Brik Lok and go to a 4:1 emitter ratio - which for Mat lights especially makes the most sense to me to achieve higher outputs while still maintaining decent color control. I also think making these modular would be smart to get 4x8 or 8x8 etc. My main point is vendors are totally missing the sweet spot in middle of market, a fixture that could work on EP/Features and short form work but still comes in far less then the high end stuff with 90%+ of the feature set... I like the Godox but once again we have a non cue-able light, no CRMX and lack of IUP rated balls, diffusions, less then ideal LCD etc etc --- on the other hand its $1700. And in fairness neither the LM plus or 2019 spectrums were cue-able either.

I own both Mega 8 and 600bi (2 each) and they are both great. I think it depends on other factors; do you want square or rectangular, do you need g/m correction and/or full color. Build quality wise they are very similar... color metrics they're very close. the Godox head is IP rated. The Intellytech comes in either bi-color or full color and also has a CRMX option.

im considering both and in my research I am leaning towards the f600 due to the fact that its nearly twice as bright. I dont need full RGB.

Intellytech has rgbww models out now… 4:1 emitter ratio between the white and rgb emitters - but not in a 4x4… but they do have a large mega 8 which is 3x5ft

​@@GaffersSalontrue... have you seen the cineroid Jupiter 1000? 1k full color 4x4 flexible mat

@@Cinegavo no have not even heard of it, will look it up

Sekonic 800

I don’t know but can ask… I have 2 intellytech mega 8 and the lanterns also 2 fc22/21c and all the lanterns are they are fantastic for sure

Spoke with Godox they will have lantern for all 3 sizes of the mats.

there is a link to a zoom call i did with John Tindall, the inventor - it's in the description. check out the first 10-15 min that will give you a good idea about Brokeh.

@@GaffersSalon Thanks! That is a very interesting product!

Damn been saying it that way for 25 years… but I got Houston street in NYC correct. 💡🤣

Both words sound pretty much the same here in Australia.

In theory don’t see why that would not work, it’s rated I believe to -20C operation and the head only IP rated… right now in USA have not seen longer header cables offered but they say they have some but not sure on total length… that could be issue… suppose you could daisy chain dmx and run dongle at ground level if needed… you’d have to figure solution to protect ballasts from the weather.

@@GaffersSalon would there be a benefit to a more traditional route with vortex?

@@GoatHousePRODUCTIONin my mind it would be having full color control and not just bicolor. But Godox lighter weight for sure -

I ordered magic, all the grids etc from the Rag Place - so I have full inventory of rags-- they were custom dealing with them now because they messed up the Velcro sides, made them flat rather then what I requested which was lite gear lite mat style.. but we’ll get it sorted.

So you had to custom make them all? Not you but you paid to have that done? @@GaffersSalon

Great video! Did you end up receiving the new rags from the Rag Place for this unit? Im curious if we reference your order, they might get it right on the first go? @@GaffersSalon

@@GaffersSalon I’m also interested in a thicker diffusion option / magic cloth

Yeah my second unit on back ordered now until November it seems… very odd.

Can't really answer this for you. I own 2 each of both the Mega 8 RGBWW and Godox 600bi. Build quality wise i'd say they're similar and it's going to come down to other factors as to which makes the best pick for you personally. First up is square form factor (4x4) vs rectangular (3x5)? Do you want full color or just Bicolor? Do you need an IP rated head? Do you want CRMX built in? The Godox has a bit more output 600w vs 400w on Mega8. Color metrics, in bicolor mode the TM30 are very close, the RGBWW version of the mega allows for tint control, allowing you to correct g/m shift even if you never use RGB colors per se. I can't speak to the phone APPS as i never use them. They both have lanterns available. The Intellytech also has an optional secondary diffusion panel (based on their Mega 2.0 version) called the pop up diffuser which is lighter and lower profile. Prices pretty similar, the RGBWW Intellytech is more $ but has the same output as their bicolor version and in the case of Intellytech I would def choose the RGBWW version over the less expensive bicolor (about a $400 price difference). Neither light is cue-able in shot, both are too steppy for smooth cues, generally speaking. I've got away with a bit of in shot dimming here and there but it's most problematic from say 0% to 10% - toward the lower end.

Makes a lot of sense. Thanks for that very informative reply. I totally get how its not an apples to apples comparison. Keep up the good work, this channel is a great resource!@@GaffersSalon

are they equal in effort to setup? Timewise...cheers@@GaffersSalon

@@clizzaudioyes about the same… both take a bit of time to build

It’s in their pro light line up, so diff then their other fixtures - they wanted people like Andrew Lock (who is working on a review) and Luke Seerveld etc… they need/want to reach the pro market mainly with these knowled fixtures

@@GaffersSalon But when we see the Aputure 1200 and 600d for example, they send them out to 20+ people that work in this industry.

​@@BoomingVisuals, Godox may not be as large a company as Aputure; their budget for marketing & promotion may be much smaller [I looked, but couldn't find those numbers for either company; couldn't even find capitalization]. That said, the Aputure 1200D & 600D are COB LED monolights; I've seen plenty of filmmakers on You Tube reviewing Godox's KNOWLED M600D, M600BI, MG1200BI, COB LED monolights (Momentum Productions, Disnet, Sharpen, New Layer, The Film Guy, TLDR Filmmaker, Rob Ellis, Art Video Productions, Jason Morris, Personal View, Advanced Media, Chinfat, ProAV TV, Threefold, LensVid, DIY Photography, as well as Gaffer & Gear & Meet The Gaffer), and the coming MG2400BI COB LED has been shown & talked about at trade shows, by News shooter, DIY Photography, CineD, LensVid (it's not out yet). As far as flexible LED mat lights, Godox's F200BI mat lights have been reviewed by DIY Photography, Sam Holland, Essential Photo, RapSyntax, Meet The Gaffer, & Gaffers Salon, their F400BI mat lights reviewed by Spenser Sakurai, Jarrod Parker, their F600BI mat lights by Meet The Gaffer, & Gaffers Salon; other than the lower-than-Aputure-quality less-expensive-than-Aputure Amaran line, Aputure doesn't yet make flexible LED mats under the "Aputure" name for high-end use (equivalent in quality to their LS1200D/Nova P600C/Infinibar), so maybe an apples-to-oranges comparison?😀 Godox has released *so many lights in such a short period* - COB LED monolights: SL300R and SZ300R (both RGBWW), KNOWLED M200D, M200BI, M300D, M300BI, M600D, M600BI, fresnels, & projection attachments, MG1200BI, upcoming MG2400BI, & reflectors & fresnel for the MG series with electronic communication with the power supply, & projection attachments; LED panel lights: KNOWLED P300R (RGBWW), P600R (RGBWW), P600BI (and I think P300BI); LED flexible mat lights: KNOWLED F600BI, F400BI, & F200BI; tube Pixel RGB LED lights: KNOWLED TP8R, TP4R, TP2R; LC500 & PC500R mini light wands; inflatable tube LED light KNOWLED Air Tube Light AT200BI; LED RGBWW bulb lights: C7R & C10R; And the "new" Godox version/copy of Light bridge/CRLS reflectors, KNOWLED Light flow reflectors; and the MF12-DK1 dental flash system; & the ADS200 stick flash head for the AD200 flash; & ring flash heads for the P2400, AD1200, & AD200 strobes; (and all the less-expensive updates, revisions, and cheaper COB LED product lines, & MLP19K, 26K, & 36K projection attachments); AND still producing & updating the strobes - P2400 Power Pack kit, AD1200 Pro pack-and-head kit, AD600, 400, 300, 200, 100, V1, & the smaller flashes; there may just be too many Godox products to keep up with as the technology evolves so quickly (especially with Nanlux & Nanlite, Amaran & Aputure, Arri, Creamsource, Astera, Dedolight, Fiilex, Cineo, DMG, Colbor, iFootage, Hive, Prolycht, Litepanels, BB&S, Intellytech, Aladdin, Kinoflo, Quasar Science, among others, all competing for attention from reviewers).

This perfectly sums up why I don’t trust Aputure. They’re relying on scummy influencer marketing, and those influencers are all essentially just RU-vidrs who don’t work in the field. I’ve personally been burned by Aputure customer service, along with a handful of other products that RU-vidrs raved about in their reviews.

@@MrAndrewClaycomb I’d disagree in part… those “brand ambassadors” are generally, yes, RU-vidrs whose target market is content creatives etc… if you look at the pro side you see Dan and other at Aputure sitting down for meaningful dialogue on lighting and creative process; ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ea3-sMoV5EE.htmlsi=WmL_4hM4_94ScKYd