Rix Mascarenhas
Hey guys, in today’s article I’m going to talk about the GODOX V850II, a really cool flash from GODOX. For those who have not seen the previous post on low cost flashes just click here, some of then can impress you.
Godox V850II
GODOX is a Chinese company, by the way one of the leaders in the lighting market.
This company has been producing very cool things over the years, and one of the most recent was the AD200 which you can also see here on the blog.
But one of their products that caught my attention the most was the V850II, for many reasons. And to tell you the truth, I can’t just read and research about it, I had to buy one to see what was the deal with this little boy.
The GODOX V series is one of the first series of flashes that do not use standard AA batteries, but rather a lithium proprietary battery. There was already a great reason for me to be interested, I hate carrying a lot of AA batteries. Speaking of the V850II, in addition to the lithium battery it also has a built-in transmitter / receiver. It looked too good to be true.
Let’s go to its technical sheet:
- GN60 type flash
- 11.1V battery with 2000mAh
- Multi and manual modes
- Controls with ⅓ of increments
- Zoom from 20 to 200mm
- 1/8000 high speed sync, only when used with transmitter
- 5 remote groups
- Compatible with Canon, Nikon and Sony
- Auto focus assist, only when used directly on camera
- 360 degree flash head rotation
- Large LCD screen for reading settings, very useful
GODOX V850II in the field.
Those who shoot in different situations know how important it is to have good lighting source, and sometimes counting only on natural light, therefore comes the great secret of many photographers, flashes and artificial lights. And to tell you the truth after I started using flashes in some situations I don’t see myself giving up on them anytime soon.
The Godox V850II is a very powerful tool when used at the right time, and you will definitely not experience a lack of light in many situations, as it is 1/1 setting very strong. One of the things that impressed me most about the Godox V850II is the fact that it uses a Lithium battery, which by the way works impressively well.
The fully charged battery is capable of shooting more than 500 times, more than enough for most sections of photography! Even at full strength he can fire up to 15 times without overheating, and if you are not using full power you can shot more and overheating is virtually impossible.
In the tests section with itI shot at least 200 times, using adjustments between 1/32 to ⅛ and at no time did he ask to rest. More than positive points for me! And with the remaining charge on the battery charge I still could do another session.
The built-in 2.4Ghz receiver works magically well, without any problems throughout the session, even when it is far away from the transmitter installed in the camera. Another good point here.
I got to be more than 50 meters from the flash and it didn’t miss a shot, very good! In fact, it is very worthwhile to use it outside the camera, with the aid of the X1 transmitter of the brand, so you will be able to use shutter speeds of up to 1/8000 on high speed sync mode.
Perhaps here is the only problem with the Godox V850II, when mounted directly on the camera, without the use of the transmitter the sync speed between the camera and the flash is 1/250 at most. But this is normal behavior for most of the flashes.
Godox V850II taking the field
For the Godox flash test section I used only the V850II with a pedestal and an umbrella, to have a little more diffused lighting! The entire setup was assembled in just 5 minutes at most, after all the flash already has a receiver built into its body.
It was a matter of turning on and start taking pictures, and this is very important in some situations where you don’t have much time to do the job. The fact that the X1 transmitter can control almost all flash parameters wirelessly is great, and I only need to focus on the photos. This can helped me to work with the flash on the pedestal with very high settings, about 2.5 meters from the ground, working like a champ as a wireless system was intended to
From this point I started to consider having more than one flash unit from Godox.
Because the ease of adjustment when used off-camera is so easy, and the fact that you can control more than one flash at the same time with the trigger makes me think of the versatility of having 2 or 3 V850II.
Definitely the Godox V850II is a tool that won’t come out of my backpack anytime soon!
If you’re the type of person who doesn’t care of carrying equipment around, it’s worth having more than one flash unit in your backpack.
Is Godox V850II worth it?
I can answer with sincerity, yes it is worth it. Within a flash with humanly possible price I believe that the Godox V850II is the most pleasant option to have, beating some flashes from YongNuo. And going head to head with the flagship ones.
Like all equipment we have the positive and negative points, and in the case of the V850II there are few negative points that I can list.
Pros
- Receiver integrated with the flash, very useful in any situation.
- Lithium battery. I was very impressed, lots of pictures and lots of light, what more can I ask for.
- Simple to use. Equipment without scrolling, connected, clicked 2 or 3 buttons and it’s ready.
- Multiple systems. If you shoot with Nikon and Canon just change the transmitter.
Cons
- Price. Nothing absurd but more expensive than the YongNuo. Cost of V850II on Ebay USD 130.00
- Availability. In my country it is not very easy to find it.
I would like it to be able to sync at high speed when installed on the camera in the same way it does when it is off camera, so I would have hIgh sync speed in any situation. But I accept the this is more a camera thing than a flash thing.
If you are looking for a cool flash unit that will help you in many situations go after after a Godox V850II.
Do you have any Godox products? Leave your comment with your impressions! And if you like or have flashes from other brands also leave your comment with your thoughts!
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