I have a couple of photography students who I am now teaching and they would like to get affordable flash guns for their Canon and Nikon mirrorless cameras that lack a built in flash. I know it would be easy to just recommend the genuine manufacturer’s product but I would also like to give them a more budget minded option as well. Godox is a name that I see popping up a lot online and I am wondering how good they are or if there are other reasonable brands you would be able to recommend. Neither of these students need or want professional quality flash gear.
I have two of them and the flash controller unit and while I don’t use them much, they seem to work well.
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another +1
I picked up a MS300 and XT16 remote control module for a job a couple years back. The integration between the two pieces wasn’t immediately evident and the documentation was less than helpful. I finally sorted it out and wrote a little piece.’
I believe Godox has copied various Western (ie: non-Asia) designs and is trying to integrate them into a single system of Chinese-origin products. Though I understand their on-camera units can work fairly well. [edit update] Just be careful with remote triggering in HSS mode - test it to see if the triggering/controlling signals whiz around fast enough. And if you’re remote triggering on Fuji leaf shutter cameras (ie: X100 series) there is sometimes a lag long enough that sometimes a scene will not be correctly lit. [/edit]
If your students don’t want to spend a ton of money and if they really want to learn the in/outs of flash photography I’ve found Amazon Basics (do they still offer them?) and Yongnuo YN560 to be cheap and surprisingly powerful/reliable.
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FYI, Godox’s flash product lines are also sold under the Adorama Flashpoint brand in the US.
I have a few of their units, I haven’t used them much but have been fairly happy with them, with the exception of their wireless receiver that is intended to turn a wired-only TTL flash into wireless - it’s garbage, at least the Sony version.
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Hello @Entropy512
their wireless receiver that is intended to turn a wired-only TTL flash into wireless - it’s garbage, at least the Sony version
I have usually read great review about the Godox flashes.
The only problem might be indeed their compatibility (i.e. drivers) towards certains brands and their new cameras.
oh want to know a killer feature? lets say you have some photography friends. you only need a vendor specific flash controller on the hot shot. the flashes you can happily control from both. so even if you got a sony version of their flash and a fuji one. from the controller you can control both.
i see that as a huge pro over camera vendor specific flashes.
In case you wonder how I know: @asn and me did that once for testing 
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For an affordable ETTL-compatible solution, I use a mix of Canon and Yongnuo flashes & controllers (the Yongnuo devices emulate the Canon stuff quite well, I can control the 470EX-RT Canon via the Yongnuo clone of Canon’s ST-E3-RT controller).
Otherwise from my readings Godox has a very good reputation.
I’ve used the Yongnuo without any problems. When I needed more power and a better ecosystem, I went to godox. I have a couple AD-200’s, a V1, and a couple TT685’s with a radio trigger. Again, no problems.
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I’m also a happy user of Yongnuo flashes (two YN-685-II) and radio triggers (YN622C-TX, YN622C). Combined with my Canon cameras I never had issues.
Mostly I use the flashes in manual mode. So, I don’t know whether the E-TTL mode leads to good and consistent results.
Thanks for the replies here. They are a great help. The students are not going to want to set up complex or remote triggering flashes. Their cameras do not have inbuilt flashes so they just want something suitable for the odd occasion they need a flash. Sounds like Godox and Yongnuo are suitable options if they don’t want OEM flash units.
tbh did you see the Strobist spin around the block and his other posts … a single flash and controller is so much more flexible.
https://strobist.blogspot.com/2015/04/your-basic-lighting-kit-spin-around.html
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Yes… When I have folks at home and want to take pictures, I put the flash on a shelf somewhere, aimed at the ceiling, and walk around the room with the controller on the camera. This makes the pictures a lot more natural (and without any red eyes).
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