Traveling with photography gear is a notoriously frustrating feat. Lugging heavy strobe heads and dragging clunky modifiers make it difficult to recreate studio quality lighting on the go, and even more challenging in unpredictable places. As the intersection of affordability and convenience continues to improve, the once-required ability to transport high-power strobes has been replaced with intuitive solutions from companies like Godox, whose portable flashes provide consistent power options.
Categorized as a pocket flash but powerful enough to mimic a traditional strobe, the Godox AD200Pro II offers a newfound freedom for photographers shooting on location. This slim and rectangular flash produces a powerful output for its size and easily connects to Godox’s X3 N Touchscreen TTL Flash Trigger for wireless shooting.
As a live music photographer, portability is the most important aspect of my gear. While touring, tight timelines and unaligned schedules can make even setting up a light stand seem unrealistic. Sometimes with just 5 minutes to spare, I depend on a flash that can be handheld and still create strong illumination in dark, dimly lit venues. Although the AD200Pro II is intended to mount on a light stand and doesn’t have a handle, its thin shape was light enough for me to hold. After using the flash both on location and in studio, here are a few features that were most useful:
A Versatile and Continuous Modeling Light
The AD200Pro II’s strong 200W flash is equipped with an adjustable bi-color LED modeling light with FREE and PROP modes. In FREE mode, the light dims from 10-100% with color temperature options between 2800-6000K, which was most useful for mimicking available ambient light. These settings are also available in PROP mode, but the flash provides additional brightness after firing for extra fill. This is most useful when shooting with a long exposure or when adding motion blur.
In a studio setting, the AD200Pro II performs well in small spaces. As a warm light enthusiast, I was delighted to not have to add a small orange gel to the flash head; the color temperature options and dimming abilities helped me to quickly craft the lighting style I was looking to recreate. These added options, as well as its two distinct flash heads, helped me decide and configure my camera settings to produce my desired effect. The tungsten light quality makes the AD200Pro II a great in-studio asset. Overall, the modeling light provided extra flexibility and brightness in dark locations while photographing musicians in between sets. The additional flexibility and power options maximized my time to capture the best shot.
Ample Settings and Options
Precision is a large component of the AD200Pro II. Its long-lasting battery power, adjustable power options, and easy mounting offer abundant choices for each shot. The charged battery provides up to 500 full power flashes, which was helpful for lighting multiple small shoots with just one charge.
The dual flash heads provide different lighting styles without additional modifiers. The traditional on-camera flash head produces contrast and harsher shadows while the flash tube head creates softer, more even illumination. The AD200Pro II’s lighting options and its 1/1-1/512 with 0.1-stop increment range benefit both on-location and in-studio shooting. Its widely accepted 1/4"-20 threads placed around the flash’s body and its included 5/8” receiver mount make physically mounting, moving, and positioning the flash much easier.
It's important to note the portability of the flash’s modifiers as well. Typically, softboxes are cumbersome diffusers that are difficult to carry and challenging to assemble. Godox’s S2 Speedlite Bracket with Softbox is a compact modifier that creates a soft veil of light without the traditional assembly hassle.
Simple Wireless Connectivity
Connecting the AD200Pro II to the Godox X3 N Touchscreen Trigger was extremely simple. Using one-tap sync, I turned on the trigger and selected a channel. The trigger can also remotely control the flash’s settings, so I could place the flash in difficult-to-reach spots without needing to access it. Since the X3 N is almost fully touchscreen operable, I didn’t have to search for the right button in the dark. Controlling the modeling light from the top of my camera was my favorite feature. While creating my still life, I placed the AD200Pro II at the end of my fully extended light stand. Now that the light wasn’t easily accessible, adjusting the settings remotely saved a lot of time.
Who Could Use This Flash?
Beginner and intermediate photographers seeking a powerful and transportable light source can benefit from the AD200Pro II. Live event, nighttime, and environmental portrait photographers can experiment with the flash’s extensive settings for hours with its extended battery life. Especially in a time crunch, the flash is very useful with its simple connectivity options and its consistent, even illumination. The number of ways the AD200Pro II can manipulate light offers much more control than a traditional on-camera flash.
For more information about the Godox AD200Pro II TTL Pocket Flash, check out its informative product page. Or, leave a comment below.
