Godox AD600 Pro II Review

For a few of the shoots (especially the night shoots), I brought along my Godox V1 Pro speedlight as a fill and/or background light, but the other shoots were done with AD 600 Pro II alone.

I used both hard light (just the reflector that comes with the AD 600 Pro II) and soft light with a 33″ umbrella.

I’m shooting on a Sony a7 III. Most of the shots below were taken with a Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 lens.

I’ll start with the specs and build quality and then move straight into the handling and what it was like to use the AD600 Pro II in the field.

Godox AD600 Pro II Specs

Output: 600 Ws
Flash modes: Manual, Multi, Freeze mode, HSS, TTL
Number of flashes: 360 on full power
Weight: 3kg (With Battery)
Dimensions: 250mm x 245mm x 125mm (With Battery)
Recycling time: 0.01s – 0.9s
Input: USB-C
Battery: A removable 28.8v/2600mAh Lithium-ion Battery
Groups: 16
Modeling light: 40W bi-color continuous LED light
LED modes: On/Off, free, proportional
LED color temperature: Presets from 2700 K to 6500 K
Power range: 1/1, 1/512
Fan cooled: Yes
Accessory mount: Bowens

Godox AD600 Pro vs Godox AD600 Pro II: Key Differences

I wasn’t upgrading, so I won’t be focusing on the differences between the Godox AD600 Pro II and the original Godox AD600 Pro in this post. But if you’re thinking about upgrading, here’s a brief list of the key differences:

Flash Duration: The AD600 Pro ranges from 1/220s to 1/10,100s. The Pro II goes up to 1/11,760s.

Recycling Time: AD600 Pro II has the same fast recycle time as the AD600 Pro but with more consistent performance across different power levels

LCD: The Godox AD600 Pro II has an all-new color LCD screen. (The original AD600 Pro had a black-and-white screen.)

Modeling Lamp: While the AD600 Pro has a 38W LED modeling lamp with a fixed color temperature, the Pro II features a 40W bi-color continuous LED modeling light that’s supposed to be bright enough and color-accurate enough to use as a video light. The color temperature can be adjusted from 2800K to 6000K.

Interface: The AD600 Pro II has an optimized color screen and a more intuitive menu system. One key feature is that each group is color-coded.

Sync: The AD600 Pro II has a one-tap sync with the X3 trigger. No need to manually set the flash and the trigger to the same channel.

Wireless Groups: The AD600 Pro II has 16 different groups, whereas the original Pro has only 5. (Though it seems to me that if you really need that many groups, you’d be more likely to be using the AD600 Pro II as a slave rather than the master.)

New Colored LED Indicator: The AD600 Pro II has a new addition where you can see which group is operating through two colored LED lights on the back of the unit.

Build Quality

The build quality of the Godox AD600 Pro II feels solid.

One true test, however, was that it took a fall while I was using it. We had not expected such windy conditions, and my assistant couldn’t make it that day.

To my horror – and even though I’d weighted down the legs of my stand – the umbrella caught a particularly strong gust of wind and down went the light.

Talk about a huge moment of angst!

To my surprise (and never-ending relief), everything was ok. The umbrella even managed to regain its form (with some persuasion).

Suffice it to say, the AD600 Pro II passed that very unintentional and absolutely not recommended test with flying colors. (My assistant got a pleading, partly panicky call, but alas, they really couldn’t make that day of shoots.)

I’ve never had my hands on the original AD600 Pro, but I heard that the umbrella bracket was difficult to work with and didn’t have a tightening pin.

The Godox AD600 Pro II does indeed have a tightening screw. The umbrella seemed to fit so snugly into the bracket that I almost didn’t need to tighten the screw. It all worked perfectly.

Size & Handling

The screen is clearly visible in the sunlight, and all of the controls are nicely positioned.

For me, the size of the Godox AD 600 Pro II is perfect. Everything is easy to grab, use, and adjust.

But it’s heavy.

It was definitely a chore to carry it around, especially on shoots where we needed to carry the gear for a while. (Thankfully, the handle on the back makes for easy carrying.)

I just wish that a carry case had come with it. Whether I’m transporting it in my car or lugging it around outside, a carry case would have made a huge difference in portability.

The buttons and LCD screen all work as expected and are easy to work with. The color screen showed up just fine in sunlight (though I mostly controlled it from the X3 trigger).

Light Quality & Sample Photos

As mentioned before, I tested the Godox AD600 Pro II both during the day and at night.

The two modifiers I used were the reflector dish that came with it and an inexpensive 33″ umbrella I got at a local photography store.

(All the Profoto gear I work with has to stay in the studio, so no luck borrowing any light modifiers from there.)

For the daytime shots, I took photos of dancers in action. Each chose their own theme, outfit, and dancing style.

In some of the photos I was going for a “looking into the light” look, so the intensity is up a little high:

Sony a7 III + Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 | 28mm | f/5 | 1/250 sec | ISO 100

This next image was taken in the same spot, but I loved how the light caught both her face and the fabric, and after trying it out in color and black and white, I decided I liked the look of the blackened background best.

(Neither the intensity nor the quality of the light were changed significantly in post.)

Shot in the same park but with the background blackened. (I like the effect.) | Sony a7 III + Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 | 28mm | f/5 | 1/250 sec | ISO 100

Even with just a cheap $25 dollar umbrella, the light nicely wraps around the subject, giving her just the right amount of glow.

Although this looks posed, the model was in motion, dancing. | Sony a7 III + Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 | 40mm | f/4 | 1/160 sec | ISO 64

These particular shots were intended to be artistic, so there is a fair amount of post-processing happening. Still, you can see both the intensity and quality of the light, especially where it helps to cut out her form on camera right.

It’s lovely getting to work with professional dancers! | Sony a7 III + Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 | 39mm | f/4 | 1/160 sec | ISO 64

These next two photos were from a night shoot in downtown Eugene, OR. I took both the Godox AD600 Pro II and the Godox V1 Pro (for backlight and/or fill light).

I was looking to get harsher, urban grunge-like photos, so only took the reflector that came with the AD600 Pro II.

To my eyes, even the hard light from the reflector looks great in these images.

This image was taken on a sidewalk well into the night. There wasn’t a lot of ambient light. The only light modifier used was the reflector that came with the AD600 Pro II. | Sony a7 III + Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 | 41.2mm | f/6.3 | 1/125 sec | ISO 400

I find that cities have a lot of surprising photo opportunities. The image below was taken outside a neon-lit storefront of a shoe store.

My camera had some issues with the white balance here, so I had to fix the skin tones in post, but otherwise it’s a decent shot.

This image was taken outdoors in front of a storefront. Again, the only light modifier used was the reflector that came with the AD600 Pro II. | Sony a7 III + Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 | 70mm | f/5 | 1/125 sec | ISO 400

Here’s another one using side light in the park. I rarely add elements into a photo that weren’t already there (unless I’m doing graphic art), but the pose and the lighting here almost begged for light rays, so I added them in post.

A little gimmicky to my mind, but people really liked it!

The sun rays were added in using Luminar; the image seemed to warrant them. They were a great crowd pleaser, though I daresay my inexperience with using such techniques shows. For the life of me, I wasn’t able to get the sun on the other side of her hand. | Sony a7 III + Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 | 39mm | f/4 | 1/160 sec | ISO 64

This next photo is from a location we have to hike into along the Alsea River in Oregon. It’s one of my favorite places to do nature shoots, but it’s quite dim much of the time. The tree cover is quite thick.

Even with the AD600 Pro II far across the stream on camera right, I didn’t have to use much power to light my subject. (I think I was at 1/32 in this shot and still it seems a bit too bright for my taste.)

Sony a7 III + Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 | 60mm | f/6.3 | 1/160 sec

All in all, I’m super pleased with the quality of the light of the Godox AD600 Pro II. It exceeded my expectations.

Performance

Sony a7 III + Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 | 28mm | f/5 | 1/250 sec | ISO 100

There were a few times when the recycle time didn’t keep up with my shooting.

I was shooting in manual mode, not HSS, but even so, I was surprised to find so many photos where the flash didn’t fire.

It could be that my Sony a7 III is starting to show its age or that I somehow had my settings wrong, but given that it fired most of the time, I’m guessing that it was the recycle time.

The only other issue I had was that the indicator lights on top of the battery didn’t seem to go down. As a result, I didn’t top it up before one of the sessions and the battery cut out mid-shoot.

(I wasn’t checking the on-screen battery indicator, but rather the physical one on the battery itself.)

It’s not a huge issue, as I always top everything up before a shoot – this was an exception. Still, I’ll be wary about keeping the battery full and will try checking the on-screen indicator.

All of my shoots were between 1-2 hours long and I didn’t have a problem with the battery at any other time.

Other than these two issues, the AD600 Pro II performed perfectly, as did the X3 trigger.

X3 Trigger

Though it also has physical controls, I’d have to say that the X3 is meant to be controlled via its touchscreen interface.

To get the most out of the Godox AD600 Pro II, you’ll need to pair it with the Godox X3 trigger.

If you’re a touchscreen lover, this is an amazing little device. The screen is high-contrast and easy to see day or night. The touchscreen controls are intuitive if you’re used to that sort of thing.

The wireless sync worked perfectly and was hassle-free. I did have to redo the sync when starting a new session, but that was no big deal. (That only happened once.)

In general, the trigger worked seamlessly, whether I was working with a single flash or multiple flash units.

I also like how small it is and that it came in a snazzy carrying case.

It’s hard to tell from this photo, but the X3 is actually quite compact. The carrying case fits perfectly into a small space between lenses in my tiny camera backpack.

This photo actually makes the Godox X3 trigger seem bigger than it is. It’s actually quite compact. For reference, that’s a Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 lens attached.

As someone who prefers physical controls when using triggers, it’s taken a little getting used to.

Also, my preference would have been for simple instructions to have come with it. I’m more of a reader than a YouTube watcher and, while I appreciate saving trees, I’d really like at least some easy-to-read documentation to come with the device.

(It did come with documentation but everything was so small and convoluted it was too much of a pain to bother with.)

In the end, I just figured it out by using it. It’s not a big deal, but it would have saved time if it had just had a piece of paper with the basic functions on it (and nothing more). But I know I’m asking too much.

Alternatives

There are only two real competitors to the Godox AD600 Pro II that are 600W, portable, and anywhere near the same price point: the Flashpoint XPLOR 600 Pro and the Interfit S1.

The Flashpoint XPLOR 600 Pro is basically Adorama’s version of the Godox AD600 Pro (not the Pro II). It’s around $200 cheaper on Amazon than the Godox AD600 Pro, and $400 less expensive than the Godox AD600 Pro II.

The Interfit S1 is 500W and much more portable than the Godox AD600 Pro II. Unfortunately, it no longer seems to be available.

If you’re in the U.S., the Flashpoint XPLOR 600 Pro is the best deal out of these 600W portable flashes (unless you really want the additional features of the AD600 Pro II).

Value for Money

If you need the full 60oW of power, then the Godox AD600 Pro II offers absolutely a lot of bang for your buck.

As mentioned above, its only real competitors at this power and price point are its older self and Adorama’s rendition of its older self. Nothing else comes near.

You could go down to 400W and pay between $500-$700 (Westcott, Godox, etc.) or up to 500W with the Profoto B10 Plus or the Elinchrom ELB 500 TTL (between $1700 and $1900 at the time of writing), but then you’re either getting much less power at a lower price tag, or slightly less power at almost double the price tag.

Of course, if you don’t shoot with a lot of groups and don’t need a strong bi-color modeling light, the original Godox AD600 Pro, and especially the Flashpoint XPLOR 600 Pro, is going to be your best deal.

But if you want all the bells and whistles, the Godox AD600 Pro II is definitely a great deal for what you’re getting.

Godox AD600 Pro II Review | Conclusion

I love this flash unit.

The power is phenomenal for mid-day outdoor shoots when I want to overpower the light, the modeling light is hella helpful, and the ease with which it works with the X3 made that part of my shoots easy.

I really never had to struggle with any part of the networking.

Of course, I now have to buy modifiers for it (that I can take outside, unlike my Profoto ones), and a carry case, but all-in-all this provides a compelling reason for sticking with the Godox ecosystem. (I’ve been hemming and hawing between Westcott and Godox for some time now.)

Highly recommended!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Godox AD600 Pro II

Stunning light quality, intuitive controls and a sturdy build make this a top choice for both studio and outdoor work.