First Look at The Westcott FJ80 and FJ200 Strobes

Last year Westcott released the FJ400, a battery/AC powered strobe. If 400watts is overkill for you, Westcott has now released the FJ200 and FJ80 and all three lights work with the same remote system. 

My favorite feature of the FJ400 was the universal remote (FJ-X2m) which works with Canon, Nikon, Sony with an adapter, FUJIFILM, Panasonic Lumix, and Olympus.

Maybe this isn't a big deal to the average photographer, but being that we are constantly reviewing camera gear, we never seem to have the right remote for the right camera brand. The universal remote is one less thing I need to worry about and it works with both of Westcott's new lights as well.

The FJ200 is a 200-watt battery powered strobe that is about the same size as a speedlight. It's one stop less powerfull than the FJ400 but less than half the size and weight. It has a daylight-balanced LED modeling light and a color screen on the back. The FJ200 has an exposed flash tube that will fill light modifiers more evenly and will be significantly brighter than other tubes hidden behind glass. It comes with reflector dish and grid/gel holder. The light comes with a standard umbrella bracket and Westcott is currently working on a speedring/lightstand mount for as well. 

The FJ80 is Westcott's version of a speedlight. You can use it on camera (and it works with all brands like the remote), or you can use it off-camera in "client mode." My favorite feature of the FJ80 is that it can act as a remote control for other FJ80s, FJ200s, or FJ400s. The back of the FJ80 has a giant color touchscreen for navigation which makes using the flash extremely intuitive. 

The FJ80 also has a range of accessories currently available and more on the way. 

I only had two days to play with the FJ200 and FJ80 so this certainly isn't a comprehensive review but, from what I've seen so far, and considering the incredibly low prices, these lights are a fantastic value. If you're in the market for a new strobe system, definitely consider Westcott's FJ line. 

Lee Morris's picture

Lee Morris is a professional photographer based in Charleston SC, and is the co-owner of Fstoppers.com

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7 Comments

I was just curious and looked at the 400 model. Looks like the 200 tube is recessed. Otherwise for the price, the system look interesting. I too like the universal remote.

I see that now. While it is not a self contained head, I took out a Mobilite head and the Bron looks about the same size in diameter, just a bit shorter in length (comparing just for size, nothing else). Definitely small and portable.

Jinbei seems to have done a great job with these lights. Good Godox is getting some competition. I seriously am considering to switch from Godox to these soon. They are more affordable then Godox to. At least in Europe.

Neewer will copy them soon enough...

My 600 EX RT quit and Canon has no refurbs and wont repair it. I was just about to pull the trigger on the FJ and I came across one person on Youtube that had one quit after 2 months, about 160 hours of use. He sent it to Westcott and the last i heard he was still waiting after one month. I ended up ordering the 600 EX RT 2. The Westcott on paper is a great deal, great features (other than ETTL-2) and has a round head which is nice. But with over 20 events this summer and a lot of back to back Fri/Sat. weddings i cant afford to chance a flash that may quit and cant get service. All things fail but the recovery time is most important when they do. Maybe they are a victim of the supply chain shortage that everyone else is experiencing due to covid, or part of the chip shortage, but I cant afford to wait a month for replacement of something thats new. For now I will have to stick with Canon, even though the flash was not that old but was used for weddings for 4 or 5 years, and should not have quit, I know i can get it replaced quickly if need be.