Godox Announces AD200 Pocket-Sized Flash Unit

Mainland China-based Godox Photo Equipment (also sold under FlashPoint in the United States) announced the latest in their series of challengers to the dominant flash makers, the Wistro Pocket Flash AD200. As with the other units in the series, the AD360 and AD600, the AD200 offers stable color temperature across all power levels and fast recycle times. It packs 200 Ws of power, which makes it significantly more powerful than any unit in its size or price range. Perhaps the most interesting feature, however, is the dual flash heads (more on that after the jump).

First, let's take a look at Godox's system. They have several speedlights, the larger AD360 and AD600 units, studio units, a huge collection of modifiers, and a 2.4 Ghz wireless trigger system that works with every unit in their range (some older units may need a receiver). This is impressive for a company that, although founded some time ago, really only got on the radar of photographers outside of China a couple years ago. They are shaping up to be a formidable competitor to the established players. Once warranties and service centers become available for Godox products, there is sure to be some shake-up in the industry.

Back to the product at hand: as with all previous units, you can expect the AD200 to slot right into your Godox system. Existing X1 and XT32 triggers will work seamlessly with the new flash. It promises 500 full-power pops from a single charge, as with the AD600, and, best of all, will slot into your pocket. It also supports all major technologies like TTL and HSS (albeit dependent on using a Godox-brand trigger, but that's nothing new). It also has a sexy new LCD on the back that is a step in the right direction for Godox.

As mentioned, the major difference with this unit from others, aside from its size, is the inclusion of not one, but two interchangeable flash bulbs. One is behind a fresnel lens, just like a speedlight. The other is a bare-bulb, as found in the AD360 and AD600. This opens up the possibility of using some common speedlight modifiers, such as MagMod or small sheets of colored gel, and also for easily controlling light spill inside an umbrella. Then, by changing the flash bulb over to the bare version, you could easily fill a softbox or beauty dish evenly. Godox also has a huge collection of photos of the unit with its dedicated modifiers attached on the product announcement page.

I can see plenty of potential in this unit for my travel work because of its light weight and size. I can also see it being useful for urban shooting as it should be easy to hand hold. With the extra power over speedlights and diminutive size when compared to units like the Profoto B1 and B2, it looks like a great unit to add to the bag of any location photographer. They are starting to pop up all over eBay for pre-order, so we should be able to get them soon. What do you guys think? Is this something you would add to your kit?

[via Godox.com]