Today, Westcott announced their new FJ400 battery-powered strobe. I've had an early review unit for a few days now, and Westcott seems to have done the impossible: they've overtaken the Godox AD400 Pro in its segment.
Godox has taken over the strobe market in the last few years by creating a range of feature-rich, battery-powered flashes that are incredibly cheap. Their most popular monolight, the AD400 Pro, costs just $649, and it has many of the same features as Profoto's $1,700 B10.
Today, Westcott announced the FJ400, which is obviously a direct competitor to the Godox AD400 Pro. It's not significantly better than the AD400 Pro, but it is cheaper, and that might be enough to sway the market.
Size and Weight
The Westcott FJ400 is slightly larger than the Godox AD400 Pro. Westcott claims that they wanted a higher-capacity battery, so they made the housing a little taller and the battery much bigger. The FJ400 can fire off around 490 full-power flashes, while the Godox can fire 390.
Some photographers will see the extra battery power as a plus, while others will see the extra size and weight as a negative.
Mounts
Both the Westcott and Godox strobes come standard with a Bowens mount, but Godox sells additional mounts separately for Broncolor, Profoto, and Elinchrom. For most, this may not be a big deal, but being that we own Profoto gear already, this is a huge win for the Godox.
Build Quality
This is something that I failed to mention in my video review, but it worth noting. Neither of these lights can compete in build quality with more expensive lights like Profoto's B10, but when you compare the Westcott and Godox, the Godox does feel like it has slightly better build quality. The FJ400 feels a bit more hollow, the plastic feels thinner, and the seams don't line up quite as evenly as they do on the AD400. The buttons on both the Godox light and remote click with a more confident feeling. The FJ400 certainly has the better screen, but the buttons feel a bit more flimsy. I noticed that if I spun the rotator knob on the FJ400 too quickly, it would register the opposite input, and I would have to slow down.
Modeling Lights
The AD400 Pro has a 30-watt LED light that is crippled by a loud fan. It's great as a modeling light, but too loud for video. The FJ400 has a 20-watt LED light that is slightly less bright but still has an audible fan. Even though it's not as loud, the modeling light still isn't very usable for video.
Common Features
Both the FJ400 and AD400 Pro have more similarities than differences. They both produce the same amount of light at full power, they both have nine stops of range, and they both have similar refresh rates, flash durations, and color consistency. Of course, both lights also have the ability to work on battery or AC power, and they have TTL and HSS settings.
Remotes
Westcott has changed the game completely with their FJ-X2m remote. Now, instead of having to buy a different remote to work with each camera brand, Westcott's remote will work with every brand. Simply tell the remote which camera you're using, and you're good to go. If you use Sony, you can easily add a $19 adapter for their proprietary hotshoe. Westcott's remote has almost identical features to the Godox, and the range of the Westcott, Godox, and Profoto remotes were almost identical in our tests.
Warranty
Godox has been able to keep their prices so low by not having an office in the United States. This makes repairs and warranty claims very difficult. Westcott is giving a one-year warranty on the FJ400, plus they have fantastic customer service. If you call them during business hours, a human will immediately pick up.
Price
The Godox AD400 Pro was by far the best value in strobe lighting at just $649. Surprisingly, Westcott is selling the FJ400 for just $569, making it an even better value.
Conclusion
The Westcott FJ400 is not significantly better than the Godox AD400 Pro. The Godox is a little smaller, it has more mounting options, and it has slightly better build quality, but the FJ400 has better battery life, a more advanced remote, and better service and support. Both lights are pretty evenly matched. But when you consider the $80 savings, I feel like the Westcott FJ400 has taken the lead as the best value in strobe lighting. And if you buy a package deal, you can save even more money.
I don't think that is being suggested. But it seems that most of the people using Godox are cost conscious consumers. Godox has shown that there is a huge market for that segment. For those in that segment starting out, these strobes are direct competition; perhaps a better choice.
Most Godox users are smart consumers who are VALUE conscious. Most photographers want a good reliable light that works with all the features they need, at a reasonable cost. Some want that and the image (and exclusive) factor that comes with expensive strobes.
As a Godox user, I might choose these lights for the excellent value that is now increasing due to better support.
This is an important development because we see more and more brands issuing world-class strobes with excellent value.
That's also very important because we are more and more judged by our value.
I'm no Godox fanboy but if you buy Flashpoint branded Godox you get a person on the phone and a US based warranty backed by Adorama - which having used once I know they just did a 1:1 replacement and turned it around right away. The remote costs $30 more than the equivalent branded trigger (which is limited to one camera brand - but how many people are really using multiple) unless you need sony in which case you pay $50 more than the Godox pro trigger. So, you're within $30 on the total system cost on the Sony side.
Plus on the Godox you can run in color stable mode which is 150kelvin swing on color as opposed to the Westcott 300 kelvin swing. I don't need speed as much as I care about color.
Aside from getting the pre-production unit was there any payment for this review? I am assuming the B&H things are affiliate links and a long time partnership (thus not pushing the better Adorama option of the Godox / Flashpoint). But, what is the relationship with Westcott?
Personally, I'd go for the AD600 Pro, non-TTL for $719.
I never use TTL, so no need to pay for it.
Both Godox and Flashpoint.
If you go to amazon.ca, you will see it as Godox (https://tinyurl.com/y4c9694p). In the US I guess it is selling under the flashpoint brand. By the way, I believe there are two other rebrands to Godox in the US|.
My bad. However, the Pro is TTL and HSS. I don't think there is a Pro version that is not. He probably meant the Godox AD600BM.
I think you're right, no Pro version w/o HSS and TTL.
Flashpoint is rebranded Godox.
Adorama Exclusive, according to their site.
I don't believe there's such a thing as a non TTL AD600 Pro. The Godox AD600 Pro is the exact same thing as the Xplor 600PRO.
This is it: https://www.adorama.com/fplfx600pb.html
Also, the TTL version was on sale for $729 last Black Friday/Cyber Monday.
Ah, okay. Thanks. I got confused with TTL HSS. I wish they made the 400 non TTL.
Is the Rovelight the same price or less?
Rovelight 400 is $399 at Adorama. https://www.adorama.com/orlfrl400rtb.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuYLe2cfv5AIV...
Oh, dang.
Perhaps a head-to-head with these to see if it is just a rebadge or whether they just used the tooling from it with newer internals. This would be an interesting comparison.
Which is originally a Jinbei HD-400 Pro ;) Simple rebranding, that's all.
I bought into to Orlit RT 610 last year and absolutely love them
Do those do HSS so you can use them at any shutter speed outdoors?
Absulutely getting the best value when using Godox. I am a former PCB user, I had two Einsteins, a White lighting head (800) and two B400's. I loved them, they worked amazingly well. However, carrying two heads, two batteries and two softboxes was just too much.
Yeah, that's OK :-)
But with all seriousness, you have to consider the fact that those mono lights (Godox, Jinbei, Orlit, Wescott etc.) not only that they provide a ton of power but they also have a built-in battery and a radio system.
I am amazed PCB haven't yet come up with an equivalent system. The ability to have everything in one unit plus the ability to control the lights from the camera (as opposed to going back and forth to adjust the lights) is a huge plus.
I actually prefer HSS on TTL, I never use TTL but HSS helps me a lot on location.
Former Einstein user here. The E640 cannot shoot HSS and the AD600 with battery is the same size as the E640 without a vagabond.
Yes, but if you add the PCB battery then not only it is heavier but also much less mobile-friendly.
I would compare the Digibee 400 to the AD200 series. The AD200 is battery powered, smaller and more powerful.
The dual ad200 setup is also more powerful and around the same size as the digibee 800.
Camera tech is improving rapidly and unfortunately PCB was a market leader in tech and performance, but PCb hasnt been the same since the owner passed away.
"...I gotta ask you Godox, Flashpoint and Rove Light users, do you feel that you are getting the best bang for your money?"
Hell-fucking-yeah! There's more to Godox than just these lights. The radio system works with every flash from the AD600s down to their cheapest speedlight, which means fill lights anywhere you need 'em for peanuts with complete control for every light right from your camera. Godox made new gen2 receivers for my old gen1 speedlights and now they work with my new gen2 system. What other manufacturer does that? Most will simply force you to upgrade and dump your old gear. My Godox system will just keep expanding, and my old lights will supplement newer more powerful lights until they die. And Godox gear is reliable. I've had my gen1 speedlights for several years now.
Fucking awesome bang for the buck!
I've used both. It may depend on what kind of shooting you do, but if you're doing location shoots you're going to need to buy a Vagabond battery pack which will put the cost closer. Plus setting up lights, battery packs, connecting them, carrying them, etc., is just a pain. Whereas with, say, an AD 400 (any of the AD series) or the FJ400 it's just set the light up, slide the battery in and you're ready to rock.
Thank you, a good honest report. Hats off to Wescott. The phone support is enough for me. Ouch! I have the Godox AD200. Ugg. Hey Westcott...got any killer trade in deals? Part time shooter. Looks like a fabulous product.
Flashpoint = Adorama support
Indoors you can supplement any system with lights like these if you optically slave them, so if 400 watt/seconds would make for effective additional lighting then these could be a handy option.
If I knew that I was just going to use one light, I would get that ad200 knock off you guys just reviewed or this Westcott light. But I use a combination of ad600s. speedlights, ad200s, etc. It means nothing to me that a company has created one light that is cheaper than a counterpart in a complete line up of lights, especially when Godox/Flashpoint keep coming up with new innovative stuff all the time. Does this have an extension head adapter? Does it have any accessories? When you buy a light, you are investing in the system. Also, most of the people I know use the ad400 as an outside strobe on a boom, so weight and size are really important.
No matter what FStoppers will not admit Godox/Flashpoint has taken over the lighting segment.
Still tipping their hat off to the insanely overpriced Profoto B10 in this article is laughable; just admit it already. We’’ll respect you more if you just stop denying paying Profoto price for a single strobe is a waste of money.
The review was full of misinformation and hyperboles.
Lee, I hope you read this comment.
1) Warranty:
Please do consider that Adorama exists next time you a review a Godox product and speak about warranty and customer service. Adorama sells the Godox lights rebranded as Flashpoint and in your last review comparing the Profoto B10 and AD400 Pro almost a year ago I mentioned this to you and you replied back. Let's not act like people in the US only have the option of ordering directly through Godox only. B&H, Adorama, and Flashgear all sell the Godox lights and take care of you if something happens. You can call up Adorama as well and they'll answer your questions.
2) Price:
The FJ400 is $570, transmitter $100, Sony Adapter $20. That's $690. When it isn't on sale, the Godox AD400 Pro (sold as the XPLOR 400 Pro by Adorama btw) is $650 and you can get a transmitter for it that has TTL & HSS for $46. That's $696. A whopping $6 in savings.
I can see the benefit of the trigger being universal for someone who uses multiple cameras of different types, but nobody buys one transmitter for two cameras and shoots like that. So for someone using even just two transmitters that's $200. Again, there are Godox transmitters at $46. You would actually save money buying Godox/Flashpoint immediately after needing two FJ400 transmitters.
3) Size & weight:
You glossed over this, but the size difference is more than slight. There's a reason why I don't travel with my Godox AD600 Pro and choose the AD400 Pro instead and it's the size. It is the difference between fitting in my carry on or not. The FJ400 does have more battery, but that'd be something the photographer needs to decide is worth the extra size. And to correct your article, it's *480 shots at full power on the FJ400. Not 490.
4) Battery:
We've gone over this before somewhere else, but please stop advising people to use the battery of the Godox lights while charging them. It's going to mess up the battery. It says in the manual when you buy Adorama not to do that. Keep this in mind for future reviews.
5) Color Accuracy:
Again, this is something you briefly went over when you shouldn't have. Refer to Rob Hall's videos in the future for these readings. The FJ400 has a color shift of 150k while the AD400 Pro has only a 50k shift when in stable color mode. For professionals this is a significant difference and you should have gone through this more and test this.
6) Light Ecosystem:
This is arguably the number one reason why people invest in Godox. They have a wide variety of products available for different needs. If you buy the Godox AD400 Pro and want a two light setup that doesn't break the bank you can get their TT600 at just $59. It has HSS and a built in receiver.
If you want something in similar size to a speedlite but with triple the power that's the AD200 ($299) which is one of the best lights out there. You can combine two of them together with a $59 adapter too to make 400W.
There's a whole range of lights Godox/Flashpoint has for practically everyone and that's something you really should always include in these reviews. If I wanted to get the FJ400, I wouldn't have those options.
I fully welcome that. I use Godox products because they are affordable and work well. No other reason. I used a Geekoto flash the other day and I've used Profoto this year as well.
I am familiar with their products because I use them all the time. He is spreading misinformation which to me is dishonest and I'm doing my best to correct the misinformation. If anyone gets a messed up battery because Lee told them it's okay to charge the AD400 Pro battery while using it, that's just not right. I go through the trouble of commenting because I actually really want to help people if I can. Literally anything I create is aimed at helping people out.
That’s because he’s got experience with the equipment. Most people in the comments are simply regurgitating what they’ve read and not what they’ve experienced in the field (you can watch his videos on YouTube to validate his opinion or if you’d like help - he’s got tutorials for that)
There’s a big difference between some of us that comment whom have work you can see and those who comment because they have time between their kid’s soccer games. Harsh but true.
I used to be a weekly columnist for a large blog and sometimes my posts would have research errors. People in the comments would point them out and I would appreciate it. It's the nature of the business when you have a site and need to put content on it and don't have time to interview and fact check with experts in the field. The issue here is that when big sites or influencers put out content that is not correct, Facebook groups get flooded with people who are the same questions over and over and cite to said influencer's video or post. So it's easier to just leave a post addressing things here in the comments for everyone to see with counter points to any inaccurate information. Francisco has a very active YouTube channel and Facebook group where he volunteers his time to answer questions and provide a lot of information to people at all levels of photography. So that's his perspective here. No more no less.
Spot on !
I was just informing you on his position. Not attacking you. Being able to confirm/validate another photographer’s skill level should be pretty easy, our craft should be on display and if it’s not, it’s kind of a red flag.
I appreciate your opinion. I’m never 100% satisfied with my work but it’s available for people to see because I value the effort I put into it. If people appreciate it it’s just icing on the cake.
I said, “I appreciate your opinion”. I don’t have to like it or dislike it. There’s no value in that besides bolstering an ego.
You should however care about showcasing or providing the availability for other photographer’s to see your work if you comment on a photography forum. Why join and comment if you don’t seek communication that can be reciprocated and validated through showing your work?
Right now, I’m wasting my time because I’m communicating with someone that choses not to show their work but claims to be a photographer. Seems like a red flag to me. It’s not much different than being a black belt in karate online and a 350lbs potato chip eating slob who comments on MMA forums. That once again isn’t an attack on you personally, just a rational assessment of what is perceived by many who have echoed this same sentiment before.
There’s too much to read here and not enough cares on my end. I’m sure your blog will go over well with someone who has the time.
Yup, a whole life story out of nowhere. Thanks for being sensible about my intentions, Eric.
Your videos are awesome btw man. You’ve done a lot to help people out if they need it.
I totally agree with you. But they have a relationship with B&H, they can't be pointing people to Adorama; that's just business.