Godox AD1200Pro Rumours

JBPhotog · Dec 18, 2019

Looks like the rumour mill is in high gear with leaked photos of a Godox AD1200Pro battery powered pack and head system.

Would you want a system like this? Personally I have the Extension Head for my AD600Pro and although a bit more cumbersome, it sure does drop the weight hanging off a boom.

The full story is here:Photos of a Godox AD1200Pro head & pack strobe have leaked - DIY Photography

Derrel · Dec 18, 2019

Only -one- head output..... too bad.

JBPhotog · Dec 18, 2019

Yeah I thought that too however, maybe my experience with pack and head configurations may be prejudicial against a single head design. I have had to boom my AD600Pro and wouldn't be keen on ding it without the head extension so essentially it is a one head one pack design configuration. The downside will be the gear volume and just how heavy are those AD1200Pro packs? I could see a person getting one or two of these for times when they need an extra stop and still use the AD400Pro and AD600Pro as their mainstay lights.

I would applaud Godox for pushing their R&D further into new concepts. I don't see other brands doing much of that these days or at least coming out with useful gear, the Profoto C1+ is a bit of a joke IMO for $500 US.

tirediron · Dec 18, 2019

I like the idea, but a 1200 w/s pack that only supports one head???? Seems like a HUGE waste of capacity.

Derrel · Dec 18, 2019

Think their corporate people need to explore further the pack and head Market and what is out there. Profoto has two head packs ; Speedotron has 4 and 6 head packs. 1200 Watt-seconds is plenty to power four or five or six flash units. If they were to build in three additional outlets or four additional outlets, which would not cost much, then the sale of each 1200 Watt- second power pack might potentially come with 3 or 4 extension head sales. As it is now ,one pack would only need one head. I think a couple of days of working with sales projections might show that it would make more financial sense for the company to offer users the option of buying three or four or even five additional flash heads with each 1200 Watt-second pack.

Derrel · Dec 18, 2019

I have a number of power packs ranging from 200 watt seconds,to 400, which is my current favorite size, I have one 604D which I find too powerful; I have an older Black Line 800 which I don't use; my first pack which I bought in 1985 or '86 which is a 1600 Watt second 4-outlet, and I have an old pair of 2400 Watt-second Black Line packs which offer me 6 flash outputs.

The key is in offering outputs which are actually useful to photographers at a particular time in history back when I was getting started good color film was ASA 50 or 64; today we can get the same quality from a D800,D810,or D850 or other good camera at ISO 200, so total power output is not as important as output flexibility. In yesteryear's ways of working, 1600 Watt-seconds is about equivalent to 400 Watt seconds today.

I have a really neat Black Line 405B which only has three flash Outlets but yet has the rheostat one-third f-stop click =, and even though it is a "better pack2!! than my two Brown Line D402 packs, I prefer the versatility and capability of having four flashes run off of one power pack, so even though the brown line is quote Lower technology, I prefer its ability to let me use four flashes. If this upcoming 1200 Watt-second power pack were to offer four flash outlets, I think it would be a real winner.

I just cannot see the financial justification nor the Practical advantage of offering a single outlet 1200 watt second pack. I suppose it is possible that the manufacturer does not want to get into pack and head systems and that they have deliberately crippled this offering to discourage users from seeing how great it is to have a flash head that weighs very little but has tremendous power output potential.

JBPhotog · Dec 18, 2019

If we are talking battery powered pack and head systems then the maximum number of heads offered by:
- Profoto, 2 heads @250 w/s (B2 model)
- Speedotron, 2 heads @1500 w/s (Explorer model) however, check out it's flash duration, 1/825 and 3.5 sec. recycle time.

- Elinichrom, 2 heads @1200 w/s (ELB1200 model)

There may be others but these come to mind first, so we can't really include mains powered units in the same discussion. Sure would it be nice to see Godox have a dual head battery pack but I bet it will be half the price of the Profoto and Elinchrom offerings LOL. The Speedotron Explorer isn't really in the running, lead acid batteries and old tech.

Derrel · Dec 18, 2019

The existence of small and powerful pure sine wave inverters makes Mains powered pack systems quite portable, and very few consumers in my opinion are serious enough to buy two systems, so I think it is quite Fair to consider mains power units in the discussion of pack and head systems. I think at the very least there should be a splitter cable available.

tirediron · Dec 18, 2019

Derrel said:
I have a number of power packs ranging from 200 watt seconds,to 400, which is my current favorite size, I have one 604D which I find too powerful; I have an older Black Line 800 which I don't use; my first pack which I bought in 1985 or '86 which is a 1600 Watt second 4-outlet, and I have an old pair of 2400 Watt-second Black Line packs which offer me 6 flash outputs.

The key is in offering outputs which are actually useful to photographers at a particular time in history back when I was getting started good color film was ASA 50 or 64; today we can get the same quality from a D800,D810,or D850 or other good camera at ISO 200, so total power output is not as important as output flexibility. In yesteryear's ways of working, 1600 Watt-seconds is about equivalent to 400 Watt seconds today.

I have a really neat Black Line 405B which only has three flash Outlets but yet has the rheostat one-third f-stop click =, and even though it is a "better pack2!! than my two Brown Line D402 packs, I prefer the versatility and capability of having four flashes run off of one power pack, so even though the brown line is quote Lower technology, I prefer its ability to let me use four flashes. If this upcoming 1200 Watt-second power pack were to offer four flash outlets, I think it would be a real winner.

I just cannot see the financial justification nor the Practical advantage of offering a single outlet 1200 watt second pack. I suppose it is possible that the manufacturer does not want to get into pack and head systems and that they have deliberately crippled this offering to discourage users from seeing how great it is to have a flash head that weighs very little but has tremendous power output potential.

My go-to pack is a 1604D, but I almost always use it at 1/4 power (400 w/s) and usually with 2-3 heads, and often up to 5. The only time I've ever used a power level even remotely close to 1200 w/s in one head is when i have to shoot a portrait in very bright afternoon sun.

Derrel · Dec 18, 2019

I have the slightly older D 1602 which has a low power setting of only 200 watt seconds, which I used to hate but now I love. It of course offers full power ,1600, and half power 800.

I really like the 200 watt seconds setting, which is quite fast on Recycle. I got a really good price on the D 604, but I really do not like the output options... 600 watt seconds is just too much power through one head in this day and age of great ISO 100 and 200 camera performance. In fact I prefer three lights or four lights with 200 or 400 watt seconds total.

My very last power pack bought in the Speedotron brand was the tiny 200 watt second D202. It weighs only 5 lb and has two flash Outlets. but I have a Y-cable,or splitter, which I often use.

JBPhotog · Dec 19, 2019

Apparently Adorama have it listed as a Per-order item and some different photos so I guess it is less of a rumour now.

https://www.adorama.com/fplfx1200p.html?origterm=ad1200pro&searchredirect=true

tirediron · Dec 19, 2019

Love to know where the price will land. Based on their current line, I'm guessing probably around $12-1400 USD.

Derrel · Dec 20, 2019

12.7 pounds for the flash head and generator/battery. Not too shabby really. I think that the $1,200 to $1,400 price range makes sense.

JBPhotog · Dec 20, 2019

I own a Tronix Explorer XT bought many years ago and have used it to power up my Speedotron 2403B and 1205 packs. If something affordable, powerful and battery contained was available at the time, I would have gone that route.

Godox are making a dent in the lighting industry and if I was to do it all over in today's photography climate, I'd own exclusively battery powered strobes. The price for a Speedo Black Line 202 head is @$620 whereas a AD400 Pro or AD600 Pro are only a few hundred more for power and flashtube. The rumoured AD1200Pro will run off mains too so that should made prolonged shoots a thing of the past regarding battery capacity.

Derrel · Dec 20, 2019

I also own a similar Tronix unit. I can't remember if it's the XT or the 1200. As I recall I bought that thing in 2007, and it weighs 18 lb. It works great with a smaller power pack like a 400, but as you said it will power the 2403 power supplies. Just this summer I sold off my newest flash,an elinchrom ELB400,a remarkably sophisticated hi-sync unit that I bought in 2017. It was an amazing battery powered unit, and the most advantageous feature it had was that when you were charging the battery it would run off of the mains. You did not have to wait until the battery was fully charged! It was remarkably small and offered fine incremental control and had an amazing remote controller. It was extremely well-made, much higher quality than most MIC gear. I bought it used for $700 with one flash head,and a Case, and a bunch of nice accessories. It had the really high-end controller and a built-in receiver in the Pack itself.

I was looking on eBay the other day and 202 VF heads were available for around $100 used, but yes I am not surprised that brand new they are $600 today.