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First Godox XT1-F Hands On Report and Damien Lovegrove Final Godox Testing

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The Godox Flash system is currently one of the best (if not the best) option for Fujifilm Shooters looking for a solid (and extremely affordable) flash system.

There is a great buzz about the Godox flash at our huge 14,000 GFX facebook group. And here are two Godox reports you should not miss.

The first one comes from David Ward (dmwfotos.com), who is using the Godox X1T-F controller already. The second one from Damien Lovegrove, who switched from Cactus to Godox and is now sharing his feedback on the group.

Godox/Flashpoint X1T-F controller: BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS
Godox/Flashpoint TT350F: Adorama, AmazonUS
Godox/Flashpoint TT685F: BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS
Godox/Flashpoint V860IIF: BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS
Godox AD200: BHphoto, Adorama, AmazonUS

David Ward X1T-F Report
original report here (with lots of comments from the community)

Here is a rundown of my findings while testing the following Fujifilm variant Godox speedlits and X1Tf controller. All the speedlites; TT350f; TT685f; and V860IIf were controllable as shoe mount speedlites from the Fujifilm GFX flash menu. Configuration changes can be made either from the flash menu or the camera menu.

All support HSS, SCS, and Multi-flash as TTL speedlites.

When the speedlite is changed to controller mode the only functions that can be changed via the camera menu are HSS, SCS and Multi-flash. Changing the flash function from TTL to M in the camera menu effectively turns the flash off. i.e. it does not fire itself or remote units when the camera flash menu M mode is selected. When the Camera flash mode is TTL then the controller mode functions control Master and remote groups. Setting the flash to Multi-mode does change the flash to multi for the groups. The groups are either on or off. Flashes and times per second (Hz) can be set via menu 2 on the speedlites or via the camera menu.

In summary, the three speedlites each function as expected as either camera mounted speedlites or as an X system controller and speedlite in its own group M.

The X1Tf does not interact with the camera flash menu. Its a stand alone controller for the X system that interfaces the X system with Fujifilm cameras for Manual, TTL and Multi-flash functionality. Which mode is selected is determined by the X1Tf. Multi-flash is selected on the X1Tf via the Fn menu. The camera flash menu is used to set the number of flash and frequency (Hz).

To this point in the testing I have found only one anomaly. Changing the FEC for any group on the X1Tf also changes the FEC on the camera. This has a deleterious affect since the two FEC settings are additive. It is further confusing because if Group A is set to +1 FEC and then one moves on the Group B, the in-camera FEC jumps to the FEC set for group B when its selected on the X1Tf.

I am confident that this is a firmware glitch that will be quickly corrected.

I have been using CL200X units as the remotes for testing. I have updated the firmware in the CL600 and CL360II units and will do some testing with them to confirm that they are controllable as well.

I have more testing planned and will confirm that the XT-2 works the same way with the speedlites and X1Tf as the GFX. Since the XT-2 is listed as a supported camera I expect it to function in the same way.

The AF assist light operates as expected in the speedlites and the X1Tf. There is an AF (LED) line in the camera menu for turning on the AF function So far I haven’t given it a practical test.

Damien Lovegrove Final Godox Testing
original report here (with lots of comments from the community)

My final testing is now done with the Godox HSS system for Fujifilm and the results have exceeded all my expectations.

Every HSS system I have tested to date has had ultimate power loss relative to the ambient light of 1 to 2 stops. With two stops being the norm. Using Powersync and hypersync has always helped (Flash needs a long burn and be on full power) but the 1 stop loss has been about the best I’ve achieved. This has meant I’ve always used ND filters and regular sync when I’ve needed maximum flash power and shallow depth of field. I’ve used Pocket Wizard TT1/ TT5 for Nikon and Canon with SB910 and 580EX2, Broncolor Mobil, Elinchrom ELB, Cactus V6ii and RF60, Fujifilm EF-X500 etc. The Godox TT350F Speedlight also has a near two stop loss of output relative to the ambient light in HSS mode. But…

The Godox AD200 and AD600BM flash heads deliver the same exposure in HSS mode as they do in regular sync mode. There must be some magic going on because the exposures – 1/125th, f/11, ISO 100 using regular sync are identical to 1/4000th, f/2, ISO 100 using HSS. How cool is that! It means there is no benefit of shooting at normal sync speeds to get the most oomph from a flash head in bright daylight and consequently no need to use ND filters too.

The Godox system is super well made and is very flexible. I was testing the AD600 and the AD200 units triggered by the new TT350F in non firing commander mode on my GFX50s. The HSS is switched on or off using the flash menu on the camera. I’m not sure if there is a reason why I don’t leave it permanently set to HSS.

Being able to use the full output of flash systems at any shutter speed has been the holy grail for many photographers and one reason for both leaf shutter lenses and global shutter development. The need for those has just vanished.

So many times I’ve seen photographers complain about 1/125th second sync speed on the GFX but now 1/4000th gives an identical flash power output using the Godox system as does 1/125th second. Is this trickery something to do with Fujifilm’s circuitry or is it a Godox thing?

* Some leaf shutter lenses may deliver up to 1 stop more perceived flash output relative to the ambient light level when used at 1/250th of a second but above that speed the advantage is gone as the Godox flash duration is 1/250th second for full power output right across the range and setting a shutter speed to 1/500th effectively only captures half the flash output.

I’d be interested to hear about the findings of other photographers using this system.

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