We Review The Godox AD600 Pro II

It's been more than five years since the release of the original Godox AD600 Pro, and we finally have version two. Let’s see what’s new.

While the Godox AD600 Pro II comes with a host of new features and upgrades, at its core, it is still a 600 Ws battery-powered strobe. It has features like high-speed sync, TTL, multi-flash, and essentially every other feature that has become standard across the pro-level Godox lineup. Instead of diving into everything this light has and how it all works, I’m just going to explain all the features that separate this light from the original Godox AD600 Pro. 

The first is the new wireless sync feature. In the past, you always needed to set your flash and wireless trigger to the same channel in order for them to communicate with each other. This could become annoying in situations where there are other photographers on the same channel or in areas with a lot of wireless systems that could cause interference. This meant you could potentially have to change channels to mitigate the problem, and every time you change channels, you have to do that on every single one of your devices. Now, you have the ability to simply use the wireless sync feature to pair the trigger to the flash. Once you do this one time, you never have to mess with it again. This removes one more thing you have to think about when setting up your lights for a new session. The only caveat here is that the feature is only available on the newer Godox X3 trigger because that is the only trigger to have been released that could incorporate the new technology. I assume all future trigger releases will incorporate the new feature.

Next up is a feature that I really enjoy having. The Godox AD600 Pro II has new LED lights on both sides of the strobe. These lights will change color depending on what group you have assigned to the light. So if you have the light set to Group A, the light will be red. If the strobe is set to Group E, the LED light will shine purple. This gives you a visual representation of which group the light is assigned to without having to bring the light down to a height where you can visually see the screen on the strobe. There should also be no problem with needing multiple groups because, in total, this feature supports up to 16 groups/colors. The best part is when you have the light paired with the new Godox X3 trigger, the trigger will also show the color associated with each group. So you don't need to remember what group is associated with what color. Unfortunately, if you have an older trigger that does not have a color screen, you will obviously be forced to remember what color is tied to which group. But even this is a better option than having to pull your light down in situations when you need verification.

From here we can talk about the new physical upgrades on the AD600 Pro II. With the new light, you will find an upgraded TFT color display. In terms of brightness, I could easily see the screen in full daylight, and I only had the brightness level set to about 75%. So screen visibility should never be an issue. I never really felt like I needed a color screen on my flashes, but now with the new group color identification feature, it’s definitely nice to have.

On the outside, the light still has all the same ports, such as a charging port, a sync cable port, and a USB-C port. However, this USB-C port is only used for upgrading the light's firmware. Here, I wish I had the ability to charge the light via USB-C. I know this could potentially increase the charge times compared to the dedicated charging brick, but this feature would make traveling a lot less cumbersome.

The strobe also has upgraded buttons and wheels that all feel sturdy and have a good clicking sensation in use. Some of the buttons also perform some double duties, such as the modeling lamp button. Here you can press the button to access all the modeling lamp settings, but if you long press the button, it allows you to quickly turn the modeling lamp on and off. Speaking of the modeling lamp, this is another area of the light that is seeing improvement. Instead of the 38 W daylight temperature light found on the original AD600 Pro, we now have a 40 W bi-color modeling light. So not only do we get a bit more light, but we also get it from 2800 K to 6000 K. This new modeling lamp will give you a bit more flexibility in lower-light situations where you might simply want to use the constant light as the main source rather than needing to pop the flash and mess around with gels.

For situations where you might need to work in lower light scenarios but also need the ability to freeze motion, the AD600 Pro II can now go a full stop lower in power. This means instead of being limited to a power level of 1/256, you can now go as low as 1/512 power. This lower power also unlocks the ability to access a faster flash duration with a t.1 time of 1/12,340th of a second. So this added flexibility is great if you find yourself in lower light environments where the modeling lamp won't work for your situation, or if you are photographing something in movement and need the freezing power of a faster flash duration.

What I LIke

• New bi-color modeling lamp
• New color screen
• New color LED group identification

What I Didn't Like

• No USB-C charging
• Though more powerful than the original, I wish the modeling light was more powerful

Example Images

Conclusion

In use as a strobe, this light performs very similarly to the original AD600 Pro. You’ll still have 600 Ws of power and get 360 full-power flashes on a full battery. The light also has recycle times as low as 0.01 seconds at the lowest power and 0.9 seconds at full power. At full power, you can expect a flash duration of 1/220th of a second, and at the lowest power, you’ll see 1/12,340th of a second. So not a ton has changed here to necessarily warrant an upgrade if you already have an AD600 Pro. But what will warrant an upgrade is if you can see yourself benefiting from the overall better and more user-friendly experience with the everyday use of the light. The upgraded bi-color modeling light and the strobe's wider power range could also be just the flexibility you need for your specific needs. Also, if you are just now getting into the system, or just now adding a 600 Ws light to your kit, I do think the newer Godox AD600 Pro II is worth the extra cost over the original.