Godox SK400II-V Studio Flash Strobe, 400W 2.4G Wireless X System GN65 5700K Monolight with LED Modeling Lamp, Bowens Mount, 0.1-1.5s Recycle Time - 110V

The Godox SK400II is a big sturdy mains powered studio strobe about the size of an Interfit S1a, and significantly larger than the Godox AD200 portable flashes.The metal body feel strong and this help with heat management, there is a fan and this can be heard in a quiet room. The stand clamp was just able to hold a very large and heavy Bowens mount 60" pop up softbox without drooping. The modelling light is bright and the flash has plenty of power (400W) . Over two, three hour event type sessions and 1200 shots I didn't notice any misfires and was comfortable relying on this strobe for jumping and balloon burst type shots (one chance).The Godox SK400II is a manual only strobe with no HSS or TTL cababilities, power levels can be controlled remotely by the Godox X1 and Xpro / flashpoint R2 triggers. The strobe does not autodump when power is lowered so a test fire is required.So this is a basic powerful well priced manual studio strobe, with the versatile Bowens mount and good modelling lamp, but this is not the whole story.In my opinion , the main reason to use this strobe is because it is part of a lighting system that actually work together.With the Godox triggers and strobes , you can have a set up with portable TTL capable strobes like the AD200 (in this set up I use one AD200 as a hair light) mixed with the SK400II mains powered studio strobe , and they all work together ! And yes, you can use a TTL capable strobe like the AD200 on TTL or manual and the SK400II on manual power and it will fire at the correct time. (Come on Interfit why can't the S1 and the Honeybadgers work together like this ?)So, The best thing about the SK400II is it is part of the Godox system and that means you are not going to outgrow and it plays nicely with others. Totally recommended.Update: Modelling Lamp Brightness:For studio lights in particular the modelling lamp is useful to see the light pattern before taking the shot.The Godox Sk400ii modelling lamp at full power is quite bright, but I wanted to be more accurate than that, so I used a Sekonic L358 light meter placed 1m (approx 3ft) from the light with a standard Bowens mount reflector to compare the strobes I had available.All readings were for ISO800 1/60 sec and the f number shows how bright the modelling lamps are (the higher the f number the brighter the lamp - these are in order from dimest to brightestModelling lamp brightnessAD200 fresnel head LED (no reflector) measured f2Interfit S1a measured f3.6Godox SK400ii measured f4.0AD200 in a Evolv Twin head measured f4.5Two AD200s in Evolv twin head measured f5.6Interfit HoneyBadger 320 measured f11As the SK400ii is less than half the cost of anything else on this list its modelling lamp performed is very competitive and bright enough to be useful indoors. The mains powered Interfit Honeybadger has an exceptionally bright modelling Lights.Pictured : Caitystacks, Hair and Makeup by houstontx.styles and photo me bgrantphotos

I purchased three of these at first and then I got a fourth one with Godox softboxes to go with them.. I put them in a home studio that I put together using a Kate backdrop and after purchasing some jails I can change the color of my back drop and also illuminate my subject very easily. These are great strobes and I got four of them for right around $500!! Any photographer knows that lighting really helps bring up the quality of your portraits. Here's just to sample images of my thirteen-year-old daughter I want a photoshoot from 3 months ago.

Good product and works very well.

I now have four of these lights controlled with a Godox X2T mounted on the camera hot shoe. Intuitive LCD menu on the rear of the light looks good and is very simple to establish communication with the X2T. Godox is making some good stuff at a decent price.

This is a great little starter strobe.400WS - modeling light can be set on/off/proportional-to-flash-powerReflector works with umbrellas/umbrellamount-style softboxes.Reflector can be removed and any Bowens mount light modifier can be attached5 stops of adjustability (vs. 3 on my aged Portamaster) - and in 1/3 stop increments (vs. full stop)Can be triggered via a cable, or using a Godox flash controllerThe last part is key - I was able to work this in with my AD200s and control all of the lights from the camera (vs. walking to each light and changing it manually) - wow - what a time saver!My one concern is the clamp that holds the light at various tilt angles doesn't really hold position as well as it should - probably need to beef up the clamp - with a 42" octabox, it was prone to dropping a position when raising the stand - some metal or harder plastic ribbed contact plates to grip better would get a 5th star.I think it's still a good value for the money!

This is my first strobe and then photos came out great with it as my primary. I bought a Godox Speedlight as secondary.The stronger is plenty light to easily move around.I realize that I bought a light stand that was too lightweight though. Don't cheap out on the light stand to go with this strobe; buy something sturdy.

I’ve only had the strobes for a day, but build quality seems to be excellent and using the strobes is easy and intuitive. They seem to function with no issues. Of course, more power levels would be nice, but for the price…no complaints.

I highly recommend this strobe, using this the past week and my captures are crisp & bright & the best photos to come out of my camera ever!!!!! I am definitely buying more in the coming weeks.