AD200 Torture Test to Overheat

[@sternschnupper]

i recently stress tested my AD200 quite hard actually - we were shooting in the studio, using AC powered strobes, a godox MS300 and some walimex 600 ones. but for one scene the models were blowing colored powder from the hands, which is very difficult to hit at the right moment. so it was obvious that shooting burst would be preferable - and since all AC powerd strobes do have some, even if short recharge time, i opted for the AD200 (plus one TT685 as fill), as they can shoot several shots from one charge at a time. worked pretty well, at 8fps we could get 3 shots with flash at 1/4 power (or at 1/8th, i'm not 100% sure, but defenitely not less), barebulb in a 120cm octabox with inner diffusor (took outer diffusor off to gain more light). well, happily shot away, later continuing in single shots - all was a moving scene, so shooting frequently, maybe in the range of 1-4s between shots. after a while the AD200 did overheat - just checked in the data, it overheated after 200 shots in 6 minutes, meaning an average of one shot every two seconds. after that it still fired, but only once in 8 seconds. for that small thing at that power a very good achievement, i'd say!

[@ipadista]

I think it is great that you do these tests, so don't get me wrong, not trying to talk down your effort. However after getting inspired by you, I did my own tests, but with a camera and Intervalometer, to make sure I do a repeatable procedure with your suggested 1/2 power every 4 secs. Once completed I looked back through the photos in the camera to find the first where the strobe didn't fire. I had two AD200 to test, and repeated the experiments on both three times, letting them chill down overnight and recharge the batteries in between. Also worth mentioning is that my temperature was 18C, so a bit cooler than yours. In total, I did 3 x 2 tests, and my results indicate that for the same flash the overheat kicks in at almost the same frame count every time, on one of them 49,49,50 and on the other 70,71,70, ie in both cases before the five-minute mark. I also swapped batteries between the tests, but that did not seem to impact the outcome, it seems to be the heat sensor that decides when it goes into overheat mode. I guess you might have a flash that goes into overheating later than my two, but the difference was pretty large, and you did your tests in a considerably warmer environ than me. Whilst watching your method it seemed slightly inexact, so perhaps you didn't notice that the flash failed, but that is just a theory, I can't claim your test was flawed based on the available info. However if you do similar tests in the future, using a camera and intervalometer (either built-in or with external trigger) has the great advantage of not having to be in the room getting blinded, and once you notice it missed a flash (I went in and checked after 5 mins and by then it was only flashing on every second shot) you just stop the test, and watch the images in camera to find the first black one - that is how long it ran reliably. After reaching overheat these flashes typically misses every second shot in my 18C environment. This way you get machines to do the counting for you, and you get repeatable results :) I did the same test with a couple of V860II and with them, I only got 50-60 shots at 1/2 every 4 secs, so there your tests also indicated much better resistance of overheat compared to my measurements. I have used these units for over a year, so my batteries are probably not as good as when they were new, but I can't really see how the heat sensor would change over time. But I'm not a hardware engineer, so perhaps it is normal?

[@WesPerry]

It just so happens that with my latest test such test (the AD600 Pro) I used an intervalometer and cut the camera out completely. Obviously the best way to do it, but I couldn’t find my sync cable the day I did those other two tests. Thanks!

[@WesPerry]

I’ll give those two another stab with the intervalometer and see what I find.

[@ipadista]

@Wes Perry, Of course, you don't have to have a camera in the mix, but there is an advantage in the sense that you don't need to monitor the test, and you can instantly see which was the first failed photo. And since they have overheat protection, it shouldn't be an issue if they run into hot territory for a few minutes, they will just refuse to trigger until they get below the threshold. Anyhow, keep up the good work!

[@africanhistory]

on a cool day on the beach not really stressing it by pro standards the damn thing overheated and messed up 1/2 the shoot. I had a tiny Godox 660 and only had to worry about the battery dying.

[@WesPerry]

Thermal throttling is based on numerical monitoring of number of shots in a 10 minute window, not temperature. This number drops quickly when using HSS though.

[@cabiasal]

I've been testing my AD200 with full power on HSS, I'm always getting 20 shots before a thermometer icon starts blinking on the screen, and recycling time becomes around 8 seconds. I do shoots outdoors, so need the full power to "overpower" the sun. It's terrible though, having to wait 8 seconds for every shot!

[@WesPerry]

Yeah, it doesn’t handle HSS very well. Definitely it’s Achilles heel.

[@cabiasal]

@@WesPerry would you advice me to return my ad200 for a ad400 or ad600, or to buy an ND filter to be able to shoot without HSS? I really appreciate your responses 🙏🏻

[@WesPerry]

That depends on a lot of different things. Do you shoot midday, or just toward sunset? Do you use a modifier, and if so, which one? How far away from your subject is the flash usually?

[@cabiasal]

@@WesPerry I do towards the sunset (golden hour), I use an EZ octa 36'' (silver) about 4-6 feet from my subject. Thanks again!!

[@one4allall4one91]

I am new at this but I experienced the embarrassment of my ad200 and v860ii slow down to a crawl after 80 shots. Sucks. I now use the x1t trigger. Also the test you did is on p40 of the manual. If u have gone to 1/1 full it would had activated the protection at 40 shots.

[@WesPerry]

What shutter speed were you shooting at/what power level?

[@one4allall4one91]

@@WesPerry it was shot number 46 when I got the first misfire. I was shooting the camera in manual and ittl on the ad200. It was doing a good job so I left it there. A few times I went over under -3 because I moved. Shutter was at 1/1600s sometime higher I use hss a lot. My nikon sb600 didnt suffer like this and even my sb800 took a beating before it shut down.

[@WesPerry]

Once you get into HSS you definitely need to keep an eye on your power levels because they Will overheat for sure. For stuff like that people usually rely on something more like an AD400 or AD600 Pro.

[@framebyframegames]

1/2 power is intense. How many 1/8 power pops can you get before it overheats?

[@WesPerry]

At intervals like that, I wouldn’t expect it to overheat at all.

[@shawnsandusky9906]

Can the AD200 Pro with a Rouud Head work continuously at 1/4 power?

[@WesPerry]

In theory yeah, but the AD200 Pro itself will throttle after 100 shots at that power level. There’s a chart in the manual that tells you how many shots you’ll get before protection kicks in.

[@WesPerry]

www.godox.com/EN/InstructionManual/Godox_AD200Pro_20190422.pdf

[@chinhvannguyen1685]

Tks, 5 minutes - 75 short - 1/2 power and It not works. I have v860ii, it is good

[@ravin66]

im curius to knwo how hot the bulb gets. I want see if i can can design an adapter and 3d print it in plastic

[@WesPerry]

During this test it was certainly warm to the touch on the outside, but not “hot”. The bulb inside was definitely hot, though, with the smell it was creating. And adapter that does what?

[@KN.Images]

An adapter so I can add my own dish disha nd gel filters to the ad200.

[@WesPerry]

Ah. Don’t want to fork out for a MagMod, eh? Well neither do I. Let me know how that goes 😉

[@KN.Images]

Hmmm I have magnets and I have 3d printer and I know how to design. Lol I'll post a video when I make it

[@KN.Images]

what i was really hoping was they sold an adapter for the bulb without the dish attached. I can not find an adapter for the bulb w/o a dish anywhere.

[@itunuakande6014]

who has figured out a solution to this problem? is the problem with the bulb or the bulb holder. The bulb stopped working on first use. after a few days, i tried using it again and it was working. Took it out for a shoot today, it stopped working few hours into the shoot. got home to try it again and it was working on continous shoot. I dont have same problem once i am using the frensel head. I have used the frensel head for a shoot that lasted several hours (morning till evening) and i had no issues. My vendor doesnt mind me returning the bulb and bulb holder but i am concerned he will get the unit i claim is faulty, test it at his end and the bulb will be working

[@WesPerry]

90% chance it’s the bulb, 9% chance it’s the holder, 1% chance its the AD200 itself. It’s a common issue for the bulb to either be damaged in shipping, get worn out, or just be defective, and work only intermittently. Once it warms up enough, the small split in the element will separate and the unit will stop working.