Gaffer & Gear 251 - Godox KNOWLED F600Bi

In this episode I take a look at the 600w Bi-Color flexible 4ft x 4ft light kit form Godox
This light has a CCT range from 2700K up to 6500K with very good color render and DMX control
00:00 Intro
00:22 Dimming
03:04 Cons / Negatives
04:38 Neither Pro or Con
05:28 Pros / Positives
05:52 Cost and what you get
06:32 Battery operation
06:57 Foldable Frame
07:53 The LED Mat
10:49 Optional Lantern
12:06 Noting Attached
13:19 Supplied Diffusion
13:56 Grid Attached
14:39 Lantern
15:19 DMX Testing
19:16 AC Power Draw
19:29 Average CCT Accuracies
19:39 Color Render (TM-30 RF)
19:56 DuV
20:47 2700K
21:16 3200K
21:52 4400K
22:17 5600K
22:56 6500K 7000K 7500K 8000K
23:06 8500K

[@efleschner]

That opening 😂 As a shooter and gaffer on small crews, I feel seen and attacked at the same time. Great review!

[@contactojaime]

Your work is awesome. Thanks so much for take your time to give us this information.

[@gonzalovillota7840]

Excellent review, as always! This light has been in my shopping cart for a while and was waiting for this review to pull the trigger and thankfully Adorama has it in stock in the US. Thank you!

[@OrenArieli]

Another great review. These 'smaller' brands have really been upping their game, as did Aputure a while back. It's great to see such competition for more accurate and powerful lights at relatively affordable price levels. Keep them coming, Andrew!.

[@christianstryder]

Very interesting light yet fills a gap needed. Can’t wait to hear what you have to say about it

[@DuncanDimanche-sreview]

Man this should be the standard for Light review !!! you sir and you team are amazing ! I don't think that I have anymore questions after watching this video or maybe one haha I wish we could have seen their "spigot" attachment system and know why you used yours instead of the one it comes with :) i'm definitely getting this one or their 400w version

[@samrajdop]

Great Review 👏👏👏

[@jimjimgl3]

Your are the king of comprehensive reviews. Light looks great. The accessories maybe a bit fussy.

[@gangd4807]

I also recently made a purchase and am waiting to use it in real-life situations. When I unfolded it for testing, the mat was really, really heavy, especially compared to Falcon Eyes or Aladdin. However, the price truly forgives everything. The light quality is also comparable to Aladdin but 1/4 cheap!! (Falcon Eyes thing is horrible) I wanted to mount it on a C-stand, but it seems like I'll have to use a combo stand. Because of the weight, it keeps tilting forward, so I've decided to buy that C-stand receiver as well.

[@MrTegid]

Amazing - I discovered this light about a week ago and couldn't find much on it. Got it at an absolute steal in a bulk order today and glad that its actually good! Agree - I'd buy that latern attachment if it was... actually avaliable.

[@gaffergear]

It would be great to hear your thoughts after a few months of using it

[@traviswhite8461]

Do you know anyone else doing a bulk order? Would love to grab one

[@Brenhere08]

That's an amazing light. You should create a course Andrew. You're knowledge is top game. You would make a fortune. Tim in Dublin Ireland

[@hzubovi1]

Thanks for this review. Would like to see Godox Space Panel P600BI

[@ScottBalkum]

That looks like a great light! 600W is nothing to sneeze at!

[@00WhiteBlade]

Really looking forward to rigging 4 of these in 8x8 frames and enjoying some juicy output. I think these are the most affordable option for a rig like that. And at 2400 watts total it should be close in output to a Nanlux 2400B spread over an 8x8 f̶o̶r̶ ̶$̶1̶0̶0̶0̶ ̶U̶S̶D̶ ̶l̶e̶s̶s̶. I see it's a little too small to mount to a 4x4 frame, which means it may be a little too small to mount 4 of them within an 8x8 frame, but with some bungee cable ties and some diffusion to blend the gaps I don't see that being unsolvable. Amazing review!

[@etentertainment4157]

$1000 or less for 8x8? I'm finding a single unit for around $1,700 so not sure where you can get a single unit for $250

[@Arseny.Petukhov]

@@etentertainment4157 he means buying 4 of these instead of one 2400B

[@00WhiteBlade]

@@Arseny.Petukhov yes that's what I meant but I'm actually wrong. I was going off memory (big mistake) of the 2400b price. Still, when it comes to true top-down lighting I would opt for an 8x8 mat light over an 8x8 diff with a double broken 2400b behind it.

[@leifprenzlau731]

did you end up rigging this? do yo think it would work on a 4x4 frame with longer bungees?

[@lll9416]

Ill bet this would be gorgeous, punched through a 6x6 Full Silent Sail cloth just out of camera frame! Nice review Andrew, as informative as ever, from my brother from down under !

[@gaffergear]

Yes! Especially in those situations where you are right up against the studio wall.

[@BlakeCastle]

Thanks for another great review - I’ve had this light on order for a few months, keen se get it working when it arrives. I’m wondering if a better grid like a 4x4’ Snapgrid would work with this being a generic size

[@gaffergear]

I use this guy for my custom grids sites.google.com/site/gridssoftbox

[@simonrowlingdp7838]

Fantastic review and really thorough!! Would love you to do a review of the cineflex/ falcon eyes equivalent- the FALCONEYES RX-120TDX 600W BI-COLOR ROLL-FLEX FLEXIBLE LED PANEL. I’ve owned one for years but this Godox seems better in many ways (although I know falcon eyes have newer versions now)

[@emanuellopez5483]

Thanks for this great review Andrew ! I purchased 2 kits for my grip truck. My only concern was it not come with a clamp for the ballast. The ballast have a V mount adapter. But the kit not com with the clamp.

[@gaffergear]

No ballast clamp in the kit unfortunately

[@Cinegavo]

Would be cool to see some separate zones in the unit. Maybe 2 zones for different control

[@TimTylerCine]

I was REALLY excited about this fixture when they announced it a few months ago. It had the potential to be the perfect doc interview key light. Not so much now with the poor grid and lack of CRMX. I suspect that Aputure might be working on something similar since they hinted it in the spring, so I might wait. The color specs on the Godox are really impressive though. Hmmm.

[@gaffergear]

I use this guy for custom grids, he has made at least 30 for me over the years. Because so many lights would be amazing, if only they had a decent grid. sites.google.com/site/gridssoftbox

[@TimTylerCine]

Thank you. BTW here's the Dec 2022 clip where Aputure's Dan Colmenares hints that they're working on a large format flex mat after a brief discussion about the Amaran F22C. kzbin.info/www/bejne/enmagKZrgrlnobM Hoping this gear is just around the corner.

[@_rhapsodist]

cheers for the link 😉@@gaffergear

[@tasothdevil01]

@@gaffergear Hi , how do you attach the custom grid to Godox F600Bi? Do you attach to the frame or to the fixture? thank you.

[@gaffergear]

@@tasothdevil01 Velcro to the fixture

[@veselinvasilev9362]

Thanks!

[@Presleympofu]

Great review as always. Do you think you can also do the Godox Knowled c7r/c10r compared to the aputure b7c and pavobulb 10c

[@gaffergear]

They don't seem to be interested at this stage, but I am a fair way behind on reviews of their products, I still need to review their CRMX system

[@Davidthomasford]

Great review! I know that this light has some draw backs but it's pretty insane that you could string 4 of these things together on an 8x8 frame and end up with a light fixture for not a crazy amount of money that can go right back to a wall and kick out 2400w of led power and be a fairly large and soft source. Add a standard 8x8 crate over the top and it would be very controllable too.

[@gaffergear]

You could probably join them together with nuts and bolts through the eyelet holes.

[@jakeschumacher3245]

Always appreciate your work. How easy is it to take the pin off the back to fit on a 4x4 cart?

[@gaffergear]

Easy, it's a nut and bolt, you could put a wingnut on for speed

[@jonathandearcom]

I’ve had the f400Bi for a number of month while I waited for the f600 (which just arrived today!) Apart from the grid being average in controlling spill, on my f400 I’ve had cells tear already after use just taking it off the light with their Velcro. It’s the worst quality grid I’ve ever used on a product which is such a shame. The f600 grid is the same construction so I imagine it will also tear over time. 😮 Thanks for the alternative grid source link. I wonder if the panel will mount on a matthews roadflags ii 48x48 frame. They mentioned in the live release video they would mount on 4x4 frames when I asked live. So it’s a shock to see you mention it wouldn’t go on a blade. The roadflags frame would reduce weight a lot. I’ll buy one and report back. My other opinions on long term use which you covered; *needed to have a clamp included *needed another diffusion fabric (I sourced the 2x4 intellytech (mini-mega) full stop for the f400 to try) *weatherproof ballast would have been good, the DMX ports on the f600 are far more exposed being open and top mounted verse the side bottom mounted f400 ports

[@jonathandearcom]

Back to say the f600 does mount on the Matthews Road rags II 4x4’ frame which is significantly lighter than their included bracket. You do have to “double bungee” the panel to the frame (loop back through again on the bungee) but it’s super secure. I don’t have plans to boom it overhead - just wanted a lighter and quicker setup for moving around. One caveat is the RRii wont fit of course in the f600 case but I can now lighten the case without the Godox bracket. Next step it to diffuse it without needing the Godox softbox and Godox diffusion so it’s even more profile and lightweight.

[@atriux7]

@@jonathandearcom Nice one, thanks for sharing. What's a similar lightweight 4x4 frame you think could work here? One from Chimera?

[@jonathandearcom]

@@atriux7 I don’t have a chimera to test, I’ve ended up buying a second roadflags to put infront of the panel so I have better diffusion options (chimera or matthews 1/4, 1/2 etc) and I can mount a better 4x4 frame grid in the future like the TRP snapgrid. It’s an evolving build! Other update; the 2x4 intellytech diffusion is nice but no way fits the Godox 2x4 panel.

[@rickdeckardbladerunner2049]

It would be great to see the dimming numbers with a shot of you with side light. That one shot at a very low setting looked epic! What light level was that? At 1:08.

[@gaffergear]

That was the lowest I could get on my 8 bit DMX controller. 001 on the dimming channel out of 255. So about 0.4% The overexposure was 100% brightness and the exposed correctly parts were at only 7% brightness in that segment

[@rickdeckardbladerunner2049]

​@@gaffergearthanks for that. It would be great if they included flags to control the light spill if used overhead. My guess is, you will need to add your own with clamps and cut black fabric.

[@WillChao]

Hey Andrew! Do you mind sharing the name of that clamp you used to mount it to the lightstand?

[@gaffergear]

Gaffer & Gear 167 Kupo Junior angle adaptor

[@JoATTech]

After watching this review 3-4 times I pulled a trigger on the Godox F600Bi :D. I love this light. Although quality of the softbox, diffusion and crate is not that great. I wouldn't call it premium, as Godox tries to imply :D.

[@gaffergear]

After filming the review I chucked the create in the bin. I purchased an aftermarket unit (in a follow up episode)

[@JoATTech]

@@gaffergear I know, I would order this custom made next month. Actually the crate is kinda ok (i know spread is like 70 degrees, but works so far for me). I do not like the diffusion more which seems to be like 1cm to short and is so tight it sometimes un-velcros itself :(. It also creates a crease on the diagonal is so tight.

[@GaffersSalon]

Some of my g/m test results were quite a bit different than yours… which firmware was this for the cct g/m and dmx testing?

[@gaffergear]

V 1.05

[@szewendieu9553]

Do you have a video talking about your dmx setup? It's really cool and I'm interested

[@gaffergear]

I have a few episodes on it. It's the exalux control one. I'm currently indexing all the episodes, so it will be easier to find stuff like that.

[@davidmoravec3697]

I have a question about heat control for the LEDs. I am looking to use this on a news set and the light will be on for a good portion of the day. Any idea how well it will hold up?

[@gaffergear]

I run the lights for at least 2 hours continuously at our common CCTs. for reviews testing to run the phosphors in. So day one they usually do between 6 to 8 hours. They have a 2x4 which is 400w, so I think they didn't go past 600w on this for heat reasons

[@MountUpMedia]

Can you do intellitech mega lite cloth next!?

[@gaffergear]

I would love to get my hands on one.

[@bro_liv]

What would you guys recommend for other grid options? Also, could I know what is the adapter used to mount on stand please?

[@gaffergear]

I use this guy for grids..... sites.google.com/site/gridssoftbox The stand adaptor is a Kupo Junior Angle Adaptor

[@bro_liv]

@@gaffergear Thank you so much!

[@perfectdevelopmentstudiosl9492]

Do a review on the gvm pro sd650b bi-color new light what’s your thoughts about it

[@jamesreed7278]

What are you using to hold the light in the junior boom?

[@gaffergear]

I think I used the kupo mount that's on the stand in this episode. I have now got a custom frame welded with a rod on the side for a grip head, similar to a blade frame, because this is too difficult to mount on booms otherwise

[@CaseyPreston]

That grid is amusing. It looks like it would measure at about 120 degrees and you can see little pin hokes in the fabric. It is like the designers didn’t quite understand the purpose of a grid and thought this was a good way to save money. You could always just buy a 4x4 grid and strap it to the frame, but I’m guessing the frame isn’t suite big enough for a 4x4 and it would sag quite a bit.

[@gaffergear]

I honestly don't think most manufacturers understand what they are for.

[@morsmediatv-undfilmprodukt3958]

what DMX dongle (lumenradio) did you use?

[@gaffergear]

The godox unit, I figured it's a godox episode

[@JoATTech]

Hi Andrew, Have you moved your light meter back ~10cm when you attached the diffusion? Or you measured 1m from the diodes themselves? So when diffusion been attached it was actually closer than 1m from the meter?

[@gaffergear]

I always measure from the front of the modifiers for that exact reason.

[@JoATTech]

@@gaffergear Thanks Andrew. I asked because I got a bit lower readings with my unit, but when I measure from the diodes it's on par with your readings. But it's like 5-7% off, so might be because I use different model of Sekonic.

[@gaffergear]

@@JoATTech I have a white ceiling that could be adding extra bounce

[@gaffergear]

5 to 7% is nothing, I would call that the same reading. That could be the difference in our two metres. Remember that 100% more is just 1 F-stop. 5% of an F-stop is imperceptible

[@JoATTech]

@@gaffergear Yeah, I know, but for some lights I have 35% lower readings, they were definitely ducked. I do my test with retracted lens of the light meter and yes my ceiling is dark grey, and there is not much bounce in the room, so probably that. Cheers

[@jmasked5082]

anyone found a custom frame solution that allows you to keep the panel attached and fold it up with the panel to some degree? The setup time with fabric lights is the only thing that bugs me on those frantic morning setups

[@gaffergear]

I will have a follow up episode with my solution. I also found that everything packed down in the one bag was way too heavy

[@danielharvey1472]

Did you have to create a profile for the light? I've never made a profile and am having a difficult time trying to find the right info for how to make a profile for this light.

[@gaffergear]

I just found one that' was close and used that. You can't create profiles in the Control One

[@danielharvey1472]

@gaffergear I'm using Luminaire. I wonder if I can do a basic 8 bit channel for it?

[@gaffergear]

@@danielharvey1472 I have no idea, I would assume so

[@danielharvey1472]

@gaffergear thank you for the responses! Big fan of the channel!

[@StephenHildreth]

Anybody have a solution for different diffusion materials?

[@notan...]

What's the SSI color render score?

[@gaffergear]

Go to the index and select either 3200K or 5600K to look at the data.

[@creativegreatsvisuals]

is this better that intelly tech ? I would say no but whats your take ? intellytech mega 8fc 3.0 rgb litecloth is around the price of this ?

[@gaffergear]

I would love to get my hands on one, but so far no luck

[@creativegreatsvisuals]

you don't wanna buy before testing ? lol im shocked they won't just send them to you @@gaffergear

[@StringerBell]

SSI of only 74 is very dissapointing for 5500k. That renders that light on the most budget end of LED lights in terms of performance.

[@creativegreatsvisuals]

what do u mean render ? what do u mean on the most budget end ?

[@StringerBell]

@@creativegreatsvisuals I mean that the light quality is a trash and doesn't render nice skin tones.

[@joeaddison]

I've been trying a number of these new gen godox products and I've felt that the knowled 600+ watt units are very good, not perfect but decently affordable. The 300 watt units and lower even in their Professional Knowled series has been disappointing. Not bad in any way but disappointing that they are not as good as the highest end units from godox

[@gaffergear]

Agree, it still feels a little like they are a bit unsure in this market and every light is a bit of an experiment for them.

[@timeltdme4355]

- pity about the grid.. - almost looks like the DMX receiver or the light itself goes to sleep when the brightness is zero, so it takes it forever to respond

[@cristianmihai4818]

does this light have a G/M shift adjustment?

[@gaffergear]

Unfortunately not

[@cristianmihai4818]

@@gaffergear Thank you...Still looking for an afordable option after 1 year of search...

[@gaffergear]

@@cristianmihai4818 they announced an RGB version at NAB.

[@cristianmihai4818]

@@gaffergear Thank you...Will keep an eye on it.

[@DJILLEE]

The grid is a deal breaker for me.

[@BrandonTalbot]

Really disappointing that the f400 doesn’t have the ability to hit .1%

[@gaffergear]

It's odd that they didn't do that

[@BrandonTalbot]

Makes no sense.@@gaffergear

[@VMXGroove]

That's a cool light. I think I'll buy two of these clowns.

[@gaffergear]

The have an RGB variant they announced at NAB coming soon

[@VMXGroove]

@@gaffergear RGB huh? That’s great. Maybe I should wait and see how those look. I must say, I’m pretty impressed with the Godox Knowled series. I run a small video production company and these lights are perfect for us. Thank you for the in depth reviews. Your videos are very helpful. Subscribed.