It Sucks... But I Love It - Godox Lux Junior Review

[@mcelliot]

No. It doesn’t suck at all. It is a small manual flash running aaa that has a slower recycle time, and it does that very well. Just because you didn’t consider your own use case prior to buying it doesn’t mean that it sucks. For the correct use case it is excellent.

[@markshirley01]

If I used it at a party and ueed high ISO, low shutter speed say 60th second as my A7R5 has great fixed ibis if I don't move the camera and just popped a bit of flash in to help - do you think it's useable. I watched another review with a comment on saying he used it for a lowlight shoot just using 64th power to just put a bit of light in, and it worked fine.

[@benjhaisch]

“Piece of… technology” will be my new favorite insult.

[@MagicWeddingPhotographer]

I was doing my best to be polite 🙈

[@Andrew12759]

Manual ability to decide the intensity of the flash is what I have been looking for!

[@jspau]

Your link to the "free flash lesson" doesn't work - it just take us to your course sales page

[@MurrayMcMillan73]

I use it on my Leica Q3, it’s actually really nice and a good size for it.

[@MagicWeddingPhotographer]

Team #leafshutter !! But also - Leica and Godox 🙈

[@MurrayMcMillan73]

@@MagicWeddingPhotographer Yeah, opposites eh :) Was the price and size- I wish Leica would do a little flash for the Q series like they’ve just done for the new D-Lux but they haven’t. Also have the little Fuji EF-X20 or whatever it’s called, that recycles even slower

[@samuelsmith6804]

Cheaper than a Leica lens cap! There's so many Leica Q2 videos and especially x100v videos on KZbin but very few mention the real benefits of leaf shutters. The reason I got my first x100 series camera over 10 years ago was exclusively for flash sync speed. The main reason I upgraded to the x100v was because that increased the sync speed to 1/4000. People always mention how quiet the leaf shutters are, which is a moot point since most mirrorless cameras can shoot completely silently with the electronic shutter, but rarely are all the flash possibilities get talked about.

[@67comet]

I enjoyed your delivery on this one. In your case it is NOT a good choice, but for the hobbies, or selective shooter, it is ideal (I still photograph like there's film in my camera). I've been looking at this flash for a while because I see it in used condition for much less. I also use my very small Reflx Lab Mini v2 flash on a Godox CT-16 receiver to fill in dark areas (It only has on/off, no power adjustments, USB C rechargeable - so it is utterly basic - I cover it with white cloth, or simply point it away if it's too much/close).

[@MagicWeddingPhotographer]

Thanks! I completely agree with this flash being great for slow-shooters. I wish this Godox was USB-C rechargeable...

[@michaelmeissner1631]

I don't have the flash (and I am an amateur, not a pro), but when you use the term 'auto' (or more properly 'thyristor'), it goes back to the flashes back in the 1970's. It was 'auto' for the time. If you want a flash that communicates with the camera, you want to use the term 'TTL' (or through the lens). So in this case, auto doesn't mean what you might expect. I haven't shot with auto flashes in quite some time, but as I was thinking about getting the various Godox Lux Senior/Junior/Cadet/Elf flashes, I started thinking about the auto support. In general, Auto works when you have a background that reflects light behind your subjects and your subjects are fairly close to the background. I.e. if they are standing in front of a wall it works, but if they are standing in a large room away from the back wall or outdoors, it won't work as well, since the flash won't see the reflection of the light from the background. One advantage that Auto has over digital TTL flashes is that Auto only puts out the main flash pulse. It does not put out a pre-flash that digital TTL uses to figure out the exposure. Some people have very fast blink reflexes, and a lot of times, a digital TTL flash might cause that person to start blinking on the pre-flash, and always have their eyes closed when the picture is taken. FWIW, using film cameras, TTL did not do the pre-flash that digital cameras do, since the electronics within the camera would turn off the flash because it measured the amount of light being reflected from the film to judge when the photo was exposed properly. For fixed setups, I tend to think manual flashes is more consistent than auto, assuming the photographer can adequately judge the distance from the subject to the camera, you are using straight on shooting, and the photographer is willing to adjust the flash's distance/ISO dial during the shoot. Again, I don't have the flash in question, but I would have to imagine the 2 slave modes do not rely on a Godox specific trigger. Instead, the first slave mode is likely for on camera flashes that do not emit any pre-flash (i.e. you are typically shooting with the flash in manual mode). The second slave mode is likely for digital camera TTL modes that emits a single flash for the pre-flash and then the main flash (i.e., the flash skips the first burst of light that it sees, and triggers itself off on the second burst). Note, I have heard that some modern cameras now emit more than one pre-flash, which would not work the Lux flashes. FWIW, the Godox Lux Master has the same manual/auto support the Senior/Junior/Cadet/ELF flashes do, but it does add support for a Godox radio trigger that can do digital TTL support. But the Senior/Master flashes likely are too big for the way I see you using the Junior in the video where the smallness of the flash is a feature. Using cameras with leaf shutters are a good way to use low power flashes like the Junior. And yes, flashes that use 2 AAA batteries tend to not be made for shooting more than one photo in a row. I would suspect that if you use high quality rechargeable batteries, you might get better results about speed after the first few flashes. Of course in terms of pumping out the shots, I remember reading about photographers using flash bulbs would have to wait between shots so that the bulb would cool down and they wouldn't burn their fingers when changing bulbs.

[@vegasrenie]

"I'm not a pro..." Proceeds to give pro-level dissertation. 😊

[@michaelmeissner1631]

@@vegasrenie There is a difference between being a pro (i.e. you make the majority of your income through photography) and being an amateur where I take the photos and videos that I do for myself. If you are a pro, you need to be able to make decisions on the spot to produce the photos of videos people are paying you for. You may experience when you are on your own, but most people will stick to what they know when it comes to the $$ shots. In my case, I took a picture in the early days with a compact camera using the built-in flash and my cat had green eyes due to the flash (due to the different rods/cones of their eyes, animals often get green eyes from a flash instead of red eyes). This caused me to jump down the rabbit hole to learn about flash after I upgraded to a camera that had better flash support. I learned about manual flashes, auto flashes, and TTL flashes. But not with newer cameras that have better ISO, I tend to take fewer flash photos then back then. But since I'm an amateur, if the picture doesn't work out, I just delete it and go on to the next. While I can use the manual and auto flashes, I really don't have the enthusiasm to go back to those methods. Thus, while I wanted to like the Godox Senior/Cadet/ELF flashes for my steampunk camera setup, I just don't want to go back to dealing with an auto flash. The Godox Master flash on the other hand is on my radar since it will work with the wireless Godox trigger that I have and operate in TTL mode. It is likely after paying off my previous purchases, I will get a Godox Master.

[@vegasrenie]

@@michaelmeissner1631 I can best be called a mid-level enthusiast. I have always enjoyed photography, and I still do although I'm now retired. (Once upon a time ISO was known as ASA with film cameras). Since I retired and on a relatively limited budget, I have to decide which is more important, and it usually comes out on the side of budget unless my inner Ansel Adams changes my mind. 😁 I am not a pro and have no intentions of ever being one. However, I love road trips, landscapes, street photography (I plan on printing a book full of my downtown Las Vegas photos) and some planned travel to enjoy my hobby. Unfortunately, I tend to give away what I could probably sell, but I'm having too much fun to bother with that. I finally decided to get a Neewer TTL flash, and that will serve my needs since I have no pro aspirations at all. Thanks for the info, though!

[@andyphotoandfilm]

oh how disappointing :( got one for the same reason and wanted to try on my next wedding... some time ago i used my (backup-backup)-Canon Eos M50 with its pop up flash and got some decent images on the dance floor.

[@MagicWeddingPhotographer]

Yeah not the greatest for dance floor! You can still try - let me know how it goes!

[@WieHurra]

I use this flashlight with Ricoh GR III and after a few shots I found that the regular batteries were too weak and I replaced them with rechargeable batteries, which significantly accelerated the readiness of the lamp to work.

[@thefriginals]

So, are you saying that it SUX? get it? ;)

[@thefriginals]

by the way, awesome breakdown, thanks for sharing your experience. I got one of these too so I can use it with my x100vi. I had originally tried it with my rx1, but the first version. had some problems with it, because that camera has a built in flash, and I had a hard time getting the Lux to fire consistently, so I abandoned the idea. it was just easy enough to use the rx1's built in flash anyways. also, with the rx1, that leaf shutter can only sync up to 1/2000 when its wide open at f/2. but it can sync up to 1/4000, when I stop it down, I think to about f/5.6... is that the same case with the rx1r2 as well? I can see how it would be useful for the rx1r2 through. and the Lux works GREAT on the x100vi, especially when I have to use the wide conversion lens, because the x100vi's built in flash would cast a shadow. so having the Lux helped since it raised the flash up a bit so that the shadow wouldn't be a problem. anyways, enough rambling, awesome video again!

[@Jarrych83]

yeah, just looking at the branding and features, this feels like it's intended for street photography, casual photography, manual lenses and cameras, etc. Between max sync speeds, lack of angling, etc, it's very clearly not meant for pro use or particularly in those situations where you're taking a ton of photos. Definitely more use case specific and it'd be lovely to see more levels of flash in this form factor.

[@HVRIS]

Yo, this flash works really well with my Q. It produces great chin shadow and there was lovely examples of that in your Rome photo set ☺Lovely work

[@rickbiessman6084]

Thanks Magic! I was considering this flash for typical dancefloor and other direct flash stuff, using my A7C II. I’ve been using another small Godox flash, but I don’t like that you can sometimes see too much of the shadow being cast by the flash because it doesn’t sit close enough to the lens for a convincing point-and-shoot look. Plus, the Lux Junior would look pretty cool on an A7C IMO. But if it takes that long to recycle, maybe I don’t want to rely on it.

[@Lucamitm]

Do you know how the junior would compare with the godox v350? Thanks

[@stevenwaldstein2249]

Just got this flash but didn’t open and try it out yet. Was looking for a small flash for an A7CII or A7CR. I have my large Godox V1 but also got a Sony HVL-43m whose size I was looking to reduce. I guess I will stay with those at ~ $148 for now. Thanks.

[@AlexandruVladutu]

Black Magic did it again and I'm left without 110 euros from my pocket (yes, I wanted the gray / whitish one).

[@jayeypi]

Any flash that's cheap u can recommend with faster recycle time?

[@sachaalleyne3459]

I have the flash and I love it. Yes. It is quite slow to recycle, especially at half and full power, but at lesser levels it can be quick. What sells it for me is how close the flash sits to the camera body making it much more on axis to the lens. Minimal side shadows behind the subject (I do a lot of shooting indoors )

[@mattgunst]

Great video as usual! Thanks for sharing your experience and feedback 🎉

[@lucaschweitzer9821]

so it‘s not the power? Just the recycle tume that sucks. Would work for me

[@AshleyJc-pm3hp]

I have a sony zv1 and didn’t realise it didn’t have an inbuilt flash when i bought it. so i ended up buying the godux lux jr, however every photo i take no matter inside or outside the photo comes out white and completely overexposed. i’ve toggled with my shutter speed settings on my phone but to no avail… any advice?

[@jannisbmrt]

lower the power of the flash, use faster shutter speed or close your aperture I guess

[@ssoqboss]

It's a manual flash so you'd rather use also manual mode on your camera to get predictable results. Otherwise your camera will expose for a scene and you add more unaccounted light with a flash end up with overexposing.

[@ldmndz4652]

It's funny I actually got this initially for the Fuji X100VI as an added accessory..(for a camera which I am still waiting for since pre order day Feb 20! haha) and for me it works great!..for a nice little compact camera..cant wait to actually put it on the Fuji when it finally arrives!..lol Godox has been really good about their "retro style" flashes lately and their looks.. I like mine a lot!..I put it on my A7RV if I want to bring it for some casual everyday scenarios with friends etc..I see this more for casual moments but for actual paid client work like weddings I would not use this..it's too risky..recycle time, miss fires..etc and you need to use some rechargeable batteries and a few of them for sure!..lol but it's a cute fun flash..

[@thefriginals]

you'll love it, works awesome on the x100vi...

[@kitwilson9796]

hahaahahahahahah exactly the same. bought this flash for my fuji X100vi pre ordered on March 1st. Had the Godox flash on my shelf for 4 months, still waiting on the fuji!!!!

[@ldmndz4652]

@@kitwilson9796 right!..how many of us have other "accessories" screen protector, thumb grip, pro mist filter, hood, etc etc for the VI..and just waiting for the bloody camera!..haha

[@ldmndz4652]

@@thefriginals yeah thanks..I certainly seen some other videos that use this flash on the VI.the Lux Senior on some examples looked a bit less powerful and or the fall off of the light did not look good..thats why I went with the Junior....yeah seems like a nice complement to the camera beside the on board flash..lol

[@MartinV.]

Great Video

[@MagicWeddingPhotographer]

Thanks!

[@adrionnalyse9605]

I was just about to buy it. Thanks for saving me time and money.