Hello and Michael, thanks for referring to my experience with the Flashpoint/Godox line of strobes. Also your work is well done. I wanted to let other members here know that when I am in studio then shutter speed has little to do with stopping action. I use my 645Z almost exclusively in studio for action or non action. For me medium format is a delicious look. Prior to using Godox/Flashpoint 600s I was using Einsteins exclusively. Paul's engineering for t:1 performance was great and presented a fantastic value. I've used Profoto, Elinchrom and Priolites as well. To my knowledge Priolite is the only brand offering HSS or more accurately Hypersync for Pentax. I was not happy with the Priolite Hotsync 1000 because of the banding in Hypersync mode.
So I tried the Godox AD600 line and was happy using them with my Pentax in studio and outdoors with my Canon gear. Any time ambient light is a factor the choices left are using a leaf shutter or HSS to freeze action. For dance we all try to capture the talent at the apex of their movement. As such they are often 'frozen' in time and that is when we attempt to take the shot. Outdoors I usually shoot at 1/2000th to freeze action using HSS. I have found the Flashpoint/Godox 600 line excellent. And their addition of higher power heads is a real plus. I currently own five of the Flashpoint 600 lights, five remote H600 heads and one 1200 head. I find their value exceptional.
I prefer to photograph dancers outside of the studio or stage. I find their movement in nature to be beautiful. Also when I shot two pro tango dancers in water I had to adjust my timing. You see when they reach their apex, where we normally try to catch them the water trail is gone! So I had to adjust my timing to snap just before their apex. Those shots were done in studio with Einsteins, as the Godox line was not yet released.
I also often use gobos with my strobes. In the desert shot using a gobo window really sucks the power out of a light. So having the option of converting two AD600s to one 1200ws light is a fantastic option. To date I know of no other manufacturer who offers this much flexibility. I heard a rumor that Godox is working on a trigger for Pentax. I will be one happy shooter when that happens! HSS on my MF rig will be a godsend! Again, everyone must pick the gear that works best for their client base. I have found what works well for me and my clients.
My site's recent dance imagery.In this setup the shutter speed stays at max sync speed, so a pitiful 1/125 for 645z. Overall it seemed consistent enough.. if there was any variation, I honestly didn't pay much attention as its trivial to adjust in post. One just has to religiously take care to not burn the highlights with 645z - there is no headroom.
These flashes are fine.. they give light and quite a lot of it;) The only issue I noticed - there is a Y power cable which allows to shorten the recycle time, it has a current leak - with this cable connected and everything powered down the battery pack is discharging. Otherwise, these batteries just don't end.
I found very helpful reviews of this and other Flashpoint/Godox lights on this blog by Mark Kitaoka: http://www.markkitaoka.com/blog
XPLOR600 looks quite interesting & easier to connect with modifiers.
