Godox has announced the V1Pro Flash with mini sub-flash, which will supersede the original V1, albeit at a higher price point.

The original $330 Godox V1 speed light turned a lot of heads when it was launched back in back in mid-2020, as it had a similar form to the excellent Profoto A10, but without the $1,700 price tag.

At that time in history, round-headed speedlights were all the rage, though the advantages of being round are slightly questionable in that the sensor we shoot to is rectangular.

The main advantage of a round flash-head is that the light’s reflection in the eye will be round (if you can actually work that out).

Also, the light spreads slightly more evenly if you are using a wide angle flash. It’s all very debatable as you can see in this video by Oma Ghomrawi where he tests the difference between Godox round VS rectangular heads. 

The original V1 features 76W output being powered by a 2600mAh lithium-ion battery that gives up to 480 full-power flashes. It has the ability for 40 consecutive full-power flashes with a recycling time of 1.5 seconds per flash.

It also features a built-in 2.4Ghz receiver that enables it to be triggered using the Godox X System transmitters. All in all, it was and still is, definitely a viable option to purchasing an OEM camera brand speedlight which are approximately $650+.

The new Godox V1Pro ups the ante by delivering 500 full-power flashes via its new but physically same-sized 7.2V/2980mAh battery. This allows 100 consecutive full power flashes with a recharge time of 1.5 seconds per flash.

Another bonus, battery wise, is the ability to connect it to the Godox PB960 power pack, which makes a nice addition for wedding and fashion photographers or paparazzi. 

Probably the most interesting addition is the detachable tiny External Flash SU-1. This gives you the ability to have a bounce and fill light in the one package.

No doubt this supplemental tiny flash is of fairly low power, but still enough to give a bit of catchlight / eyelight for the subject.

Another new inclusion is an inbuilt 2W LED light. Flash modelling lights are actually very useful for shooting ‘run and gun’ video grabs, super shallow depth of field / high ISO images at night, or even using it as a copy light for documents or macro photography.

It’s going to be interesting to see if the V1Pro is as successful as its predecessor, as the new price point could make prospective buyers now consider the OEM brands, even though they are still slightly more expensive.

With the V1 being only $330, it was always a bit of a no-brainer if you didn’t always need a speed light, or were on a limited budget.

TECHNICAL
Zoom Ratio: 28 to 105mm (auto)
Flash Duration: 1/300 to 1/20000s
Recycle time: Approx. 1.5s @ full power
Modelling Lamp: 2W (adjustable 10 steps)
High Speed Sync: up to 1/8000
Focus Assist Beam
Wireless 2.4G transmitter range: 100m

The V1Pro is available for pre-order for $550 and has compatible versions for Canon, Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm and OM-System.

You can read more about the V1Pro on the Godox website.

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Two small indigo rectangles mirror each other in Sophia Chai’s “Untitled” piece, the last of 13 photos curated for her exhibit, “Character Space.” The images are inspired by the phonetic sounds of the Korean alphabet, connecting verbal communication to shape.

“I think of the Korean alphabet like a pictorial diagram,” Chai said. “In my photographs, I try to reiterate the kind of visual space that I make when I make a sound (from the alphabet).”

Chai’s exhibit opened on Friday and will run until May 17 at Light Work, a nonprofit art facility that supports photographers through residencies and exhibitions on Syracuse University’s campus. Based out of Rochester, Minnesota, Chai currently works as an independent artist and as a MFA mentor for Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Throughout the exhibit, she uses Korean characters to discuss her own experience growing up in the United States as an immigrant.

In 1987, Chai immigrated to New York City from South Korea with her parents. She was 14 and did not speak any English. Her early years in America were filled with confusion, she said, adding that she lacked proper guidance.

“I didn’t feel like there was an adult figure who I could talk to to get help,” Chai said. “I felt kind of untethered. I didn’t have an internal compass.”

Chai’s parents often had to work many hours to provide for her family, a time she recalls as “extremely challenging.” With her English surpassing her parents’ abilities, she was forced into difficult situations having to speak for them. She had to “learn the language of adults as well,” she said.

With the language barrier, Chai often felt isolated from others around her. Those feelings inspired the pieces that now hang at Light Work.

“The work evokes her experiences as a South Korean woman who immigrated to the United States, as well as reinterpreting the Korean alphabet in a way for the audience to see contradictions between visual and verbal forms of communicating with one another,” said Cali M. Banks, Light Work’s communications coordinator.

Banks is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Film and Media Arts at Syracuse University. With her position with Light Work, Banks was in charge of marketing for “Character Space.”

“Chai is imagining how the sounds of words come out of one’s mouth —even if the meaning of what is being said isn’t fully understood yet— and translates that into shapes, lines and gaps we see in the photographs,” Banks said.

Chai was first inspired to pursue art at the Guggenheim Museum‘s former satellite location in SoHo, New York. She was amazed by the work of Robert Rauschenberg, a mid-20th century painter, sculptor and graphic artist. The color and design instantly drew her in, she said.

After turning her studio space into a camera obscura, a dark room with one small hole, Chai was inspired to learn more about analog photography. For “Character Space,” Chai used an analog camera and 4×5 sheets of film to capture photographs inspired by the Korean alphabet.

Chai’s exhibit features a number of alphabet-inspired pieces. “Study of Shapes” features a set of rectangles. With a larger and smaller rectangle next to one another, a separate platform serves as a reflection of both shapes.

The photos all connect to each other in different ways, Chai said. She meticulously captures each photo while imagining the “layerings of time captured” within the snapshot.

“Being inside a camera obscura just got me to ask questions about what is photography. And what are these expectations we have built around what a picture is,” she said. “What is photography? What is seeing?”

Whitney Hubbs, the associate director of Light Work, conducts studio visits and helps curate exhibitions. While familiar with Chai’s work, Hubbs was still inspired by the intellect behind it.

“(Chai)’s referencing Korean written characters and enacting three key ideas of language, optics, and photography,” Hubbs said. “The photographs in this exhibition feel familiar and particular.”

Chai wants viewers to question what photography, seeing and knowing truly are. She believes that photography is often “contradictory” and does not always have a clear answer.

“Interest lies in the rift between how we see through the camera lens and how we experience space with our bodies,” Chai said.