Review - Godox XPro Flash Trigger

I've been using Godox lighting for a couple of years now, previously working with Yongnuo equipment, so ostensibly, your humble author is rather fond of humble pricing when it comes to photography lighting equipment.

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Godox stuff is pretty well made though, and has become very popular with lighting photographers in recent years, especially as they have continuously expanded their equipment line up. Today my Godox Xpro parcel arrived and I've spent the day testing it and comparing it to the older X1. The new XPro trigger ads to the massive selection of compatible strobist equipment you can see below...

What's all the fuss about?

The weak point of the Godox system has been the original "X1" trigger, which users rightly complained about being fiddly and slow. Finally, the problem has been solved, with the introduction of the XPro, improving on the X1 trigger in a number of ways. Most importantly, it allows the photographer to directly adjust flash power on one of 5 groups, instantly, without having to menu dive. In practice, the unit is fast and responsive. The ability to see and control 5 groups so elegantly will be a huge boost for the workflow of any off-camera flash photographer, especially those who, like myself, often use 3 or 4 different strobes at a time. Indeed, the "strobist" aspect of photography has become extremely popular as equipment prices have plummeted in recent years, mostly thanks to third party manufacturing in China.

Off-camera flash photography used to be an expensive and tricky hobby, but Godox and Yongnuo have made it possible for anyone to get involved. For example; the Godox Xpro cost me 55 euro. The Canon equivalent, the ST-E3-RT is around 300 euro. The same price differences are evident with flash guns, LED lighting, and other photo equipment. Yongnuo have even started making lenses, though they still have a lot of work to do if they want to catch up with Canon and Nikon in terms of optical quality.

As well as the fantastic new menu system, the XPro features a tilted form factor, making it very easy to use when mounted on your DSLR. It's well built, and powered by 2 X AA batteries. It supports off-camera TTL and is compatible with all of the Godox X line, including the fantastic AD200, which I reviewed here.

In case it wasn't obvious, I wholeheartedly recommend this product, along with the whole Godox range of lighting equipment and accessories. The Xpro is available on eBay.