Compact Studio Strobes – Godox MS200 & Godox MS300
These are two extremely affordable studio strobes from Godox that a lot of photographers don’t know about. Certainly when we think of Godox flashes and strobe lighting we think of the AD200 Pocket flashes and the AD400 and AD600 studio strobes that run on lithium batteries. We know that Godox has a series of speed lights but they also have series of of AC powered studio strobes – the MS Series – Compact Studio Strobes.
Godox actually has 18 different lines of studio strobes but I wanted to show you these two because of their price and compatibility with the Godox X series triggers that are used by the popular Godox AD200 Pocket Flashes, Godox AD400 and Godox AD600 strobes.
I am referring to the Godox MS200 and the Godox MS300. The folks at Pergear.com provided these strobes for my review and they have quickly become a staple in my studio.
These compact studio strobes rock it old school – with lots of modern features. They are AC powered so you are not going to take them out on location unless you have a power source available. But for in the studio – they are small and lightweight.
The MS200 is a compact 200watt second studio strobe and the MS300 has the same build with 300watt seconds of output. Both units weigh just over 2.5lbs. They feature a Bowens mount and indeed they have the Godox 2.4gHz wireless X system built in – so you can fire them with your existing Godox triggers. Power on these units can be adjusted from full power to 1//32 power with 50 steps of adjustment. Unlike the lithium powered units these will only power down to 1/64th but keep in mind the units are only 200 or 300 watt seconds so that is not really a negative.
The units do come with 150watt tungsten powered modeling lights and feature recycle times of .1 to 1.8 seconds depending on your power setting. Flash durations are a respectable 1/2000 to 1/800th which is more than enough to stop action unless you are doing specialized shooting like water drops or balloons popping.
I left the best part until last… the price. The Godox MS200 is currently selling for $95.00 and that includes a reflector, ac power cord and colored gels. The Godox MS300 is currently selling for $109.00 and also includes a reflector, ac power cord and colored gels. So for $14.00 more you can get an extra 100 watt seconds and have more than enough light for shooting great portraits and beauty shots.
Are Compact Studio Strobes for You?
I am a fan of the Godox system and own quite a few AD200’s and AD400’s as well as a few speedlights. You also know that I am a bit if a geek when it comes to light and you can never have too many lights to work with so at a hundred bucks these two make a great addition to my arsenal and for a photographer who is looking to start working with lighting and wants to ease into it without breaking the bank – these two compact studio strobes are a great starting point because they are affordable and full featured and they are fully interchangeable with all of the Godox strobes that use the X System triggers which means that you can use them as an entry point to the system and grow from here – without them becoming obsolete.
Specifications:
Godox MS200
The Godox MS200 MONOLIGHT is a 200-watt second manual monolight, designed to be compact non-TTL AC studio members of the 2.4Ghz Family of wireless radio controlled flashes. The small units deliver GN 174ft / 53m, accepting standard Bowens S-Type reflectors and modifiers. The pro 150w quartz modeling light makes lighting setups easy to achieve precise results. The incredible amount of power and control in these compact and lightweight flashes, make this design the first choice of all photographers with an eye for flexible multiple lights set up in a studio or home environment for everything from portraiture to product photography without the fear of blowing circuits. The Godox MS200 Monolight has a max recycle times of 1.8 seconds at full power, and an eye-popping 0.1 seconds at 1/32nd/5.0 output, with reliability that only AC can.
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- Compact and lightweight 200ws AC reliability
- Impressively consistent GN 174ft / 53m output
- Built-in Godox 2.4G wireless system
- Senses and operates under 32 Channels and 16 non-TTL Groups
- Recycles in less than 1.8s at full power and 0.1s at 1/32.
- Precise output displayed on the LCD panel
- Wide range of 50 flash power steps from 1/32 to 1/1 (or 5.0 to 10.0)
- Optional X1 triggers control power ratio, modeling lamp, an audio tone, as well as remote flash triggering
- Bowens Type-S mount for a flood of almost any light shaper
- 150W modeling lamp adjusts in 5% to 100% power levels in 3 modes
- Outstanding output stability, no more than 2% shifts when under the same output
- Anti-preflash Slave modes enable synchronization with cameras that have a one-preflash firing system using the S1 & S2 Optic Slave Modes
- Auto memory and recovery of previous values and settings
- Use wireless trigger X1 as well as power remotes XT16, XPro, and X2 to wirelessly control the head’s power, modeling light, triggering, and more.
- Rich color spectrum with flash duration (t.01) of 1/800s – 1/2000s
- Stable Color Temperature 5600K +/- 200K throughout the flash range
- Auto Memory feature retains last use settings
- 3.5mm Sync Port for direct to camera cable link
- Dimension: flash diameter φ12.6cm
- Height of flash with handle 12.7cm
- Length of flash with lamp cover 28.3cm
- Net weight Approx 2.6kg
Godox MS300
The Godox MS300 MONOLIGHT is a 300-watt second manual monolight, designed to be compact non-TTL AC studio members of the 2.4Ghz Family of wireless radio controlled flashes. The small units deliver GN 174ft / 58m, accepting standard Bowens S-Type reflectors and modifiers. The pro 150w quartz modeling light makes lighting setups easy to achieve precise results. The incredible amount of power and control in these compact and lightweight flashes, make this design the first choice of all photographers with an eye for flexible multiple lights set up in a studio or home environment for everything from portraiture to product photography without the fear of blowing circuits. The Godox MS300 Monolight has a max recycle times of 1.8 seconds at full power, and an eye-popping 0.1 seconds at 1/32nd/5.0 output, with reliability that only AC can .
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- Compact and lightweight 300ws AC reliability
- Impressively consistent GN 174ft / 58m output
- Built-in Godox 2.4G wireless system
- Senses and operates under 32 Channels and 16 non-TTL Groups
- Recycles in less than 1.8s at full power and 0.1s at 1/32.
- Precise output displayed on the LCD panel
- Wide range of 50 flash power steps from 1/32 to 1/1 (or 5.0 to 10.0)
- Optional X1 triggers control power ratio, modeling lamp, an audio tone, as well as remote flash triggering
- Bowens Type-S mount for a flood of almost any light shaper
- 150W modeling lamp adjusts in 5% to 100% power levels in 3 modes
- Outstanding output stability, no more than 2% shifts when under the same output
- Anti-preflash Slave modes enable synchronization with cameras that have a one-preflash firing system using the S1 & S2 Optic Slave Modes
- Auto memory and recovery of previous values and settings
- Use wireless trigger X1 as well as power remotes XT16, XPro, and X2 to wirelessly control the head’s power, modeling light, triggering, and more.
- Rich color spectrum with flash duration (t.01) of 1/800s – 1/2000s
- Stable Color Temperature 5600K +/- 200K throughout the flash range
- Auto Memory feature retains last use settings
- 3.5mm Sync Port for direct to camera cable link
- Fuse: F5AL 250V
- Dimension: flash diameter φ12.6cm
- Height of flash with handle 12.7cm
- Length of flash with lamp cover 28.3cm
FTC Disclosure: No sponsors have paid for advertising or mentions in this article. The Godox MS200 and MS300 were provided to me at no cost by Pergear Tech for the purpose of review however all words and opinions are my own. Product links are Amazon Affiliate links for which I earn a small commission on purchases made.
I hope you found this information useful. Now go pick up that camera and shoot something! Because – “Your BEST shot is your NEXT shot!” — Joe Edelman
