Welcome to our ultimate Godox DS300 review that we have decided to type up after noticing that there was no one else out there covering the DS300 while also seeing a constant stream of people reaching out for advice on the lighting unit. This solid little studio flash unit is slowly increasing in popularity as each month while slowly growing its reputation.
In reality, though, it is not as popular as some of the competing light units on the market right now and we are hoping to help change that as Godox has made a great little light that we feel should be getting more attention. Everything from its low price tag to its solid performance to its great build quality leads us to think that this is going to become a very popular lighting unit in the future once the word is out.
Click Here To Check For The Current Prices On The Godox DS300!
User Interface And Control System
The Godox DS300 user interface is shown in the image above and although it may look a little confusing or intimidating if this is your first studio lighting rig but it has been designed to be as easy to use as possible. This ensures that you are able to quickly and easily learn how to operate the lighting rig with minimal time investment required on your part.
The LCD panel on the DS300 is clear and allows you to see exactly what you are doing in low light conditions without having to turn the main lights on in your studio to tweak any settings on the light mid-session. The control dials and buttons are also easy to locate and press while allowing you to initially set up or tweak the performance of the light as required without having to waste time.
Like many modern lighting units, the AC power socket for mains power to the light is based around a deep socket design too so once that external power cable is in the light, it should hold its place without randomly falling out and causing your lighting unit to power down.
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Once you have completed the initial set up of your Godox DS300 and jacked in the power cable, you are ready to mount it. The DS300 comes with a built-in Bowens mount that allows you to easily mount the lighting unit on the vast majority of modern light stands without issue. In addition to this, there are a ton of third-party accessories available for the Bowens mount connector these days that allow you to mount the light on pretty much anything you can think of.
If you are planning to use your DS300 outside of a traditional studio this can be a key feature as the mount accessories alone can save you a bunch of time by allowing you to mount your lighting units on anything available on your gigs location. Once set up, you are then able to further customize the performance of the light by mounting the majority of popular studio flash accessories to the light as required to get exactly what you need out of it.
Depending on what you are planning to use the light for as well as the size of your studio, it may be a good idea to consider picking up the Godox Ft-16 wireless flash trigger (Click here to check for product prices and availability) too. Although not essential by any means, it can help to make your life easier in some photography niches.
We feel that Godox has done a solid job of putting the DS300 together and ensuring that it is not only easy to set up and get working but also easy to tweak and customize as required. This makes it one of the easier lighting units at this price point in the market to use meaning it is an ideal first strobe light as well as an ideal light for more experienced users due to its excellent performance.
Click Here To Check For The Current Prices On The Godox DS300!
Performance And Functionality
The Godox DS300 really does offer some excellent performance and functionality for its price tag and the lack of popularity for the flash unit really does puzzle us. The variable flash duration and recycle times allow you to tweak the lighting unit to meet pretty much anything you can think of and the heat dissipation technology on the light also helps to passively prevent any overheating issues that can be common with a short flash duration with a fast recycle time.
Although we would imagine that the majority of our readers would be looking at the DS300 flash head with a view of using it as a part of their studio lighting rig. That said, if you are planning on having to travel to various locations with the lighting unit then the compact size and lightweight ensure that it can easily be packed and transported without issue.
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As you would expect from any modern lighting unit, the DS300 fully supports manual mode alone with both S1 and S2 modes with a guide number of ISO100 too. The 5600k color temperature the light offers allows you to accurately capture the color of the subject of your photograph as the light output is very close to natural light.
As we mentioned earlier, the recycle time of the Godox DS300 is variable and can be set anywhere between 0.3 seconds to 1.5 seconds depending on what you need out of the light. The flash duration range is 1/2000-1/800 too but keep in mind, even the with the head dissipation tech, heat will build up over extended periods of time of constant use with a fast recycle time and short flash.
Click Here To Check For The Current Prices On The Godox DS300!
Build Quality And Design
Although the build quality of the Godox DS300 is solid and gets the job done, the plastics used for its casing do have that annoying cheap feeling to it but this can be overlooked as the performance of the light is what you should be focusing on. The actual plastic is lightweight allowing you to mount the DS300 on pretty much any light stand in your studio, even if it has a low load capacity.
The plastic is also pretty robust but if you are planning to use the DS300 as a studio photography light this is probably not important as you will rarely be moving it and risking bumps and knocks to the light. The Bowens mount has a metal thread to help prevent cross threading when attaching the light to your light stand and it also offers decent tilt functionality too.
Click Here To Check For The Current Prices On The Godox DS300!
FAQs
Question – What is the maximum power of the Godox DS300?
Answer – 200WS.
Question – Where is the Godox DS300 made?
Answer – The light is made in Guangdong in China.
Our Verdict
That brings our Godox DS300 review to an end and although it is pretty short, there is only so much you can say when it comes to a lighting unit. We feel that the DS300 is a solid little light and don’t understand why it is not more popular within the community. We feel it can help improve the image quality of anyone involved in flash photography and that it can make a great addition to your camera accessories.
