The Ultimate Godox SK300II Review!

Since we started covering studio strobe lighting systems we have noticed more and more photographers reaching out for advice on studio lighting systems. Today is the turn of the Godox sk300ii, an entry-level, budget-friendly studio light that we feel is actually underperforming in the market and has plenty of potential to grow its core customer base.

As usual, our Godox sk300ii review will be based around the user interface and control system of the unit, the performance and functionality of the unit as well as the build quality of the flash unit before we give our verdict on it.

As we mentioned, we feel that this studio flash is actually underperforming and we have seen no real external reviews to link to for an additional opinion on it as we would usually do for a product we are reviewing. Maybe this is the reason that we have seen so many people reaching out for advice on it as there really is not much information out there.

Click Here To Check For Current Prices On The Godox SK300II!

User Interface And Control System

The image above shows the user interface and control system for the Godox sk300ii. As you can see, it is very straight forward with a simple and easy to use control system that will quickly become second nature even with minimal use. The actual navigation menu on the flash head is also very easy to navigate your way around without issue.

[the_ad id=”5467″]

The menu system allows you to quickly and easily get to key settings on the flash allowing you to tweak them within seconds helping to save you time while both setting your kit up as well as while capturing photographs. With this being a studio based lighting system, chances are that you will always have either models or clients in the studio with you so being able to quickly tweak the unit to get optimal performance not only saves you time but also your models and clients helping the whole session go smoother.

Performance And Functionality

As the Godox sk300ii is an entry-level modeling lamp you would expect entry-level performance and functionality out of it. Thankfully though, we are happy to report that this is not the case, the performance of the studio flash is able to rival that of higher price point units as Godox has done an excellent job of keeping performance as high as possible with the smallest possible price tag.

They have done this by reducing the costs of the materials used to build the actual flash unit as well as recycling the technology and know-how from their older studio strobes too. On this flip side of this though, there are some negatives due to this strategy that we will cover in the build quality section next.

[the_ad id=”5489″]

The sk300ii is a 150W lamp that has an adjustable power level between 5-100% allowing you to set the mood of the lights output for the vast majority of potential situations you may have in your studio. The variable recycle time of 0.1-1.0s allows you to take photographs in rapid succession if required but just keep in mind that the lower the recycle time the quicker the unit will heat up.

Although we will talk about heat dissipation more in the build quality section next, the sk300ii does have some heat dissipation tech but unfortunately, it does not perform as well as we would like. If you are planning to be doing photo shoots that last for extended periods of time where the lighting unit will not have a chance to cool down during breaks then the SK400ii (Click here to check for product prices and availability) would definitely be the better choice.

The 2.4g wireless tech in the sk300ii allows you to use a number of different flash triggers with the flash unit allows you to set up a number of different master and slave unit combinations within your studio. Depending on your camera brand of choice and your actual camera model you may also have native connectivity between your camera and the flash unit too.

Build Quality

As we mentioned earlier, Godox has chosen to lower the quality of the materials used in the build of the sk300ii studio strobe in an attempt to keep performance as high as possible without having to increase the price tag of their flash unit. Although this can be a good strategy, the sk300ii does have some undeniable overheating issues even with the overheating technology on the flash some of the materials struggle to dissipate the heat.

As we mentioned earlier in the article, if you running a busy studio where you are photographing client after client with a low recycle time on the flash unit it won’t have a chance to cool down. If this is the case then you should definitely consider the SK400ii over the sk300ii. That said though, if you space your clients out throughout the day and give the flash unit a chance to cool down via the fan shown in the image to the left we feel that the sk300ii will perform fine for you.

All that said about the materials, the actual build quality of the flash unit is solid and it is surprisingly robust. It is easy to mount on your mounting unit and it does not have that “cheap feel” that some competing studio flashes have at this price point. Its design is also solid allowing you to quickly and easily service and clean the sk300ii as required without issue.

Our Verdict

That concludes our Godox sk300ii review and we feel we have done a good job of pointing out both its positives as well as its negative features and remaining balances throughout. Other than the heat dissipation issue that we covered, the sk300ii really is a solid unit just like the rest of the units in the skii series.

We feel that it will make a great addition to anyone’s camera accessories as well as help improve the performance of your studio photography.

Click Here To Read Independent Third Party Reviews Of This Product!

Click Here To Check For Prices On This Product!

The video below offers an additional third-party, independent review for the Godox sk300ii to offer our readers an independent opinion of the product.

Related Articles

The Ultimate Godox AD360II Review!

The Ultimate Godox TT685C Review!

The Ultimate Godox TT685F Review!

The Ultimate Godox TT350O Review!

The Ultimate Godox SK400ii Review!

Image Licensing

Shared under Creative Commons – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

dallashangerphoto – Bekah Timm – https://flic.kr/p/8rXMCh