The Ultimate Godox SK400ii Review!

We always see a few people each month reaching out for advice on studio strobe lighting, more specifically the Godox sk400ii lighting system. Due to this, we decided to sit down and publish our dedicated Godox sk400ii review to try and help as many of our readers in this same situation as possible.

We have tried to remain as impartial as possible throughout our review but in all fairness, the sk400ii is a solid bit of kit and we struggled to find any fault with it other than its price than that in all honesty, is fair for the performance it provides you anyway. If you already have an established studio business with regular paying clients then the price should not be an issue. That said, if you are just starting your business then you can look to pick up a refurbished sk400ii (Click here to check for product prices and availability) to try and save some cash on the regular list price.

If you want some impartial reviews of the sk400ii then you can click here to read some that have been left by some independent photographers who have posted their own third-party opinions of the unit online.

Click Here To Check For Current Prices On The Godox SK400ii!

Table of Contents

Build Quality

Although the Godox sk400ii is designed to be used as a studio strobe and be kept in one place or transported in secure cases where possible, the build quality of the lighting system is very robust and it will easily take a fair amount of punishment without issue. This can be ideal if you have young children in your studio for portraits and they run around and accidentally knock your kit over as the light should be able to hold its own.

Although it is predominantly made from lightweight, high-quality metals, there are a number of plastic parts to the system but all plastic has been specifically treated to ensure it can withstand any high temperatures that it may have to deal with when being part of the Godox sk400ii. This is ideal as you may be using the lighting system with a 0.4 second recycle type and rapidly capturing photographs and activating the unit making it get hot in a short amount of time.

Although it is expected for its price tag, the Godox sk400ii also has a nice and professional feel to it where its build quality feels solid and the materials used to produce it feel professional to touch. The tripod attachment at the base of the light is very easy to use and the metal alloy used in the thread receiver is robust and will not cross thread helping to further extend the lifetime of your new light.

Navigation Menu And Control System

As far as strobe lighting units go, the Godox sk400ii has actually got a very easy to use navigation menu that lets you quickly and easily work your way through the various settings available to quickly tweak anything you need to on the fly mid-shoot. The buttons for the control system are also very responsive and easy to use while the rotary dial is smooth to turn helping you avoid needing to waste time during a photography session to tweak a setting.

Features

The auto preflash functionality on the Godox sk400ii allows you to sync your lighting system to any camera that has a one preflash firing system natively included with their features. If your camera also supports the Xpro-N protocol then you can also use it as your sync and trigger the strobe light as required.

If not, then the Godox Xpro-N TTL Wireless Flash Trigger (Click here to check for product prices and availability) is also available in multiple variants for all major camera brands. The Xpro-N Wireless Flash Trigger is very easy to use, even if you have never used a wireless triggering system before and it can also be picked up at a reasonable price.

Depending on the requirements for your studio, you can change the recycle time of the system to anything between 0.4-2 seconds. The superpower capacitors used within the Godox sk400ii have been specifically designed to offer very quick recycling times while safely dissipating as much of the heat generated by the system recycle as possible helping to prevent the sk400ii from overheating for as long as possible.

If you run a busy studio where you have a constant stream of clients all day while activating your flash system in quick succession this can be a lifesaver as it can keep you going for as long as possible without your rig overheating. If you are extremely busy then you can also use the built-in cooling fan to further increase the time that you can work without your rig overheating as it does an excellent job of cooling the flash tube extremely efficiently.

Our Verdict

Although there are some solid strobe light competitors at this price point on the market at the moment, the Godox sk400ii definitely holds its own and is the second generation of the system, Godox has done an excellent job of identifying lessons from the Godox sk400 and improving on them in the Godox sk400ii. The cooling system alone helps to push the light to the front of the pack as the doubled pronged system of the super-efficient capacitors and the internal fan really makes a difference to the temperature of the light.

Adding the sk400ii to your camera accessories will definitely help improve your flash photography capabilities within your studio and its customization can be tweaked to ensure that you get exactly what you need for each individual session too. The navigation menu also makes this very time efficient as you can quickly change the settings between clients without having to waste time.

That concludes our Godox sk400ii review and we hope that you have found it very helpful. Again though, as usual, we always like to get our readers the best deals possible so we would always recommend that you check for the current priced on refurbished Godox sk400ii units as it can save you a fair bit of cash, especially if you are looking to pick up more than one.

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 sk400ii to offer our readers an independent opinion of the product.