A Brief Review: Godox Lux Part 1 – Junior

First off this is a unique product as far as flashes go. The kind of product I did not know I wanted until it was released.

Had considered both this and the Godox Lux Senior. Then, as often seems the case, I walked into my local camera shop and there they were. I went for the Junior first. The dp2 Quattro is a perfect choice. Had no plans of picking up a SIGMA compatible flash since it would not see much use, but something like this would be great fun. Put in 2 AAA batteries, strapped it to my little SIGMA dp2 Quattro without bothering to read the instructions and fired.

Nice. Ok. That went well. What about a portrait? Graham was game.

We have a winner ladies and gentlemen. Things went a bit fuzzy and when I got home I had a Lux Junior and Senior in tow. Two flashes would seem to be an indulgence, but not really. More on that below. I will start with the Junior in this post.

I will admit I have not had a ton of experience with this flash so far, but it is really not necessary. The beauty of these flashes is that they are very simple. Let me first run through different aspects of these flashes. Then I will run through my experiences so far and then some sample photos.

This flash does not have one party piece, but a few.

Universal

These flashes will work with anything. Was talking with Guillermo and Graham about these flashes and Guillermo was asking what cameras they were compatible with. That is the beauty of them. The answer is yes.

System agnostic.
- A one pin affair. If it has a hot shoe it will work.
No hot shoe. No problem.
- Comes with flash sync port and cable so older film cameras are game.

Full Manual Controls

Has a handy dandy exposure chart on the back if one should choose to make use of it.

Cool. Me?…

Includes Automation

Has an Auto mode. Huzzah! A gift to the attention span hobbled such as myself. There is a light sensor at the front.

Since there is no intelligent communication with the camera it comes with a chart with recommended optimal ISO and aperture combinations. The ones that matter most for me are the combinations of f/2.8/ISO 100, f/4/ISO 200, and f/5.6/ISO 400 since those are the films speeds I use most. Very easy to memorize. But the whole chart is fairly easy to memorize.

ISO	50	100	200	400	800	1600
Aperture	2	2.8	4	5.6	8	11

Distance: Max. 4 meters

And it works as billed.

Off Camera Capabilities

These flashes can be remotely triggered by an optical sensor.

Pretty straightforward.

Works in manual only.
S1 is for non-TTL flashes.
S2 is for TTL flashes. Ignores the pre-flashes.

Set the power level, place it where you want it and fire away. That is about it. Once again, it works as billed.

Good Looks

The Lux Junior is a good looking piece of kit. Helps that it comes with a carrying bag and a good looking packaging. None of these things help you take a better picture, but it makes for a nice purchasing and ownership experience. Surprising consider the fact that these flashes and very…

Reasonably Priced

The Godox Lux Junior costs $69… $69! Godox has a history of competitive pricing with their mainstream system TTL flashes and strobes. But I am impressed that they carried the same pricing to these flashes also.

Functional Nostalgia

Using this flash reminds me of the days when I used flash with my Dad’s Pentax ME Super back in the day.

With the added benefit of an auto mode.

A Tool For the Task

As mentioned above regarding my conversation with Guillermo this flash can be used with practically any camera. Film or digital. Full frame or medium format. New or old. Brand name does not matter. For my first test round I chose a favorite rig of mine. The Konica Hexar RF teamed with the 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1.