Flash/Strobe Corner: Unannounced Neewer Z2 Upgrades.

Before I get to the Z2 changes, here is a walk down Neewer memory lane from a prior post.

I repeat… Preface:

If you have and are happy with your Godox or other strobe solution, stop reading and close this tab. All the best.

If you have a Godox system, have been happy for the most part, but found the step up to the next power level a bit steep, you may regret reading further.

If you have not purchased a strobe solution and were put off by the high price of entry, read on.

Moving on. How I got here.

I had and was mostly pleased with a Godox system. It consisted of two AD200s that I have been using for years. Here is a post I wrote for KEH Spotlight about it years ago. Served me well.

I mentioned TT350 flashes in that post. They served me well also over the years.

Later upgraded to V1s and they served me well also.

Looking for a bit more power I later added an AD300 to the mix courtesy a very generous sale price. Wrote about it here, here, and here. Also served me well.

Since the AD200s had been out so long they had little value, so I decided to set them up as a bootleg AD400 for a time. I used it once in the field.

Most recently, I bought the neat little Godox X3 trigger.

A nice little system. But what I wanted was more power. Two 400w strobes would be perfect. The AD300 was close but did not quite get me where I wanted to be. So, just upgrade or use the bootleg AD400 right? The issue:

The bootleg AD400 (AD200x2) and the actual AD400 are both larger than I would like to carry around.
The AD400 costs more than I am willing to pay, so two were out of the question.

The bottom line was that I saw no Godox path forward, so I had to settle for my current kit.

What happened next was a bit of serendipity. As stated in a recent post I have been happy with Neewer gear. While on Neewer’s website, I noticed the Q4 for the first time.

Released in 2023, somehow I completely missed it. I am not sure what rock I was under because I saw plenty of reviews for it when I looked. And they were all overwhelmingly positive. One video review even showed that it could nearly match the power of his AD600 with the right modifier… What? The review consensus:

Powerful strobe at 400w, which I was looking to get to.
30w modeling light was very powerful.
Well built.
Intriguing design. (The Industrial Engineer likes.)
400w performance for less than an AD300.
Nearly AD600 output with the right modifier.

Ok. You have my attention, Neewer.

Started shopping around and found that B&H, as of this writing, had them on sale for nearly the same price of the AD200 Pro and even less than Neewer’s website. So, I decided to try it out.

The arrival.

I was immediately impressed even before testing it.

But I was still hesitant to let go of the Godox system that has served me well for many years. Thought I might try a mixed system. Let go of the AD300 and replace it with the Q4.

Then I tested it. Recap:

Impressive case. I will not be using it.
- The case is well made and looks good but it requires disassembly and I would rather store it all together.

Very well built.
- While Godox are well put together… Neewer is done better in my opinion.
Very well designed.
- Carries its weight over the tripod mount which balances very well on stand or in hand.
- Two handles.
  - Basket handle is very convenient.
  - When attached the stand mount has a grippy covering and is shaped well for handholding.
- Great battery design.
  - Slides into the strobe body rather than hanging off of the back… I could have phrased that better. Anyhoo.
  - Also has a covered power plug port that allows the strobe to be powered by an outlet. Other strobes either do not offer this option or require you to buy an additional adapter.
Very easy to operate.
- Large screen and many buttons.
- In just a few moments I sorted out how to change everything I wanted to change and I have yet to open the manual.
- While Godox are not overly complicated to operate… Neewer is done better in my opinion.
Just worked straight out of the box.
- Here is a video I made to show a friend of mine how easy it is to operate.

After doing some quick tests with the strobe and modeling light and some thought I changed my mind. After looking up the Neewer line up all I would need from Neewer would be:

Q4 x 2.
- Second one to replace the bootleg AD400.
- Two 400w lights is exactly what I wanted. To do so for so much less spend is a win.
Z1 flash. (Their V1 alternative which is on sale at Neewer as of this writing for far less.)
QPRO-S Trigger. (Also reasonably priced.)

Due to the reasonable price of all of the Neewer gear, I could fund most, if not all, of the purchase price by selling the old gear. So the path forward was clear for me.

Rip off the Godox band-aid.

Throw in some other gear that had gone unused, that is exactly what I did. Once the dust settles, I will have:

The two matched 400W lights I wanted to have with Godox for much less spend.
A trigger.
An on-camera flash. Had two before, just in case, but I never used the second V1 so I went with one Z1 this go around.
- Similar to Godox the Z1 can also be used as a trigger and act as a backup.
Less gear that is well designed that will be even easier to store and deploy for a session.

So.. an upgrade for no out of pocket expense courtesy of a gear trade. Nice.

Have had a use case out of the wild.

The Lens For All Things & New Light In The Field: Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD & Neewer Q4.

Neewer has done a great job providing a great product for a very reasonable price point.

Some may scoff and insist that they must pay more for a more storied brand. Good for them. After so many years using Godox without issue I do not have these concerns.

I stated that I was not worried about finding an issue and so far I have not.

Since this last post I also purchased two Neewer Z2 flashes. One for my main body that I used most recently for a wedding session. And it performed flawlessly. For that wedding, I had another brand camera. A FUJIFILM camera that I purchased a good old TT350 for when looking for a quick and affordable solution. And that TT350 did well, but after this day I wanted:

More power.
Compatibility with my Neewer system.

So, courtesy of a 30% off discount code on Neewer’s website, I purchased another. Though purchased months after the first, I expected them to be the same. But there have been upgrades. After a 35MMC article about Chinese manufacturers altering kit without documenting changes, featuring a photo of the TTArtisan 50mm Tilt lens, I should not be surprised.

What changes this time? I am glad I imagined that you asked.

Battery.

The Z1 and first Z2 share a battery and charging dock. The newest Neewer Z2 has switched to a USB-C direct charge battery.

Advantages:

No charging dock to keep track of.
The battery can be charged while in the flash.

The other modification.

Hotshoe assembly.

Instead of a plastic hotshoe cover (Admittedly this may be to protect the infamously delicate Sony connections.) this newer Z2 had a rubberized surround.