Godox Lux Senior - Reprieve

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History Lesson: Most of you aren't old enough to remember the old fan folded flash guns that used miniature flash bulbs and were so popular before affordable, and portable, electronic flashes made their appearance. 

Here's a miniature flash gun of the type that was widely available to photographers since the  introduction of the AG-1 "peanut" flash bulb  in 1958. The Godox Lux Senior copied the fan-fold reflector whose petals can rotate and collapse into a more compact form factor. The bowl shape of the opened reflector allows light from the sides of the flashbulb to be redirected towards the subject in a larger pattern. Instead of a point light source, the reflector produces somewhat softer edges where the shadow meets the key light. It's a small improvement to be sure, but an improvement just the same.

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Prior to the introduction of the AG-1, flash bulbs were much larger in size. In fact the largest flash bulb that I know of was the GE 22, a bulb as large as a household light bulb. The "B" designation was used flashbulbs were covered with a blue film that gave a color temperature similar to sunlight for use with color films. 

The flash guns of the time were also fussy combinations of mechanical and electrical components. The flash bulb, filled with magnesium foil or fine filaments, would burn brightly when ignited by an electrical current provided by three C sized flashlight batteries. The batteries also powered a small solenoid to trigger the camera's shutter. 

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Flashbulbs: In this photo you can see the various flash bulb sizes. Across the top, you see a GE22B flashbulb with its threaded base. The two egg-shaped bulbs are a Westinghouse 6B and a GE 5, which are equipped with a bayonet base. The 6B (blue) bulb has been inserted into a screw adapter. Next are the three smaller bulbs, the Sylvania M3B, Sylvania M2, and the GE M2B, the ones I have used in those years before I transitioned to a Vivitar flash and a Pentax Spotmatic SLR. Finally, there is a Sylvania Flash Cube, which contained four AG-1 bulbs. When coupled with a Kodak Instamatic Camera, you could make four flash shots as quickly as you could advance the film.

Synchronization: Back in the day, attaching a flash gun to your camera was no simple matter. Before use, the flash gun's shutter solenoid would have to be adjusted to synchronized the tripping of the shutter with the peak output of the flashbulb. This was a trial and error process that required making several exposures at different apertures with the shutter set to a specific exposure duration and using a new bulb for each shot. Once achieved, the aperture, shutter speed, and film ISO rating would become the photographer's "go to" setting for using on specific flash bulb using one specific flash gun.

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Back To The Future (2024): I have been underwhelmed by my experiences with the Godox Lux Senior Flash. I had high hopes for it when it was first introduced, but my optimism faded when the "non-TTL automated exposure" never worked properly. It was relegated to the Island Of Misfit Toys until the demands of several location assignments made me view the flash with new eyes.

Lately, I've been using a Fuji X-70 for low-angle outdoor shots in broad daylight. This little camera has both a rotating LCD panel to expand my viewing options, and a leaf shutter which allows me to synchronize my flash at 1/1000 of a second while using an ISO setting of 400 and an aperture setting of F 8.0. 

The camera, paired with a compact, low output flash could achieve balanced lighting when working in bright sunlight, so long as the flash-to-subject distances are under ten feet. I have used the FlashQ for short distances, and moved up to a Godox V1 when the distance increased. 

Between the power extremes presented by the FlashQ and the Godox V1 there must be some middle ground. The FlashQ is handy but limited in its output, and the Godox is big and bulky, and its control layout encourages the user to accidentally change the output settings. The flash has a "lock" feature, but it prevents any changes in either the exposure mode or output levels.

For a lark, I gave my Lux Senior a second chance. I had already given up on the non-TTL mode, but always liked the flash's ability to set the output manually from full to 1/64 power in one-stop steps. It has an internal battery that is charged using a USB port. Factory specifications, often inflated, list full-power recycle time as less than three seconds, and the enough battery capacity to make 550 full-output shots per charge. It also claims to provide lighting coverage similar to a 28mm lens, but I have found it observably more intense in the middle. For my purposes, this hasn't been a problem.

This flower pot was taken at night with the flash mounted on the camera at a distance of ten feet. At full power (left), it is definitely a little "hot", while the shot made at half power (center) appears just right. When used with a wireless flash trigger, it could potentially serve as a Key Light at distances up to fifteen feet away, but just barely.

First Sea Trial: These shots were made with the Lux Senior and a Pergear 10mm F 8.0 fisheye lens. The lens performs well, but I wish it had a distance scale, although a lens this wide has so much depth of field it pretty much renders everything in focus. The typical fisheye look is there if you look for it. but careful composition can minimize the visual discomfort. I had to improvise a bit since the camera, a Fuji X-S10, can only synchronize a flash properly at 1/250 of a second, but on one shot I bumped it to 1/320 and you couldn't tell.

I will conclude that the Lux Senior did a satisfactory job of selectively lighting these subjects, It is definitely a "salt to taste" proposition, since you can easily view the results on the LCD panel, adjust your exposure, and re-shoot. The flash's large rotating adjustment wheel was fairly easy to use with one  hand, and the flash wasn't susceptible to accidental changes. All I had to do was to remember that half-power at ten feet was a good exposure starting point, and five feet required rotating the dial to the eighth power setting. Pretty easy, and I still managed to get some very nice skies in the background.

I will be looking for better samples on a future morning walk.

Post Script: I need to remind myself that this particular flash was NOT designed to the same performance standards as a Nikon speedlight. If you remember to center the main subject in the frame, the Lux Senior's pronounced hotspot can be helpful. And in the digital world, follow-up shots can be made quickly should some adjustments be necessary. 

Juneteenth 2024

This was the first Juneteenth celebration I photographed for the Journal. In fact, I probably would have missed it were it not for an Email from the Editor In Chief asking if I planned on attending. As it turned out, there were celebrations in Millbrae, San Mateo, and Foster City, scheduled that day. Of all the shots I made that day, this one had the best sense of audience involvement, and was composed to include the greatest number of spectators. In many cases, these events are not as well attended as one might hope.

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Flash Of The Day: Since I had my full kit, I used my more powerful Godox V1 instead of the tiny FlashQ unit. This gave me more reach, which I would need. and shorter recycle time, which are necessary when trying to catch some peak moment in the action. The camera was the X-70, the absolute go-to camera with its 28mm equivalent lens and 1/000 of a second flash synchronization speed. 

I used an inexpensive radio trigger I purchased on eBay many years ago. Similar units are still available for well around $15.00, and have proven reliable at short distances. They are a bit of cheap fun if you don't already own a set, and will provide you with a very useful off-camera lighting option. Also, the receiver (the part mounted on the flash) is powered by easily replaced AAA batteries, which will need replacing if you forget to turn it off. The transmitter requires a small, relatively expensive battery that seems to last forever.

In this pair of test shots, you can clearly see how effective this camera flash combination can be. The camera was held at waist level and the flash held high overhead. You can see that the white shirt is seriously overexposed, but the skin tones on my subject are "believable". 

This is how I might appear from the subject's point of view. First, you should get a good grip on the camera and adjust the LCD so it can be viewed from above. Next, you can concentrate on positioning the flash as near or far as you wish. In this case I have positioned the flash about two feet above the lens, something that would normally be impossible to do without a light stand. The lowered camera perspective allows you to include more sky in the photo, making the background less cluttered. Finally, the flash is positioned at the subject's eye level so that a nose shadow appears on the subject's upper lip. If the flash were on camera, there would be an unnatural highlight on the nostrils, which is the worst part of on-camera lighting from low angles. Incidentally, this is a simulation. No photographers were harmed in the making of this photo.

Godox Beam Angle: By narrowing the beam angle on the Godox, you can get a slight boost in output. It also helps control overexposure at the edges of the frame. With your margin of error so increased, keeping the flash pointed at the same "target" as the camera is essential. This requirement, plus access to a waist level perspective (via the tilting LCD) has resulted in an interesting tai-chi inspired approach to shooting. 

The camera and flash combination worked well (enough) in this environment. The extra power of the V1 was needed to get this shot, but without the X-70 's ability to synchronize the flash at 1/1000 of a second, the shot would have been nearly impossible. It did start me thinking about other ways to manage the shot without the use of that big, bulky Godox V1. A number of other flash options came to mind, and I thought hard about using my favorite Nikon SB-800, as it filled the bill nicely in the "ease of use" department. However, recycle time is something of an issue, especially with the distances that were sure to be involved. A flash that used AA batteries would be subject to longer recycle times, even when powered by rechargeable NiMH batteries. Certainly any of my big Godox/Flashpoint units would work, but they all share a physical interface that is too prone to accidental readjustment of the output level or exposure mode. Even my Vivitar 285 flashes received brief consideration. But I think I've found an alternative.

Stay tuned.