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Photographer Dustin Abbott shares a detailed review of the Neewer Q4 Pro 400Ws flash - complete with Godox compatibility | Purchase the Neewer Q4 Pro @ Amazon https://amzn.to/4wtUB6p | Amazon Canada https://link.amazon/B0geQwOXA
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
[music]
0:06
[music]
0:10
Hi, I'm Dustin Abbott. A few months ago,
0:12
I reviewed the newer Q120 flash, which
0:15
is a great bargain alternative to some
0:17
of the Godox flashes if you need less
0:20
power. However, but in this case, what
0:23
if you need a whole lot more power?
0:25
Today I'm looking at one of their
0:27
higherend and obviously larger flash
0:29
units and this is the Q4 Pro. This is a
0:32
400 watt second flash output that is
0:36
going to give you tons of light and
0:38
obviously a lot of flexibility on what
0:40
you do with that. So I've used this for
0:42
a variety of different purposes at this
0:44
point. I've used it for product
0:46
photography in a variety of of settings
0:49
for you know different applications both
0:51
for my lens reviews but then also for
0:52
some corporate type work. I've also used
0:55
it in a portrait session. And so I'm
0:56
going to give you some feedback in this
0:58
review as to what I think of this flash
1:00
in terms of its uh operability, in terms
1:03
of its light output, and then of course
1:06
to give you some look at some photos
1:07
taken with it in these settings. And so
1:09
you can help to determine whether or not
1:11
it is useful enough for your
1:12
application. We're going to start,
1:14
however, by taking a look at just the
1:16
basic specifications. As noted, this is
1:18
a 400 watt second flash, and it uses
1:21
their 2.4 4 gigahertz uh Q wireless
1:24
system. It does also have a standard
1:27
flash trigger port and so it does have a
1:29
variety of ways to trigger it. It also
1:31
can be controlled via Newer's um app
1:34
which is available for iOS and Android
1:36
though obviously that's a slightly
1:38
different application there. One of the
1:40
unique things about Newer's products at
1:42
this point is that their wireless system
1:44
is cross-co compatible with Godox's X
1:47
wireless system. And I did test that in
1:49
this application and I found that I was
1:52
able to use my Godox triggers without
1:54
any kind of issue with it. It does um in
1:58
terms of the control, it has dual uh
2:00
full color screens on it and so nice
2:02
interface as far as accessing menus and
2:05
overall, you know, basic information.
2:07
And I did look and I was able to still
2:09
see it out in bright sunny conditions.
2:12
It's obviously not as, you know, fully
2:15
saturated terms of the color or quite as
2:17
bright and that kind of setting, but I
2:18
it still was readable under those
2:20
settings. Transmission distance is up to
2:22
100 meters or 328 ft, giving you a lot
2:25
of flexibility on your working range
2:27
with it. It has a 2800 mAh battery pack
2:31
here that is good for 325
2:34
full power flashes. Now, obviously, if
2:36
you're using it at lower power settings,
2:37
which I suspect you will be a lot of the
2:39
time, you're going to get a lot more uh
2:41
flashes, total flashes out of that. It
2:44
can actually support strobe lighting up
2:47
to a 100 count with a 100 uh hertz
2:50
frequency. And so, that's going to make
2:52
it extra useful if one of your
2:53
applications is maybe dance recital or
2:56
something where you need to stop action
2:58
and be able to do really really um high
3:01
sync speeds with that. And it is capable
3:04
of doing that. And so a little bit more
3:06
flexibility than the smaller flashes in
3:08
that regard. The recycle time is very
3:10
very fast if you're operating at lower
3:12
power outputs, as fast as a tenth of a
3:15
second and then as little as 1.1 seconds
3:18
if you're operating at the maximum one
3:20
one uh full flash output. So uh for just
3:24
shooting portrait work, obviously even
3:25
the 1.1 second is plenty. And so I found
3:29
that for my work as often as I was
3:32
pulling the trigger um or the shutter
3:34
that it was flashing and so no issues
3:36
there. It will do high-speed sync up to
3:38
18,000th of a second. You can control
3:40
the power output in one/10enth stop
3:42
increments. So as much as a full 1:1
3:45
power, full power and then as little as
3:48
1512th
3:49
and so giving you a lot of you know
3:51
finite control over power output there.
3:54
very useful to me is there is a 30watt
3:57
modeling light that is at a 5600 Kelvin
4:00
uh output and so which gives you just
4:02
number one a lot of assistance for
4:04
focusing but also a lot of nice look at
4:06
how the light is going to fall which can
4:08
be very useful in certain kind of
4:10
strobing situations. It does have a
4:12
Bowen's mount and so broad range of
4:14
compatibility with all kinds of
4:16
accessories and of course Newer does
4:18
manufacture a lot of those you know all
4:21
kinds of different modifiers including
4:23
variety of different soft boxes and so
4:25
that's useful as well. Price here is
4:27
$459,
4:29
$639 Canadian and as we're going to see
4:32
that runs close to $200 cheaper than
4:35
most of the competing models. And so
4:37
obviously as always with newer they
4:39
really strike a chord with a lot of
4:41
photographers because of their value
4:43
proposition. So let's talk a little bit
4:45
about the ways that I've used it and
4:47
show you some photos here. And so first
4:49
of all I used it in product photography.
4:51
And that is something that's really
4:53
important to me because I do it all the
4:54
time. I'm constantly reviewing new
4:56
lenses. And so I can't show you all of
4:58
the product photography that I've shot
5:00
with it because I can't show you all the
5:01
lenses that I am currently working on.
5:04
However, I can show you a few of them.
5:05
And I found that it had very very
5:07
excellent color precision, which is
5:10
really important for that kind of work
5:11
for me. In that setting, it's way more
5:13
power than what I needed. But obviously
5:16
having lots of it on tap is very, very
5:18
useful. So when it came to shooting
5:20
lenses, I was able to in that setting,
5:22
the more important thing to me is the
5:24
ability to throttle that power back. And
5:25
so I could actually get nuanced lighting
5:28
that had good color accuracy and looked
5:30
good. Those shots turned out really,
5:32
really well. I'll probably continue to
5:33
incorporate it for that setting because
5:35
again, it has an excellent modeling
5:37
light that really really helps for that
5:38
type of work. Now, in a more
5:41
high-powered situation, I also wanted to
5:43
test using a Godox trigger uh for and
5:46
shoot on a Nikon body. I don't actually
5:49
have a newer trigger for Nikon. I only
5:52
have one for Sony. And so, I was able to
5:54
use without any issue at all, just
5:56
switching it into the equivalent RX
5:59
mode. I was able to shoot with that God
6:01
Ox trigger and I was able to have enough
6:03
power here that for example if I just
6:06
shot you know according to the lighting
6:07
you can see that the uh the sky is going
6:10
to be really blown out in that setting.
6:11
Well I just wanted to see okay do I have
6:13
enough power here in the middle of the
6:15
day to actually pull back the sky and
6:17
have detail in the sky too. The answer
6:19
was yes. There's tons of power there and
6:22
so I could illuminate these suitcases
6:23
that I was shooting for a level eight um
6:26
review and and I was able to do that
6:28
without any kind of issue while also at
6:30
the same time being able to balance the
6:32
rest of the scene. It has tons of power
6:34
output and that was shooting through a
6:36
softbox to help to moderate the light
6:38
and so great there. The second
6:40
application I shot was was to do just
6:42
basic head shot for young lady who's
6:45
wanting some profile pictures for
6:47
LinkedIn and for she's kind of beginning
6:49
her professional career. And so I
6:52
actually shot primarily in TTL for this
6:54
setting. And for a a hair light, a
6:56
little bit of additional light, I used
6:58
the Q120. All both of them shooting
7:00
through soft boxes. Uh I was able to get
7:03
amazing clarity on these shots. And so
7:05
if you know if your priority is getting
7:07
fantastic detail um for that kind of
7:10
work also found in that setting because
7:11
I mostly kept it dark. I was using a the
7:15
30 W modeling light for uh just the
7:18
basic fill light and the kind of working
7:20
light in the room and it was perfect for
7:22
focus. I had zero issues with it that
7:24
worked really really well for that. And
7:26
then I also used it in an outdoor
7:27
portrait setting and and so in that
7:30
setting I really wanted to play with
7:31
intensities with the light and to see
7:33
okay if I'm shooting a backlit subject
7:36
you know so for example here in this
7:37
shot you can see the subject is uh
7:40
without any kind of flash it's the
7:42
subject is basically in the dark um if
7:44
I'm trying to expose for the overall
7:46
scene. If I put the flash into play, you
7:49
can see I was able to strobe four and to
7:51
fill that space and so that they were
7:53
properly illuminated and it gives that
7:54
dramatic shot. Now, that's not always
7:57
the most natural looking. It's cool to
7:58
look at, but I wanted to diversify with
8:01
those shots. And so, um, I also in other
8:03
cases, I shot to where I wasn't trying
8:06
to expose for the sky and allowed the
8:08
sky to be washed out and filling in
8:10
shooting at, you know, larger apertures
8:12
sometimes. And I was able to uh get
8:15
really really great looking uh results.
8:17
And the big thing that stands out here
8:19
is that I had enough power to play with
8:22
basically to accomplish what I wanted in
8:24
the setting. And obviously if you're
8:25
shooting with a few of these, you could
8:27
basically overpower any kind of, you
8:29
know, back lighting situation. So that's
8:31
fantastic. But also very important to me
8:33
in that setting is color accuracy. So, I
8:36
have lots of flexibility for editing
8:37
editing the results and getting
8:39
different looks and styles, but starting
8:41
off with a nice base level of color for
8:44
editing and so I was happy with it in
8:46
those settings. So, moving on from that,
8:48
let's talk about some things that I like
8:50
and then some things that I don't like.
8:52
I really like, as always with newer
8:54
products, I love the ratio of the the
8:57
performance you're getting relative to
8:59
the price. So, as a point of reference,
9:01
the Godox 84002
9:03
or Pro 2, it runs basically $200 higher,
9:06
about $650 range, where this is right
9:09
over $450.
9:11
And so, obviously, good value for money
9:13
there. A minor thing, but this found I
9:15
found that it had a very satisfying pop
9:18
to it when I was actually shooting with
9:20
it, particularly in that outdoor
9:22
portrait setting. I could hear it pop,
9:24
you know, as I was shooting. And I don't
9:25
know, there's something kind of old
9:26
school charm like being in a portrait
9:29
studio. It just had a a great sound to
9:31
it. So, I mean that it's not a
9:33
dealbreaker for anybody. It's just
9:35
something that I enjoyed. I've already
9:36
highlighted I appreciated the great
9:38
color accuracy and that stood out to me
9:40
that I got good consistent color out of
9:42
it. I enjoyed having enough power to
9:45
have the flexibility in most lighting
9:47
situations and enjoyed having enough
9:48
power where I could use a full softbox
9:51
and moderate the quality of the light
9:53
through that. And so I found that to be
9:55
useful. As always with these newer um
9:58
products from newer that that cross
10:01
compatibility is very useful because if
10:03
you already have Godox triggers, it
10:05
makes you either buying these or adding
10:07
them into an existing array. If you're
10:09
looking to maybe add another flash unit
10:11
and you're, you know, counting pennies,
10:14
um not that we have pennies anymore, but
10:16
if you're, you know, managing your
10:17
budget, I really like the fact that you
10:19
can use existing Godox triggers. I also
10:21
appreciate the fact that it's got a nice
10:23
control layout between the wheel and a
10:25
lot of individual buttons, the dual
10:27
screens. It gives you enough information
10:29
on there and you al obviously also have
10:32
the option to access through the newer
10:34
app and so you can change settings
10:35
through that. So all of that I found to
10:37
be very very useful. Now in terms of
10:40
things that I don't like, I don't
10:42
actually love the aesthetic of this. I
10:45
mean it's sturdy. There's very good
10:47
materials in it. This handle, you can
10:49
tell, is really really robust. So, all
10:51
of that is good, but the overall look of
10:53
it is it's basically just kind of a
10:55
scaled up version of uh in terms of the
10:57
basic design of a a newer actually, it's
11:00
a fixed lighting that I use on set. And
11:03
so, I mean, it's it's not a amazing
11:05
looking look to me. I actually prefer
11:07
the visually some of the other flashes.
11:09
However, it is a fairly functional
11:11
design in that it lays quite flat and so
11:14
um I I can see a scenario where it could
11:16
be easier to bring along than some
11:18
others. Obviously, it does come with a
11:21
case, although this case, as you can
11:23
see, is not very small. It comes with a
11:26
small modifier here as well along with
11:29
the, you know, the charging capabilities
11:31
for that. But, um it's the overall look
11:34
is just so so. I also don't love the
11:37
fact that we require a proprietary
11:41
um AC charger for the battery. I I
11:44
vastly prefer having USBC as a charging
11:46
solution. I do like the fact that there
11:49
is a charge port where you can plug in
11:51
while it's without having to eject the
11:53
battery unit itself. I was, you know, I
11:55
tested with the USBC port because there
11:57
is one present, but unfortunately that
11:59
only seems to be there for firmware
12:01
updates. And so charging, you're stuck
12:03
with a power brick and something
12:05
proprietary like this. And on top of
12:08
that, you don't have any kind of
12:11
continuous power options natively here.
12:13
You can't just charge this in or excuse
12:16
me, plug this in and run it off of that
12:18
power. It requires a separate accessory
12:21
kind of a dummy dummy battery that you
12:22
can then continuously run power through
12:25
the dummy battery and run it that way.
12:27
But, you know, obviously I'm set up on
12:29
this stand Vmount and things like that.
12:32
Vmount's not going to be an option. So,
12:34
you're just a little bit more limited in
12:35
your approach for that. I don't see why
12:37
it's not here. My conclusion is is I
12:40
think this is a great alternative to
12:42
flash units like the Godox 8400 Pro. Um,
12:47
and again, at nearly $200 less, it has
12:50
lots and lots of power. That 400 watt
12:52
second power output for many people is
12:55
going to be plenty. and plenty to if
12:58
depending on how you're distributing the
12:59
light to even illuminate a group and
13:02
then obviously if you need multiple if
13:05
you have multiple of them you've got
13:06
tons of of options for how you're going
13:09
to light a particular scene. I also
13:11
really appreciate the fact that I don't
13:12
know how it all works, but the fact that
13:15
Newer has designed with the this idea of
13:17
cross compatibility with Godox's uh X
13:21
system. And so that I it just adds a
13:24
layer of value and practicality for
13:26
those of us who might already have some
13:28
Godox triggers or even Godox lights. And
13:31
the fact that you can do some mixing and
13:32
matching very very useful to me. So at
13:35
the end of the day, I do think that the
13:36
Q4 Pro is very very useful. It's not
13:39
perfect. couple of limitations that I've
13:41
detailed here, but I love the quantity
13:43
and the quality of the light that it can
13:44
produce. And it is a strong value at its
13:48
asking price. And with all newer
13:50
products, it seems like there are often
13:52
coupons and deals where you can save
13:54
even more money there. And obviously,
13:56
that's only going to increase the value.
13:58
If you want more information, I have
13:59
thrown links in the description down
14:01
below where you can either do further
14:02
research or purchase. As always, thanks
14:05
for watching. Have a great day and let
14:07
the light in.
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