Godox – the mighty Chinese brand that’s sweeping the lighting world, bringing fear to long-established premium brands. And their quality has reached the point where they can now be trusted.
One thing they’ve done well to push the brand forward is their system integration. Any of their X-series triggers will fire any light in the system. Not only that, their TTL speedlights can also act as masters for other lights in the system, from the mighty AD600Pro right through to the humble TT350.
That’s what we’re looking at today – the TT350.
This compact and pocketable unit is the smallest flash in the Godox range. It really is small – requiring noting more than two AA batteries.
The Specs
- A Guide Number of 36 (rather than the typical 52 of most larger flashes).
- Recycle time of 2.2 seconds at full power
- 210 full-power flashes available from two 2500maH AA batteries
- TTL, Manual, Optical Slave, Optical Slave with Preflash, and Multiflash modes available
- Coverage from 24–105mm in full-frame 35mm terms
- High-speed sync up to 1/8000 sec
- Built in 2.4G radio transmitter and receiver to act as either radio master or slave
- Wide-angle diffuser and bounce card
On-Camera
The small size and weight of the TT350 make it the perfect on-camera flash for any camera system, particularly mirrorless systems. While I’m using them with a Fuji, they’re also available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus/Panasonic and even Pentax.
As with any on-camera flash aimed directly at the subject, the light is hard and not particularly flattering.
While the flash does have a bounce card, I prefer using reverse bounce for on-camera situations to create a larger light source coming from behind me.
On-camera, the TT350 can be used as a master for other off-camera flashes.
Now let’s look at off-camera flash.
Off-Camera
The benefits of using a flash off-camera are many. You get better placement to control shadows, and by extension the shape of the features in the shot. You also can use a larger range of modifiers to soften or shape the light itself. To go off-camera, you need a flash, a trigger and a stand (with a modifier being an additional option). In this case, our flash is the TT350.
Triggers
The TT350 can be powered from:
- the X-16 for manual power
- the X1T or XPro trigger for TTL and Manual.
It can also be triggered from:
- another TT350 (and its lithium battery brother the V350)
- the TT685 and V860II speedlights.
The trigger sits on-camera and relays information from the camera to the remote flash.
Stands
Any stand will do, even the cheap Photo-R stands . I find Neewer to be great value for money, although in the studio I prefer using C-Stands even with speedlights.
Master and Slave
To use the radio features, hold down the Sync button and then twist the dial when the antennae icon flashes.
The first option that appears is M, making your flash the Master.
A second twist brings you to S, which enables the Slave mode.
To change between TTL, Manual and Multi modes, press the Mode button.
In Master mode, press the Slave button to alternate between the Master group (M) and the A, B or C groups.
In Slave mode, pressing Slave chooses the group the flash is on (A, B or C).
The M group in Master dictates what the flash does on-camera. Press Mode to switch between flash off, TTL and Manual.
Here’s a video that takes you through the entire process.
Make sure all your flashes or triggers are on the same channel. To set the channel:
- Hold down the Slave button until the CH number flashes
- Use the dial to change channel
- Press Set to make the change.
You’re now ready for off-camera flash.
Using the TT350 with modifiers
Moving the flash off-camera doesn’t automatically make it look better. But you do get to position the shadows better, as you can see in my article on lighting. I also have a list of cheap modifiers that won’t break the bank. The 120cm Octa is a good investment.
One light
With the TT350 inside a 120cm Octa (with the diffuser on), you’re ready to get some big light from a small flash. With the Octa between you and the subject, you’ll get flattering light in the ‘Butterfly’ position.
You can improve this further by adding a reflector underneath, such as the Lastolite Halo Compact.
High-Speed Sync
To get really shallow depth of field with flash (especially outside), you need to use High-Speed Sync to overcome the limitation of the camera sync speed. To engage it, tap the Sync button once.
Here’s a shot at 1/2000sec and f/1.4, ISO400 with HSS on. (You’ll find bumping the ISO helps save battery life, which is why I’m using ISO400 here).
Two lights
Another way to help battery life (and the recycle time) is to use two flashes in the modifier.
Set both flashes to the same channel and group. This allows them to automatically match power when you make a change.
You can get double flash brackets and aim them into the center with them positioned either close together or further out.
Here’s a portrait with this dual-light Octa box setup on the left (facing across the shot) and a white reflector on the right.
This is what the setup looks like.
Removing one of the lights and putting it on a stand behind our subject gives a good cross-light setup.
Should you get a TT350?
Clearly, a flash you have with you is better than one you leave behind because of the weight. So for general flash applications the TT350 is great. But, it’s never going to overpower the sun, and and its compact size makes it the lowest-power flash in the range (excluding their mobile phone flash unit).
However, you can buy two TT350s for the price of a V860II. And while they don’t have built-in batteries, combined they can provide more power for less weight.
Me? I bought two so I can use them in the configurations I’ve shown here, and as a master-slave setup if I have an issue with a trigger.
Overall, they’re great tools to have in the bag.
Have you used this flash? What are your thoughts? Please share with us and the dPS community in the comments below.
