Godox TT520 II – Unboxing and Review

Hello there! This is my full review of the Godox TT520 II Speedlite which I have been using for the past 2 years now. I love it so much that I got a second one. In this video, I share with you reasons why for GHc 230, this budget Speedlite is worth your money.

Model: TT520II
Color: Black
Guide Number: 33 ( ISO 100 )
Flash Mode: M, S1, S2
Vertical Rotation Angle : 0~90 degrees
Horizontal Rotation Angle: 0~270 degrees
Power: 4x 1.5v AA size batteries ( Alkaline or Ni-MH are usable )
Lighting Times: 100-1500 times ( AA alkaline batteries used )
Recycle Time : approx 0.5-5s ( AA alkaline batteries used )
Light Quantity Output Control : with 1/8 – stop increment
Color Temperature: 5600K+200K
Flash Duration : 1/800s~1/2000s
Dimensions :1 907555mm
Net Weight : 286g

Godox TT520 II

There are several very similar TT520 II from Neewer

So, opening up the box, please try to cut away from you.

Well, my package included the speedlite itself, wrap around in this bubble plastic wrap, a battery holder for 4 AA batteries, the flash diffuser and a lens cleaner, sweet. Note that, all these came as a gift and may not be included in yours if you purchase. On that note, I’ll drop a link to where I bought this exact one, down below. It is of course, an affiliate link, so if you want to support me and what I do at no extra cost to you, then use the link below to purchase yours.

For the flash box, we get the speedlite trigger right on top, and the speedlite itself in this nice carrying pouch. Also, in the box is a mini stand, the warranty card and some user manual, which you should definitely read.



At the end of the video, I’ll tell you why I bought 2 of these. And just so you don’t comment that that is just the box, here is the 2^nd speedlite as well.

The design is just like most speedlites on the market with some few unique features. At the front is the trigger receiver with the Godox branding on top. The back houses all your controls. On the left is the sync and external battery port. The right is the battery compartment, the flash at the top and the single pin connector and hotshoe mount at the bottom.

For the battery compartment, you get a neatly presented illustration, to help you fit the batteries in the right way.

The left of the speedlite is the Sync socket and terminal for external power pack where you connect your cables in case you wish to power it directly and do some high-speed flash syncing. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of that available cos I hardly take studio shots, you can verify on my instragram, so I couldn’t show you guys.

There’s also a reflection card up top, to help better diffuse the lights coming out of this thing.



Anytime you turn the speedlite on, it will be in wireless mode, which you can turn off by holding down the Mode button down for a about 2 secs. You can also switch between Master, Slave 1 or Slave 2 by pressing the Mode button once. Same goes for increasing or decreasing the power of the flash, using the plus and minus buttons.

A blinking power light, the red one you see right here, means, little or no power and you should recharge or switch up the batteries. It has to stay on, for the speedlite to work.

Unfortunately, though, the recycle time is between 0.1 to 5s. all because, it doesn’t use lithium ion batteries

Before you use the trigger though, make sure this plastic here is removed, else, it wouldn’t work. They even clearly state it, so do well to read.

On the subject of the trigger, there’s a single button at top. With it, you can test out the flash to see if it’s working before use. The bottom is also a single pin universal connector for your camera hotshoe. That’s a great idea, so you can buy this and it’ll work on whatever major camera brand out there.

Notice these 4 channels over here, well, they’ll have to be the same on both the speedlite and trigger for them to work. And in case, you have multiple speedlites, they all have to be on the same channel. Once done, you’ll have no issues working with all the flashes you have.

So, for the specs, we’re looking at

It weighs 15.8oz

• a 433MHz wireless transmission
• 3 flash modes
• 8 variable flash output

The flash also tilts at 90, 75, 60, 45 and 0 degrees vertically. And horizontally, at 0-270 degrees at max. there’s not 360 degree turn here, unlike some other expensive flashes.



So, for this test, I have a plenty small room here, 12 x 14 feet, I think and I’m basically going to be taking several images to help you better understand the flash power to expect.

The 1^st shot is taken with the speedlite off. Using these camera settings

ISO 400, f2.8, Shutter Speed 160s

The 2^nd is taken using the exact same camera settings, but this time, I have the speedlite on at 1/128s flash power. That’s the lowest power it can go

With the 3^rd shot, the have the speedlite at half power (that is 1/64s), using the same camera settings are before. Here’s the shot

For the 4^th shot, I adjusted the aperture to f5.6 but kept the flash power the same

ISO 400, f5.6, Shutter Speed 160s

Then another shot at f11 with the same flash power. Now you can see that it’s getting a bit darker here.

So I increased the flash power to max (1s) and here’s the shot.

Now let’s go full power (1s) and here’s how they look. I’ll throw in the camera settings so I don’t have to mention them one after the other.

 

For the 2^nd test, I’m going to be using a 65cm softbox from triopo, angled directly on top of my subject. In this case, a wristwatch and I’ll be repeating the exact same process using the same camera settings and flash power. And I also turned off the video light so it doesn’t conflict with the results.

With this I have the ISO at 100, f2.8 and shutter speed still at 1/160s and took a shot.

And as you can pretty much tell, this image is pitch black.

So, let’s introduce the flash and see what we have.

Using the same camera settings as before, with flash power at lowest (1/128s)

And then with flash power at half (1/64s)

And finally, at maximum flash power, which is ridiculus. But adjusting the aperture to f5.6, I think that’s the sweet spot.

AliExpress.com Product – Godox Thinklite Camera Flash TT520II with Build-in 433MHz Wireless Signal for Canon Nikon Pentax Sony Fuji Olympus DSLR Cameras