Godox announced the updated version of their square-headed Speedlight the V860III last summer. Having an extra portable flash unit in your bag is always a good idea, particularly if you’re like me and often end up shooting on location, so I was keen to try it out. Godox boasted several new features such as a new hot shoe lock and modelling light, but is it really different enough from both the previous V860II or the round-headed V1 to warrant an upgrade? Let’s take a look!
Godox officially launches the V860III with modelling light, V1 battery, quick release foot and more
First leaked way back in January, Godox has now finally announced the long-awaited Godox V860III speedlight. As expected, the final specs match up almost exactly with those leaked in April, and it’s available for all of the systems Godox supports, including Nikon, Canon, Sony, Fuji, Olympus/Panasonic and Pentax.
The new Godox V860III introduces a new feature for Godox speedlights; a modelling light. It also starts to unify the battery system amongst the Godox lithium-ion powered speedlights by using the same battery as the Godox V1, as well as the quick-release foot. There’s now also a TTL/Manual switch on the side to help you more easily make quick adjustments.
The $199 Godox V860III pops up at online retailers before official announcement
There’s still been no official announcement from Godox and there’s no mention of it publicly on the Godox website yet, but the Godox V860III speedlight appears to have started popping up in the listings at online retailers. In this case, that retailer is B&H. While there are no images of the new speedlight yet, we’ve seen those leaked before, although all of the new features are listed.
Also listed is the price and compatibility. Coming in at $199, it’s available to pre-order now for Canon, Nikon, Fuji and Sony. Notably absent from this list are the Panasonic/Olympus and Pentax versions. Those are on the way according to the last leak, but they’re not yet listed at B&H. Also not listed yet is the expected V850III manual speedlight.
Godox V850III/V860III photos and specs leak show modelling light, new battery, quick release lock
There’s been no official announcement yet and they don’t seem don’t appear to be listed on the Godox website (at least not publicly), it looks like Godox definitely plans to release the V850III and V860III speedlights this year. We’ve been sent a couple of screenshots, purportedly from the Godox 2021 catalogue, showing the new Godox V860III and V850III speedlights.
The source that sent us the screenshots say that they’ve been added to the 2021 catalogue and they both include some nice changes from their V850II and V860II predecessors. The V860III sees the same locking foot lever as found on the V1 and it gets a modelling light. Both models see UI changes and a switch to a new battery – the same one as the Godox V1.
The Godox V860III is on the way with improved UI, foot lock and (maybe) an LED modelling lamp
It seems that Godox is about to update its lithium-ion powered V860 series speedlight to fall a little more inline with that of the V1. Lighting Rumours reports that it’s an incremental update, so you might not need to rush out to replace your V860IIs, but it will offer some improvements over its predecessor.
For a start, the updated user interface is said to be modified slightly to make it closer to that of the Godox V1. Primarily, I suspect this means the dial in the middle of all the buttons, as the LCD interface is already pretty much the same. It’s also going to see the new format lock on the foot and LR says it will receive a new LED modelling lamp on the main flash body.
FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!