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Godox officially launches the V860III with modelling light, V1 battery, quick release foot and more

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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.

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Canon ST-E3-RT Version 2 trigger is basically the original but with 3 new features most can’t use

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Canon has announced a new Version 2 of their ST-E3-RT trigger for controlling Canon speedlights off-camera. If you were hoping for some massive upgrade, though, you’re in for a little disappointment. According to what I can see, it basically only adds only three new features over the original ST-E3-RT released in 2012. And not for everybody.

The first is that you (finally) get to be able to shoot rear curtain sync with your wireless Canon speedlights (if your camera is 2020 or newer and not an 850D/T8i). You get a minimum power setting that now goes down to an insane 1/8192 power (but only with the new EL-1 speedlight). And you get a new FE memory feature, allowing you to lock in E-TTL flash exposure levels (with everything).

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Yongnuo updates its 5-year-old speedlight, launches the YN685 II for Nikon and Canon

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The Yongnuo YN685 speedlight was originally released back in 2015. It was one of the first on the market at the time to feature an integrated 2.4Ghz receiver, compatible with some of Yonguo’s triggers. It was quickly obsoleted once Godox hit the scene with their lithium-ion battery-powered speedlights, offering greater compatibility.

Well, Yongnuo has now released an update to the YN685. Not surprisingly, it’s called the Yongnuo YN685 II, but does it go far enough over the original to win back some of those customers it’s lost to Godox or to attract new photographers to the brand?

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Check out these eight 3D printed photo & video tools designed to make your life a little easier

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I put off getting a 3D printer for the longest time. I didn’t want to get one just for the sake of having a new toy that I’d get bored with, so I held off getting one until I felt I had a genuine need for one. Now, I have five – the most recent of which are the Snapmaker 2.0 A350 and its predecessor, the Snapmaker Original, and I find them absolutely invaluable.

I’ve been using them recently to print a bunch of tools and accessories to help me with my photography and filmmaking. Some of them are workflow and organisation accessories while others are actual tools used to create content. So, here, I’m going to talk about some of the most useful things I’ve printed lately.

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The Godox V860III is on the way with improved UI, foot lock and (maybe) an LED modelling lamp

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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.

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Godox to release an updated “V1 Pro” round head speedlight with built-in cooling fan

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This seems a little bit weird, but not an entirely unreasonable idea. Godox has filed a patent that looks very similar to the existing Godox V1 speedlight, except that this one includes a built-in cooling fan below the lamp assembly. Lighting Rumours believes that an announcement for the improved “V1 Pro” is imminent.

In all other respects, the V1 and new “V1 Pro” detailed in the patent seen to be largely identical. Both will have similar zooming circular heads, both feature the magnetic mount for the AK-R1 kit and other round magnetic modifiers, and both are powered by seemingly the same lithium-ion battery.

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PiXLIGHT is an all-in-one flash, stand and modifier designed for lightweight efficiency

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When you’re doing photography projects with speedlights, it can be a hassle sometimes with all the extra accessories you have to carry. Big clunky light stands, flash brackets, the flashes themselves, umbrellas, etc. After a while, you just get used to it and accept it, even if you end up taking out more gear than you’d really like to, especially when your needs are quite small.

Photographer Arash Hamidi decided he wanted to minimise the amount of kit (and weight) he wanted to take out with him on a shoot. So, he decided to do something about it by developing the PiXLiGHT, an all-in-one unit which includes the stand, flash and modifier all in one.

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How to turn your on-camera flash into an off-camera softbox for $30 or less

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There can be many reasons why you don’t have a softbox, but there can also be many situations when you could really use one. I know I’ve had them. If you can relate, this awesome tutorial from SLR Lounge’s Pye Jirsa is just what you need. In this video, he shows you how to turn your on-camera flash into an off-camera softbox and get the flattering, soft light. You will need around $30 worth of gear for this, but you know what’s great? You probably already have it at home.

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