You can save a ton of space in your lighting bags with Godox mount modifiers
Over the past several decades, the Bowens mount has become the ubiquitous modifier mount for lights. Created, naturally, by Bowens decades ago, before they went bust, it seems to have been adopted as the defacto standard for the photography industry – and even video lights like those from Godox, Aputure and others have taken up the trend.
But Godox actually has their own modifier mount, used on the Godox AD300Pro and AD400Pro strobes as well as the new ML60 continuous LED (review coming soon!). But why make a whole new mount? What’s the point when Bowens is so popular? Well, primarily, the purpose here is the size and weight advantages, as Francisco Joel Hernandez illustrates in this video.
Godox originally attempted to introduce their range of Godox mount modifiers with the original AD600 a few years ago, but the Bowens mount version was so popular (not all that surprising, really) that it never really took off. After all, what good is a lightweight modifier with a big heavy strobe? It was a bit of a mismatch, really.
But the smaller Godox mount has been reintroduced recently with Godox’s recent lineup of new strobes and continuous LED lights. Strobes like the AD400Pro (review here), which does also come with a Bowens mount adapter, so that you can choose which you want to use and the AD300Pro (you have to use the Godox S2 bracket if you want Bowens modifiers on this one) and their new continuous LED light, the Godox ML60 (again, you’ll need S2 if you want Bowens modifiers).
The Godox mount modifiers generally appear to be about half the diameter or less when folded vs their Bowens mount counterparts. I have the Godox AD-S60S myself, which opens up to a similar size as my Pixapro 65cm 16-sided Easy-Open box (similar to the 25″ Glow EZ Lock), and the difference in overall size and weight is very noticeable. The light output, on the other hand, is quite similar.
There are only three models in the Godox mount softbox modifier range right now, coming in at 60cm, 65cm and 85cm in diameter when opened. The two larger sizes are available with either a silver or white interior, however the 60cm one is only available with a silver interior. Hopefully, as smaller strobes and continuous LED lights are getting more powerful, Godox will expand the range to include other smaller lightweight modifiers geared towards travel shooters – which, after all, is the whole point of the lights to which you attach them, too!
Even though you can use Bowens mount modifiers on Godox mount lights through the use of adapter rings, it doesn’t go the other way. The Godox mount is simply too small to adapt from a Bowens mount without causing negative issues to how the light acts. But I would guess that might mean Godox is planning to release more lights that use the smaller form factor modifiers. I guess we’ll just have to see.
Have you tried any of the Godox mount modifiers yet?