I was recently sent the Godox MS300 for review and I am going to start by saying I was honestly shocked by this light. For just $109, having a small studio light with so much power is incredible.

This light is an affordable entryway level light into studio photography. Now, it is not like a speedlight where you could use it everywhere. It is not wireless like some of Godox’s other systems. I have stated my love for Godox previously and I’ll do it again with this light.

If you are wanting to get started in studio photography but don’t want to break the bank this light is perfect. Plus it is fully interchangeable with the rest of the Godox system. Meaning you can grow and add more of their lights to your collection and still use this light.

First impressions

Let’s start with the basics. This light is a 270-degree Zeno tube with a 150-watt modeling lamp. This unit has a +/- 200º Kelvin on the color control with 5600º Kelvin.

Being an all-plastic construction, it is lightweight, weighing about two pounds. However, it is not as small as some of the other studio lights from Godox.

One of the other great features of this light is the Bowens mount on the front. This allows you to attach most any modifier to the unit for very little money, as the Bowens mount system is the most versatile on the market.

Power

This unit is AC powered and comes with a 20-foot long high-quality power cable which is great when in the studio. I feel like that is double the length some of the more high-end companies give you.

This unit ranges from 1/32 to full power, changing in increments of 1/10 power. This means you have 50 steps of adjustment in between. There is a 1.8 second recycle time at full power, which is to be expected.

Keep in mind there is no auto-dumping on this unit when it comes to power. When you go up in power and then down the white circle with the flash symbol above the one switch will flash. That is letting you know you need to dump the power before taking your next shot so you can get the correct power.

The time flash duration is 1/800 to 1/2000 of a second, +/- 200º K on the flash range for color temp at 5600º Kelvin. That means the color is similar at a different brightness, but it can be slightly different as the brightness levels go up or down.

I am mostly a portrait photographer so that flash duration is great, especially when working with wiggly little humans. You really wouldn’t need faster than that unless trying to freeze water or something like that.

The 1.8 second recycle time at 300 watt seconds is no different from most other studio strobes in this range at full power. This means the time it takes for me to fire a shot and my light to get loaded with full power to take another shot is 1.8 seconds.

Silent mode

You can turn the sound off on this light which is a great feature to have and one I appreciate. There’s nothing that ruins a beautiful moment on set quicker than a beeping light.

Triggers

You can control this unit with Godox’s XPro and X1 trigger. The MS300 system has 32 radio channels and 16 groups.

With the radio turned off you can optically use any pop of flash to trigger it, and it has two modes. Slave 1 means every pop it sees from the optical sensor will fire the flash. Slave 2 means it will fire on every other flash which is based on whether or not your camera uses a preflash.

It also has a USB and sync for external triggers if needed. This unit does not have HSS or TTL mode.

Specs

  • Maximum power: 300 Ws
  • Flash duration: 1/2000 to 1/800
  • Recycle time: 0.1 to 1.8 seconds
  • Color temperature: 5600º K ± 200º K
  • Accessory fitting type: Bowens S Type
  • Wattage: 150 W
  • Dimensions: H: 11.1 x W: 5.0 x L: 5.0″ / H: 28.3 x W: 12.6 x L: 12.7 cm
  • Weight: 5.73 lb / 2.6 kg

For $109 I highly recommend this light for anyone who has an interest in studio lighting. It is versatile, lightweight and powerful fulling all my portrait photographer needs and more. Giving me the option to use it as a main light or fill in junction with my AD600.