Godox Photo Equipment Co. ltd started its business of producing photography equipment in 1993. Godox is not only a manufacturer but is also deep into research and development and are well-known for their signature designs and sales. Their product list is extensive, but they have comprehensive lists under camera flash, studio flash, continuous lighting, speedlite accessories, flash triggering and control systems, Macro Light Flash, mobile lighting, and gimbal and stabilizer, and portable power inverters.
Godox AD-S3 beauty dish reflector is initially manufactured by the Godox Company itself to enhance photography results. This adds to the product’s credibility because Godox is a well-reputed company with operations across Europe and Asia. Godox takes pride in its 440g light-weighted flash accessory Godox AD-S3 which is part of Godox’s WITSTRO flashes light shaping accessories compatible with AD200, AD200 Pro, AD360II, AD180, and AD360.
Famous for satisfying customer needs, Godox products are reliable and durable due to its robust quality control checks at every production stage. All products offered by Godox are well-researched to suit customer needs and trends, and for exceptions, Godox also provides custom-made products for its customers to provide them with the best experience.
Performance And Functionality
Godox AD-S3 is a flash accessory compatible with AD200, AD200 Pro, AD360II, AD180, and AD360. It provides a light shaping effect and works as a flash accessory. AD-S3 Beauty Dish Reflector facilitates the WITSTRO light to spread around the subject and give a soft effect. It is said that Godox AD-S3 is a good product for commercial photography, the flash accessory increases the prominence of objects, and enhances their texture and tones.
The Godox AD-S3 gives the best results if used outdoors. A Honeycomb Cover accompanies it, this grid provides directional light and reduces sharp shadows. The honeycomb cover grid also produces catch light in the eyes. Since the Beauty dish enhances skin tones, bad skin will be prominent in photographs unless professional makeup has been done. In that case, the results will be impressive.
Convenience
The Godox AD-S3 beauty dish can be used to take portrait-style outdoor pictures. The good news is that it weighs only 440g. This lightweight, portable, and easy to use flash accessory is a good choice to make while travelling. It is also said to be more convenient than a regular metal reflector. The Godox AD-S3 has a price that aligns with its specs and gives value.
Additionally, it is only 12 inches in diameter, which makes it perfect for newer photographers experimenting with their first beauty dish. However, certain photographers prefer a beauty dish that has a larger diameter. Thanks to a slightly different design, this beauty dish reflector is lightweight and can perform according to the standard.
Adjustable
The beauty dish is very flexible and can work according to whatever your photography requirements are. Thanks to the custom grid that comes with it, the AD-S3 beauty dish will reduce light output to one that corresponds with a 30-degree cone of light. This degree of customization means that you can direct the light to the exact position that you require. It’ll let you highlight the subject of your choice according to your design needs.
There are several different photography niches that you’ll find the beauty dish performs to an exceptional standard. It’s incredibly useful for photographers looking to engage in portrait, fashion, pet, and wedding photography.
There are several different advantages to using the honeycomb grid with the beauty dish. It softens the shadows that arise from the dish and results in a nice clean portrait. The lighting becomes much better when you’re working inside and make use of the honeycomb grid.
Results
Thanks to the WITSTRO light and the beauty dish’s overall design, it provides a brilliant soft-edged lighting effect. It works for showcasing the texture of an object. So much so that you’re going to have a great time engaging in food photography.
Additionally, the beauty dish is also effective when engaging in portrait photography. Thanks to the even spread of the lighting, it displays skin tones effectively, and with the use of the honeycomb grid, you also get to produce catch light in the eyes.
The final result is a signature soft look that brings about a hint of crispness that isn’t available for umbrellas and soft boxes. Those photographers that are looking for a softer look can use the diffusion sock. The diffusion socks come included with the AD-S3 dish and fit on to the beauty dish easily. There’s just such a great deal of maneuverability with this diverse beauty dish. Every photographer can find their perfect lighting balance to take the best images.
As the product is widely available, there are regarding this particular product.
User Interface And Control System
The beauty dish reflector is pretty easy to use. Its quality results can be achieved by pairing it with Godox AD200, AD200 Pro, AD180, or AD360. Unlike other third-party beauty dishes, the AD-S3 mounts directly on to the Godox AD200. Thanks to the fact that the AD-S3 mounts directly to the light, the Bowen mounts on the flash remain completely operational. You can attach the mount to a light stand without worrying about the beauty dish taking up any extra space. It makes the whole process much easier and means that you’ll save time when setting up your stand for photoshoots.
As a result of the above, you have a perfect little beauty dish that’s got a very easy to access user interface system. The helpful UI helps ensure that you can use the beauty dish rapidly. Even if this is the first time, you’re making use of a beauty dish, there’s little that you need to worry about. It’s simple to just take the beauty dish out of the box and hook it up with your setup. Thanks to the aluminum design and construction of the dish, there’s no process of setting up.
Control
Controlling the beauty dish is incredibly simple if you’re using it alongside other Godox accessories. However, mounting it to other accessories is difficult because the mounting will take a few other steps. However, thanks to the high-quality design and construction, the beauty dish is easy to adjust and use. Changing the angle is easy, and you can easily lock the dish into the place according to your desires. The lock helps make sure that there’s no chance of the angle slipping and ruining any of the shots that you capture. If you’re using photography accessories that belong to other companies, the beauty dish still works very well. However, if you want to get the best out of the AD-S3, you need to mount it alongside other Godox gear.
Different Uses
There are so many different ways to set up a beauty dish if you’re looking to get the best results indoors. Among the most popular for portraits is a clamshell setup with minimal diffusion that gives great lighting when taking images. The lighting helps bring out a lot more detail in images.
Additionally, you can use a diffusion sock to reduce the light’s sharpness to get more subtle images and draw out more catchlight in the eyes. The beauty dish is also capable of functioning as a fill light. Thanks to the fact that the lighting is adjustable, it allows you to easily control the image’s amount of filling. It also adds a very interesting catchlight to the eyes and function like a kicker light. Thanks to the small size of the beauty dish, there are so many creative options that will allow you to find diverse use for it.
Build Quality And Design
There’s no doubting the fact that there are other beauty dishes out there that offer significantly higher build quality. However, in most cases, these dishes also tend to cost more than double the GODOX AD-S3. It’s only natural that the AD-S3 doesn’t intend to compete with these more premium offerings. For an entry-level beauty dish, the build quality is decent. It’s made out of aluminum that helps give the dish all those lightweight and flexible properties. However, it isn’t exactly the most robust design. In fact, if the dish ever takes a few knocks, they can show up as visible dents in the body. However, the dents have no impact on the performance of the lighting. If you’re a bit crafty, it becomes much easier to get rid of the dents. Aluminum is a very flexible material, and even though the dish isn’t the most robust, it’ll be capable of performing for a very long time.
New Design
In comparison to the previous generation of the beauty dishes, the AD-S3 has a newer design. It looks remarkably different from other beauty dishes on the market and resembles the shape you’d expect from a classic vehicle’s headlight. The dome-like shape means that the AD-S3 is capable of reflecting light evenly and brightly across the subject. Regardless of whether you’re shooting people or other objects, the Godox AD-S3 can perform at a decent level and works brilliantly at eliminating any shadows from entering your images.
Thankfully, the new design of the dome means that the AD-S3 is capable of performing at a decent level even though it’s significantly smaller than other beauty dishes. Some people don’t seem to enjoy the small size, but even though it’s tiny, the new design means that the amount of light that reflects out of the product is exceptional.
High Specularity
Another great addition, thanks to the new design of the AD-S3, is the higher specularity. Thanks to the silver color of the dome and the aluminum material, the specularity level is very decent. You’ll notice that most modern beauty dishes go for a combination of aluminum and white paint. However, the use of silver paint means that specularity is going to be very high. For anyone that wants to invest in a decent starting beauty dish, the Godox AD-S3 is a perfect option.
Packaging
One thing that the company fails to address is proper packaging. There’s no secure packaging available with the product. Which means that chances are that the product will undergo some damage during shipping. The company includes gloves with a beauty dish, which users can use to clean the dish.
Elegant
Even though, the purpose of the beauty dish is to improve the lighting and make images seem significantly better, the Godox AD-S3 itself is a fine piece of material too. Thanks to the beautiful aluminum material that’s been used in the construction, the AD-S3 looks brilliant. It’ll look like a great part of your set.
Conclusion
As a new and budding photographer, you’re going to need to get all the leg ups possible. One of the ways to elevate your images and portfolio is by buying a decent beauty dish. They’re simple to use and provide several different functions that make them such a crucial equipment. Any photographer hoping to make it big into the business needs to learn how to manipulate lighting. Buying a beauty dish can be a great way to get you started on your lighting journey and is the best place to start learning before you move on to more complex setups. There are so many different photography niches that users can use the beauty dish, it’s not just restricted to portrait photography.
The Godox Beauty Dish AD-S3 is a brilliant product. It’s capable of performing indoors and outdoors as well. If you’re a new photographer and are looking to jump into professional lighting, the AD-S3 is a great first beauty dish to own. Thanks to the modern design, it’s capable of performing several different tasks, and it’s simple to set up.
Another impressive feature of the AD-S3 is the aluminum design. The product is lightweight and durable enough to last you a long time. Even if you manage to damage the beauty dish, it’s simple to just knock out all the potential dents. It’s a great choice among professionals and modern photographers as well!
