CITI600 600Ws Battery Powered Flash Professional Portable Outdoor Studio Strobe 5600K Photo Lighting Bowens Fit HSS 1/8000s High Speed Sync Wireless Universal Camera System AD600B (Manual)

I've always used Bowens and was about to purchase their new XMT system as I need to use them in both the studio and on location.When Bowen's went bust, I was really unsure what direction to go in and after a lot of research, reading reviews etc. I decided to take a chance on the Pixapro CITI600's and I'm really glad I did!!I've been using four of them for 5 months now and can honestly say that they are excellent. The batteries hold a fantastic charge and the lights work amazingly well. They are great in the studio and a really good size for location work (much smaller / lighter than the Bowens XMT's for example).They have proven to be very reliable and I would highly recommend them

I already had a collection of studio lights, but during a couple of shoots in a dark studio (long exposure portraits), I tripped over power leads, broke a light and beauty dish, and almost injured a model. So I decided to go cordless, and bought one of these. I was so blown away by how good it was, I bought two more, and I am thinking of replacing all my studio light with them.The Pixapro range are rebranded Godox, which in turn were rebranded Bowens. When they first came out they were cheaper than Godox, but not sure that is still the case. However with Pixapro you get a two year warranty, and all the returns are handled in this country. I have also found the customer service to be outstanding.This particular unit is manual with no TTL - but seriously when do you need TTL in the studio? It is 600watt, which is more than enough for any studio setting. Being battery you can use it on location, which is the only time I ever have to use it at full power. As it uses the Bowens S-fit, there is no problem getting modifiers. Brightness goes all the way down to 1/128. Another massive advantage with Pixapro is that all their lights work off the same triggers, so you can use these in the same set-up as Pixapro speedlights and Pika200s. Battery life is claimed to be 500 full power shots on a single charge, which I manage easily. So long as you charge them overnight before a shoot, there is no danger of running out of juice.Down sides. Well not a lot really, and certainly not enough to detract from the 5 star rating.They are considerably more expensive than traditional lights, but Citi600s are generally cheaper than any other battery equivalents.Spare batteries are rather expensive. I always find the battery life sufficient not to need any spares, but if you ran a busy studio with back-to-back clients shooting, you would need spare batteries.The modelling lights are not that bright, and if you have them on constantly they drain the battery - but that will be the same with any battery flash.Biggest gripe - you have to buy the reflector dishes separately, whereas they come with the rest of the Pixapro range. They also have the gap for an umbrella in a different place, so you cannot just use the ones you already have. They don't cost a lot, but it is irritating if you order your new light and forget to order the reflector at the same time because you presume it will be included.In summary, the bad points are minor and the good points are significant. In all honesty, I like these so much I intend to gradually replace all my studio lights with them.