The new Godox Lux Senior looks like an ‘old-timey’ news photographer’s flash
Last week Godox introduced the Lux Junior, now we have the Lux Senior, a portable, easy-to-use flash that even Weegee would be proud of.
Godox has just announced the Lux Senior, the brand’s second retro-inspired flash this month. It looks fun, portable, and easy to use. There’s no official launch date, though Godox says it should be available “by September” for a retail price of $119.
Retro portability
When Godox announced the Lux Junior a few weeks ago, here at PopPhoto we wondered where the Lux Senior was. Well, we didn’t have to wait long—and honestly, we kind of love it.
The Lux Senior works with pretty much any film or digital camera that has a hot-shoe or flash sync port. It’s got a large, impressive-looking silver reflector that folds down into the body of the flash, making it easy to carry around. When it’s out, though, you’ll look like a news photographer from the ‘40s.
While the Senior takes similar vintage inspiration to the Junior, it’s a good bit bigger. The Junior model is just 2.9-inches by 2-inches by 2.8-inches and weighs ~ 4.6 ounces; the Senior model is 6.9-inches by 4.5-inches by 3.3-inches (presumably with the reflector deployed) and weighs ~8 ounces. Still, you shouldn’t have much issue fitting it in a camera bag.
Easy to use
The Lux Senior has a dial that you use to set the flash power. There are seven power levels, from “Full” (1/1) down to 1/64, that correspond to various combinations of distance, ISO, and aperture. For example, if your subject is around 3 feet away (1 meter) and your ISO is set to 200, you can use 1/2 power at f/11, 1/4 power at f/8, and so on. If you’d sooner not worry about dialing in specific settings, there is an Auto mode that defaults to f/2.8 at ISO 100.
The Lux Senior can also be used as part of a full lighting setup. There are two Optical Modes: Setting 1 (S1) fires when another flash fires, while Setting 2 (S2) ignores pre-flashes.
Other than that, all you have to do is point your camera in the right direction and push the shutter button.
Charge up and have fun
While the Lux Junior uses AAA batteries, the Lux Senior has an internal battery that charges over USB-C. Supposedly, a full charge is good for 150 full power flashes and the recycle time is less than three seconds. With a guide number of 14, it should be able to hold its own on a sunny day as long as you are close to your subject.
According to Godox, the color temperature should be 6000±200 Kelvin, though we would be curious to see if the silver reflector makes the light appear cooler than it is.
Available soon
The Lux Senior should be widely available from September. It will retail for $119. At just under twice the price of the Lux Junior, it appears to be a more polished package (although both have their appeal). Neither Lux flash is likely to replace anyone’s dedicated studio lights, but we can see them being a popular option for anyone who wants a fake-vintage flash to go with their real vintage camera.
