22May Fotodiox PRO 7″ flapjack C-200RS – First impressions
After years of seeing others move towards LED lighting, I’m finally starting to catch up. When large LED panels first hit the market, I wasn’t really a fan of the light quality, but these days even very affordable LED lights provide very decent light. I just finished reviewing those extremally affordable $40 edge lit V-Pad 150 panels, Now I want to take a look at a much more expensive offering from Fotodiox Pro Flapjack.
The Fotodiox Pro Flapjack comes in a somewhat large form fitting case. Included in the kit is the LED light panel, a Dual battery charger, a single Sony NP-F750 style battery, a car power adapter, and a very robust ball head cold shoe adapter. While the case is nice, I would have happily traded it out for an extra battery or two.
At a price of $245, the Flapjack provides you with a color temperature range of 3200k to 5600k and the ability to adjust dim the output from 100% all the way down to 10%. You also have a design that is more refined than the V-Pad 150 panels with a nice backlit LCD screen provides battery information, color temperature, and output information.
While the frame of the Flapjack isn’t waterproof, it is made out of aluminum and there aren’t any direct vent ports to the outside world. So if you do end up running through a little bit of light rain you’ll probably be ok. Build quality is fairly solid for a light in this price range, but remember the frame is the only thing made out of metal, the battery adapter and indication panel is entirely plastic. So if you drop it on it’s back, you’ll likely break something.
I don’t know if the metal housing and LED indicator alone are enough to make the Flapjack worth the price. That said, the Flapjack is noticeably brighter than it’s $40 competitor, but is it $200 worth of brightness? I’ll post more once I’ve finished the full review.
