Photographers who like to travel light, work away from power outlets, and shoot with strobes should take a look at the Flashpoint Xplor 100 Pro TTL R2 ($299), a soda can-sized flash that’s compatible with today’s popular camera systems. It’s not as powerful as larger monolights, but it’s eminently more portable. The small form lends itself to handheld work, and the Xplor 100 works perfectly well on a light stand as well. Its form sets it apart from the crowd, helping it earn our Editors’ Choice award.
Sized for Travel
Flashpoint is a house brand, exclusively sold through photo specialty retailer Adorama. The Xplor 100 Pro is manufactured by Godox. It’s also sold as the Godox AD100Pro—aside from branding, the flashes are identical.
We received the Flashpoint edition for review. It ships in a soft zippered travel case. The case holds the flash, a removable light stand mount, an AC adapter, and a USB-C charging cable. The case is functional, but nothing special. I imagine most will use it for storage and to keep track of accessories—the Xplor 100 is shaped a lot like a lens and is sure to find a comfortable place in most camera bags.
Without the the light stand mount installed, the Xplor 100 is a cylinder that measures 4.4 by 3.0 inches (HD) and weighs 18.5 ounces. The mount screws into one of two tripod threads on the bottom and works with standard light stands and provides tilt adjustment and an umbrella mount.
Alternatively, you have the option of using a tripod quick-release plate. It’s what I’d do for travel, mounting the Xplor 100 to a compact tripod. If you like to get creative with mounting, you can add a flexible-leg Joby GorillaPod, and the light is small enough to handhold, a plus for creators who want to experiment with lighting. If you go this route, leave the plate on all the time—the Xplor 100 rolls freely without one and can very easily spin off a table if you’re not careful.
Rechargeable Battery
The Xplor 100 uses the same rechargeable battery as the Flashpoint Zoom Li-on X R2 TTL and Godox V1 round head flashes. It uses a small cradle to charge via USB-C, and while you may be tempted to leave the AC adapter at home and plug it into your MacBook to charge, that’s not an option—I had no luck getting it to work with any USB-C-to-USB-C cable.
It works fine with cables like the one included, with a square USB-A port on one end and a small oval USB-C connector on the other. Thankfully, these are very common, so you won’t be left scrambling if you misplace the included cable. Flashpoint also sells a three-battery multi-charger for $35, which uses an old-fashioned AC power cord.
A fresh, fully charged battery is rated to power the Xplor 100 for up to 360 full-power flashes. That’s a bit less than you get with the Godox V1 (480 shots), but the V1 delivers less power at full blast (76Ws) than the Xplor 100 (100Ws).
Output Power
You won’t use full-power flashes in most situations, so expect better battery life. I rattled off hundreds of exposures at lower power and used the Xplor 100 for a few hours of product photography, and the battery meter is still reading full.
At full power you’ll deal with about 1.5 seconds between flashes, but it fires faster at lower levels. I was able to match the Sony a7R IV’s 10fps capture rate at power ratings of 1/32 and lower. The cooling fan kicked in after a 60-shot burst, but the flash never failed to fire.
High-speed sync is supported, and works well at shutter speeds as fast as 1/8,000-second in single-shot mode. It doesn’t work as well for burst capture, but that’s more about how the tech works than the flash itself—high-speed sync makes the flash fire for longer than normal, and a 10fps camera snaps a few exposures in that interval.
Where most monolights use a simple flash tube, the Xplor 100 places its flash behind a fresnel head, with a bit of zoom power. It’s the same basic design in the Godox V1 (also sold as the Flashpoint Zoom Li-on X R2 TTL), and supports the same magnetic modifiers. For $59 you can add a kit with a dome diffuser, barn doors, snoot, grids, and color modifiers. It also works with the larger Bowens mount, you just need to buy the Glow S2 Bowens Mount Bracket ($25).
The downside of the fresnel head is the lack of a proper modeling light. The Xplor 100 has a small LED instead. It’s bright, but you shouldn’t use it with a live model—it’s about as fun to stare into as a solar eclipse. Consider a traditional light, like the Xplor 300, if you need a proper modeling lamp.
Wire-free operation gives you plenty of freedom in positioning the light. With an on-camera flash you’re limited to tilting or bouncing the head in order to direct light. You can position any wireless strobe to fire from different angles, and the Xplor 100’s small frame certainly lends itself to creative experimentation—it can squeeze into smaller confines for mounting, and is very effective as a handheld flash.
TTL Wireless Transmitter
The Xplor 100 includes a 3.5mm port for triggering via a sync cable, and supports optical control as well, but to get the most out of it you’ll want to pair it with a wireless remote control.
Flashpoint sells the R2 Pro Mark II transmitter ($69) for a number of camera systems. It mounts in the hot shoe. You can get one for Canon, Fujifilm, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, and Sony systems.
You’ll need to buy the transmitter separately, but it works across the Flashpoint R2 system. It also makes changing camera systems a bit less of a hassle—just buy a new transmitter and keep using the same flashes.
The same transmitter is sold by Godox as the Xpro TTL. The two systems are interoperable—I regularly use the Godox V1 and Flashpoint Xplor 300 together, both fired from the same R2 Pro transmitter.
Support for TTL operation means that you won’t have to fiddle with power settings, the Xplor works in conjunction with your camera to determine the right power settings for your exposure. It’s effective, and can come in handy when you’re using the flash to cover events or to light a candid shot.
Manual control is also available, either via the remote or via the controls on the back of the light itself. Output power can be set from full down to 1/256. The Xplor 100 has a monochrome display, a control dial, and control buttons at its rear. Everything is as expected—the only trick is a two-stage power-up process, in which you need to turn the rear dial after pressing the power button. It’s a thoughtful feature that prevents the light from powering up when it’s in your bag.
Make the World Your Studio
If you were to describe the Flashpoint Xplor 100 Pro TTL R2 as a flash dressed up in a monolight’s clothing, you wouldn’t be far off base. That’s not a bad thing. The Xplor 100 goes places where bigger strobes won’t, easily finds a place in a camera bag, and outclasses on-camera flashes in power.
You’ll spend a bit more for it than you will for the Godox V1, an on-camera flash with a similar round fresnel head, and lose on-camera convenience in the process. But you get something for the extra money. The Xplor 100 is built tougher, both from a materials perspective and by virtue of not having a hinge or tripod foot, two potential break points.
It’s also more powerful and includes a cooling fan, so you can use it more effectively for burst capture. Magnetic modifiers and a handheld form factor encourage creative photography, and it works just as well when mounted on a light stand.
The Xplor 100 is far from the only battery-powered wireless strobe out there, of course. For the most part they’re portable versions of lights you’d use in studio. The Xplor 100 is different in form, and that separates it from the crowd.
We continue to recommend the Godox V1 to photographers who prefer an on-camera flash, but if you prefer your lighting off camera, the Xplor 100 Pro TTL R2 is a little dynamo, and earns our Editors’ Choice award.
