Wistro AD180 just arrived.

So I order the Wistro AD180 off of Amazon for $604.99 ($579.00) with a $25.00 amazon gift card that I had. Order it on June 26th It arrived today 7-1 from Hong Kong! Damn that is super fast. It was a package deal with a Godox PB-960, shoulder strap and wall charger

I think you should have just ordered from CheetahStand.

What's the warranty?
And the Cheetah Light combo includes the CL-Tr/Rx trigger set which is essential in my view.

ZoranC wrote in post #16082529
I think you should have just ordered from CheetahStand.

This.

I orderd mine from Hong Kong as well, but only because Cheetahstand won't ship outside the US.

S.E.V. wrote in post #16082323
So I order the Wistro AD180 off of Amazon for $604.99 ($579.00) with a $25.00 amazon gift card that I had. Order it on June 26th It arrived today 7-1 from Hong Kong! Damn that is super fast. It was a package deal with a Godox PB-960, shoulder strap and wall charger


What do you guys think? I will be glad to take addition images as well. It is the same thing as the Cheetah CL-180.

Edward Tang of Cheetah Stand has never made a secret that his CL-180 is a rebadged Godox AD-180 so no surprises there. I too have found shipping from HK / Shenzhen / Shanghai / Beijing to generally be very quick (usually 50% quicker to the UK than stuff from various US dealers - plus we aren't expected to pay the entire USPS annual wages bill on each parcel ). Looks like you got the US charger though, mine came with EU charger (cos I made SURE it did before ordering) which sits nicely in a Shuko flying lead I acquired about 30 years ago. Sweet.

ZoranC wrote in post #16082529
I think you should have just ordered from CheetahStand.

Given that you're in the USA, I too am surprised that you didn't order from CheetahStand. Yes, apparently a slightly higher price but you get the remote Tx/Rx set as well so they're actually pretty comparable - plus that customer service which everyone in the US raves about. With that option, I wouldn't hesitate to stump up any tiny extra little bit and get that back-up, just in case.

Osiriz wrote in post #16083058
I ordered mine from Hong Kong as well, but only because Cheetahstand won't ship outside the US.

Osiriz: Just in case you missed it, Lencarta are just starting to offer the Godox AD-180 / 360 and certain ancilliaries in Europe. First shipment due in 26 July (Geewhiz - that sounds somehow familiar :lol. So - we get the gear at a decent, VAT inclusive price, with a reputable (goes without saying - cos they're from Yorkshire) & accessible company backing up the sale and a 3 year warranty. Beats the H*LL out of the previous shambolic 'distributor' on our side of the Pond, who never seemed to have any stock anyway.

Phil,
Warranty, service etc. seem to be forgotten when someone sees a low price on an internet site.
In the EU there are specific requirements for warranty required if a company wishes to import and sell products.

These importers, Cheetah and Lencarta included, pay shipping, duty and warehousing costs so consumers have local supply. They also offer local warranty resource.

Having to ship a product back to HK or wherever if there is a problem can cost significantly. I know, I've had to do it a couple of times with stuff that was, at the time, only available from HK/Chinese suppliers.

In this particular case the two Amazon offers I could find were $600.49 plus $4.99 shipping. It claimed domestic shipping rates but the shipping times suggest that its being shipped form HK or China.
More significant, for me at least, is that both resellers appear to resell whatever they think people will buy. Warranty is whatever Amazon policy is, which is generally send it back, pay for shipping and get replacement or refund.

I couldn't even find, in eleven pages, the Godox remote trigger/receiver set that is essential to make the light useful in my view.

Two disparate viewpoints about warranties, both equally valid providing that people realise the implications.

• Merchandise as cheap as utterly possible and to heck with the consequences. This category encompasses not only those resellers who have bought the lowest level of warranty from the Chinese manufacturer (ie none) but sell perfectly viable goods. It can also include the fakes, the factory 'seconds', returned goods - on the grounds that if it's already been made then someone somewhere may buy it and recoup the making costs. You get what you pay for, it's exceedingly rare to get more.
  
• Merchandise with full, enforceable warranty in a viable legal jurisdiction.
  

(hopefully )

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. (French Porverb attributed to Jean-Baptiste Karr)

I knew the risk before I made the purchase. I could buy the godox FT-16 for $55.00 But for my need right now my pocket wizard should do the trick. CheetahStand was actually out of the light for a period of time, So I bought the Wistro instead. I could of gotten the AD-360 for a little bit more. In the end both the Wistro and the Cheetah will operate and produce the same result, so why the discussion of warranty and should of bought it from so and so. When it is a piece of work gear that is meant to do a specific job, and the warranty and place of purchase is not one of them LOL.

S.E.V. wrote in post #16086354
I knew the risk before I made the purchase. I could buy the godox FT-16 for $55.00 But for my need right now my pocket wizard should do the trick. CheetahStand was actually out of the light for a period of time, So I bought the Wistro instead. I could of gotten the AD-360 for a little bit more. In the end both the Wistro and the Cheetah will operate and produce the same result, so why the discussion of warranty and should of bought it from so and so. When it is a piece of work gear that is meant to do a specific job, and the warranty and place of purchase is not one of them LOL.

You answered your own question. Not everyone is aware of the potential for losing use of gear for 2 or 3 months while it goes back to another country for repair. Some just apply credit card instead of applying brain first; then they whinge if something goes wrong.

I too have the Godox and not the Cheetah - no choice in my case as Edward no longer exports to Europe and the UK distributor at that time was totally unresponsive (there are other less polite descriptions but that will suffice). However, logistically the shortest line of supply is the most efficient and that is what logic suggests is the optimum route. I actually compiled my current kit from 5 different official Godox-recognised resellers to test which supplier was the most efficient, irrespective of price. Now that we have an effective EU-based vendor in Lencarta, any other bits I may need would come from them - shortest line of supply, not mere blind vendor loyalty.

As you say, if it's "work gear" as opposed to "playing-at-being-a-photographer gear" then such things as continuity of supply, ease of repair, speed of service and general peace of mind must surely become factors in a buying decision.

Whortleberry wrote in post #16083273
Osiriz: Just in case you missed it, Lencarta are just starting to offer the Godox AD-180 / 360 and certain ancilliaries in Europe. First shipment due in 26 July (Geewhiz - that sounds somehow familiar :lol. So - we get the gear at a decent, VAT inclusive price, with a reputable (goes without saying - cos they're from Yorkshire) & accessible company backing up the sale and a 3 year warranty. Beats the H*LL out of the previous shambolic 'distributor' on our side of the Pond, who never seemed to have any stock anyway.

Thanks for the info man! I already have my flash, but I'll keep that place in mind.

You're very welcome. Information may not be needed immediately but it's always useful to have in reserve. Just in case!

I want one!

It seems when I break out the Einstein I'm either near full power (need it) or towards the lower end (overkill). This would be the perfect middle ground (and extremely portable) flash for me. Is the 360 much bigger?

CptTripps wrote in post #16088373
I want one!

It seems when I break out the Einstein I'm either near full power (need it) or towards the lower end (overkill). This would be the perfect middle ground (and extremely portable) flash for me. Is the 360 much bigger?

No, a little bigger body to accommodate the larger capacitor but otherwise the same.
Its a nice complement to Einsteins (I have 4) and Speedlites (I have 4 600EX-RTs). With the Cheetah lights in the kit all my options include remote power adjustment and two of them support FP-Sync.

S.E.V. wrote in post #16086354
I could buy the godox FT-16 for $55.00 But for my need right now my pocket wizard should do the trick.

Except that Pocket Wizard will not let one control the power level remotely. For the amount "saved" by not getting FT-16 I personally would not consider walking.

S.E.V. wrote in post #16086354
In the end both the Wistro and the Cheetah will operate and produce the same result, so why the discussion of warranty and should of bought it from so and so. When it is a piece of work gear that is meant to do a specific job, and the warranty and place of purchase is not one of them LOL.

You asked what people think, you were given a honest answer. And discussion about warranty and place of purchase is very relevant because when something is piece of _work_ gear that does matter a lot. Especially when it is expensive and not easy to replace piece of work gear.

ZoranC wrote in post #16088702
Except that Pocket Wizard will not let one control the power level remotely. For the amount "saved" by not getting FT-16 I personally would not consider walking.


You asked what people think, you were given a honest answer. And discussion about warranty and place of purchase is very relevant because when something is piece of _work_ gear that does matter a lot. Especially when it is expensive and not easy to replace piece of work gear.

But its funny how every one else is concerned with my warranty and place of purchase when it will never effect them. This is what makes me laugh. Why should others care about my issues when the time comes. Maybe my question was very vague but I meant about the light itself, NOT the warranty! Now if I posted a Cheetah CL-180 everyone would of gone crazy over it.