Cheetah drawbacks?

Hello I've been hearing so much about cheetah though I'm still unsure if its a good unit. Although it has been storming the market maybe because it's like a combination of strobe and speedlight which somewhat interesting.

Any drawbacks? or recommendations?
any thoughts perhaps?

- No TTL
- Must use proprietary radio triggers

Other than that it's a solid light with many advantages over speedlights. If you know you don't need TTL, I see no reason not to go for the Cheetah.

LostArk wrote in post #16450746
- No TTL
- Must use proprietary radio triggers

Other than that it's a solid light with many advantages over speedlights. If you know you don't need TTL, I see no reason not to go for the Cheetah.

Or price and power output. I went with AB1600's or 800's with vagabond minis.....cheaper, more power fpr location lighting, ability to shoot in full F/16 light.....less money......the disadvantage is not as portable and the cheetahs.

Been testing another branded version

Pro:
Portable/light/compact​/remote power settings/good output

Cons:
Price/needs adapters to use bigger modifiers/setup

This is just my opinion it may differ from others not here to start drama.
There are other options from different companies that can do the same thing with more power and less money. Not as compact in size but works just as good. Godox/Mettle/PCB/Jimbe​i/ ect.

Having a separate battery pack makes it less convenient. I wished the battery pack piggybacked on the flash.

sportmode wrote in post #16451058
Having a separate battery pack makes it less convenient. I wished the battery pack piggybacked on the flash.

I prefer the separate battery pack as it makes the whole unit more balanced and much easier to carry while mounted on a light stand. I clamp the battery to the stand down low, which balances out the weight of the flash on top. When shooting e-sessions or receptions, I can easily grab the entire stand and carry it with one hand.

I would prefer both options, but there's hardly any weight in a CL-180, they could have easily combined the battery in that for off camera use. On camera again it would be best to be able to unclip from the flash.
.

jcolman wrote in post #16451132
I prefer the separate battery pack as it makes the whole unit more balanced and much easier to carry while mounted on a light stand.

Agreed. I like the current design with the battery being separate. More versatile and also allows the pack to power more lights if needed.

The difficulty answer this sort of inquiry is that people begin listing cons that are more design choices than anything else.

The reality is that a product manager and design team have to establish a feature list, then design to the list. Sometimes compromises have to be made.

That's also why there are lots of options when one starts looking at xeon tube light sources.

There are, in my view, three classes of xeon flash units; A) speedlites, including both TTL and manual power control; B) Hybrid (my term) for Q Flash, Cheetah, Godox, etc. Bare bulb units; C) studio strobes, including monolights, pack/heads units.

The three classes have overlapping features, power ratings and to some extent size.

So, drawbacks? If one needs capabilities that are predominately in class A or C then its a drawback for a class B device.

I've found that I need all three classes to get done what I need to do. When needing class B capabilities I find the Cheetah is very capable and has features that differentiate it from others. For example, someone above mentions, as a drawback, the proprietary triggers. Those triggers add capabilities not available with generic triggers. Same with Einstein, Profoto, Elinchrom, and others.

So, one person's drawback may be another's benefit. I happen to find the H mode enabled with the proprietary triggers a benefit.

Built in battery is a nice feature. It adds weight to the head, which makes them less useful in many situation. The only two units I know about right now with built in high performance batteries are the new Profoto B1 and the new Godox Ving V850.

^^^well put David.

LostArk wrote in post #16450746
- No TTL
- Must use proprietary radio triggers

Other than that it's a solid light with many advantages over speedlights. If you know you don't need TTL, I see no reason not to go for the Cheetah.

Thanks for your thoughts. could you elaborate its advantages over speedlights? Though I find TTL kinda important with lighting.

abbadon31 wrote in post #16451049
Been testing another branded version

Pro:
Portable/light/compact​/remote power settings/good output

Cons:
Price/needs adapters to use bigger modifiers/setup

This is just my opinion it may differ from others not here to start drama.
There are other options from different companies that can do the same thing with more power and less money. Not as compact in size but works just as good. Godox/Mettle/PCB/Jimbe​i/ ect.

Good point. It's a bit expensive and to maximize the unit you to purchase modifiers and add-ons.

sportmode wrote in post #16451058
Having a separate battery pack makes it less convenient. I wished the battery pack piggybacked on the flash.

Hello there! Is it? could you share to me your battery pack? and the flash you're using? how convenient it is then?

jcolman wrote in post #16451132
I prefer the separate battery pack as it makes the whole unit more balanced and much easier to carry while mounted on a light stand. I clamp the battery to the stand down low, which balances out the weight of the flash on top. When shooting e-sessions or receptions, I can easily grab the entire stand and carry it with one hand.

Point well taken. But have you tried using cheetah? any thoughts with its performance?

dmward wrote in post #16452197
The difficulty answer this sort of inquiry is that people begin listing cons that are more design choices than anything else.

The reality is that a product manager and design team have to establish a feature list, then design to the list. Sometimes compromises have to be made.

That's also why there are lots of options when one starts looking at xeon tube light sources.

There are, in my view, three classes of xeon flash units; A) speedlites, including both TTL and manual power control; B) Hybrid (my term) for Q Flash, Cheetah, Godox, etc. Bare bulb units; C) studio strobes, including monolights, pack/heads units.

The three classes have overlapping features, power ratings and to some extent size.

So, drawbacks? If one needs capabilities that are predominately in class A or C then its a drawback for a class B device.

I've found that I need all three classes to get done what I need to do. When needing class B capabilities I find the Cheetah is very capable and has features that differentiate it from others. For example, someone above mentions, as a drawback, the proprietary triggers. Those triggers add capabilities not available with generic triggers. Same with Einstein, Profoto, Elinchrom, and others.

So, one person's drawback may be another's benefit. I happen to find the H mode enabled with the proprietary triggers a benefit.

Built in battery is a nice feature. It adds weight to the head, which makes them less useful in many situation. The only two units I know about right now with built in high performance batteries are the new Profoto B1 and the new Godox Ving V850.

I agree with your thoughts however I find Profoto expensive. I hope its okay to view your outputs?