Based on the Fstoppers V1 review (Dylan Goldby, fstoppers.com). Covers what each button/dial does.
Jog Dial (4-way selector)
The dial doubles as a 4-way selector — press each direction to jump straight to that function without opening the menu:
| Press |
Function |
| Left |
Zoom |
| Right |
Flash power |
| Up/Down (context) |
Mode / Modeling light (exact mapping is context-sensitive — the screen labels what each press does at that moment) |
Changing power: press the left selector first to activate power-adjust mode, then turn the dial:
- Turning the dial = fine adjustment (1/3 or 1/10 stop, depending on your settings)
- Pressing up/down on the selector = jump in full stops
This two-step (press to activate, then turn) is deliberate — it stops you from accidentally bumping power while adjusting something else.
Modeling lamp: once activated, use the jog dial to set its output (10 power levels available).
Dedicated Menu Button
- Opens the full menu for less-frequent settings (distance units, beep on/off, custom adjustment levels, etc.)
- Most day-to-day shooting doesn't require the menu once beep and units are set — the 4-way selector covers zoom/power/mode/modeling light directly.
Power Switch
- Recessed, firmer action than older Godox units (V860II) — less accidental play, feels more secure in a bag or on a bracket.
Hotshoe Lock
- Push-button + quarter-turn mechanism (not the old spin-lock ring).
- Push the button, give it a quarter turn to lock/unlock — faster to mount/dismount, works fine even with sweaty/cold hands.
Head Tilt & Swivel
- Swivel action is dampened (quieter, smoother than V860II).
- Head tilts back further than most speedlights — useful for bounce flash without needing to spin the head 180°.
- (Note: article text says 7° back-tilt, but a reader correction in the comments states it's actually 7° down-tilt and up to 20° back-tilt — worth confirming against your own unit.)
Display
- Dot-matrix LCD, blue by default — readable in daylight.
- Turns orange automatically when the flash is in Slave/wireless-receiver mode — a quick visual check of which mode you're in without digging through menus.
- Buttons are context-sensitive: whatever a button currently does is shown on-screen next to it, so the same physical button can mean different things depending on where you are in the menu/dial system.
Magnetic Mount (front of head)
- Front of the head has built-in magnets for the Godox AK-R1 accessory kit (grids, gels, diffuser dome, bounce card, snoot, barn doors).
- Third-party magnetic systems (e.g. MagMod) do not fit — different mount geometry.
- Standard rectangular speedlight modifiers (e.g. SMDV Speedbox) won't fit the round head either.
Quick Behaviour Notes
- Built-in wireless: works as both commander (master) and slave/receiver in the Godox X-system. Transmission range approx. 100m.
- HSS: supported up to 1/8000 s shutter speed.
- Power range: 1/1 (full) to 1/256, adjustable in 1/10-stop increments.
- Zoom: auto-zooms to match your lens focal length (28–105mm), or set manually.
- Head movement: swivels 0–330° horizontally, tilts -7° to 120° vertically (i.e. slightly downward through fully upward/backward) for bounce flash.
- AF assist beam and modeling light (2W LED, ~3300K, 10 brightness levels) are both built in.
- Recycle time: approx. 1.5 seconds at full power — green LED lights up when ready to fire.
- Full-power flash count per charge: approx. 480.
- Power output: 76Ws (Canon version; broadly similar across mounts).
Flash Modes (ETTL / M / Multi)
Press MODE to cycle through the three core flash modes — each press shows the next mode on the LCD:
- E-TTL (auto): camera and flash jointly calculate exposure via a preflash fired the instant before the shutter opens. Supports FEC, FEB, FEL, HSS, and second-curtain sync (see below).
- M (Manual): you set flash output directly, from 1/1 down to 1/256 in 1/10-stop steps, via the dial. Best paired with a handheld light meter or trial-and-error/chimping for consistent results.
- Multi (stroboscopic): fires a rapid burst of flashes within one open shutter — used for freeze-motion/strobe-trail effects on a moving subject. You set the Hz (flashes per second) and Times (number of flashes); shutter speed must be at least (Times ÷ Hz) seconds, set manually on the camera. Not available at 1/1 or 1/2 power. Limit to 10 bursts in a row, then rest the flash 15 minutes to avoid overheating the head.
FEC / FEB / FEL (E-TTL exposure tools)
- FEC (Flash Exposure Compensation): dial the flash brighter/darker relative to the camera's TTL calculation, ±3 stops in 1/3-stop steps — useful for fine-tuning TTL rather than switching to full manual.
- FEB (Flash Exposure Bracketing): automatically fires three shots at different flash outputs (under/correct/over, ±3 stops) so you can pick the best exposure afterward. Cancels itself after 3 frames unless you disable that in C.Fn (FEB ACL).
- FEL (Flash Exposure Lock): locks flash exposure on a specific part of the scene (aim at subject, press the camera's FEL/* button) — handy when your subject isn't centred or the background would otherwise fool the meter.
High-Speed Sync & Second-Curtain Sync
- HSS (FP flash): lets the flash sync at any shutter speed (not just your camera's native max sync speed, typically 1/200–1/250) — useful for wide-aperture fill flash in bright light. The faster the shutter speed, the shorter the effective flash range. Overheat protection may kick in after 15 consecutive HSS flashes.
- Second-curtain sync: fires the flash right before the shutter closes instead of when it opens — creates trailing light streaks behind a moving subject at slow shutter speeds, rather than in front of it.
- Multi (stroboscopic) mode and HSS cannot be used at the same time.
Optical Slave (S1/S2) — no radio trigger needed
In Manual mode, press S1/S2 to let the V1 fire off the light of another flash (no radio link required):
- S1: fires in sync with any detected flash burst — use with a simple non-TTL master flash.
- S2: ignores the first ("pre") flash and fires only on the second, real flash — use when the master flash is a TTL unit that fires a preflash (otherwise S1 would trigger too early).
Battery & Power
- Li-ion battery, ~480 full-power flashes per charge, ~1.5 hour full recharge via USB, rated for 500 charge cycles.
- Battery level on screen: 3 bars = full, 2 = mid, 1 = low, blank = recharge soon, blinking = auto power-off in 1 minute.
- Auto power-off: as Transmitter, powers down after ~90 seconds idle (wake with a half-press of the shutter or any flash button); as Receiver, sleeps after 60 minutes idle by default (adjustable to 30 min via C.Fn RX STBY) — wake with any flash button.
- Recommended: disable auto power-off (C.Fn STBY) when using the flash purely off-camera, so it doesn't nod off mid-shoot.
Overheat / Protection Limits (know these before a long burst)
- Full power (1/1): max ~30 consecutive flashes, then rest 10 minutes.
- Lower power levels allow far more shots before protection kicks in (e.g. ~100 shots at 1/4 power, ~1000 at 1/64) — check the manual's full table if you're doing a long continuous-fire session.
- In HSS: protection may trigger after as few as 15 shots at full power (more at lower power).
- Error codes on screen: E1 = recycle failure (restart the flash), E2 = overheated (rest 10 min), E3 = internal voltage fault (needs servicing), E9 = firmware upgrade error.
Menu Functions (C.Fn — Custom Functions)
Press MENU repeatedly until "C.Fn" is shown, then use the dial and Set button to move through settings:
- Turn the dial to pick a Custom Function number.
- Press Set — the current setting number blinks.
- Turn the dial to change it, then press Set again to confirm.
- Press MENU to exit and the flash is ready to shoot.
- To reset all C.Fn values to default: long-press CLEAR for 2 seconds until "OK" shows.
| # |
Function |
What it controls |
Options |
| 1 |
m/ft |
Distance-scale units shown on screen |
m / ft |
| 2 |
AF |
AF-assist beam (helps camera focus in low light) |
ON / OFF |
| 3 |
STBY |
Auto sleep (flash powers down after inactivity) |
ON / OFF |
| 4 |
RX STBY |
Auto power-off timer when flash is in Receiver/slave mode |
60 min / 30 min / OFF |
| 5 |
SCAN |
Scans for a clear/spare wireless channel |
START (triggers the scan) |
| 6 |
CH |
Wireless channel (must match between transmitter and receiver) |
01–32 |
| 7 |
ID |
Wireless ID (extra layer of channel isolation — avoids cross-firing with other photographers' Godox gear) |
OFF, or 01–99 |
| 8 |
BEEP |
Confirmation beep on button presses/ready |
ON / OFF |
| 9 |
LIGHT |
LCD backlight behaviour |
Off after 12 sec / Always off / Always on |
| 10 |
LCD |
LCD screen contrast |
7 levels (-3 to +3) |
| 11 |
FEB ACL |
Auto-cancel of Flash Exposure Bracketing after use |
ON / OFF |
| 12 |
TX |
Whether the on-camera (transmitter) flash fires its own main flash, or only fires a preflash to trigger the off-camera units |
ON (fires normally) / OFF (transmitter contributes no light — only receivers fire) |
Useful one to know: setting TX to OFF is how you use the V1 purely as a wireless trigger with the on-camera flash contributing zero light to the shot — handy when you want light only from off-camera units.
Wireless Master/Receiver Menu (separate from C.Fn)
This is set from the flash's normal control panel, not inside the C.Fn menu:
- Mode button (labelled with a "zigzag" icon): press once to set the flash to Master/Transmitter (on-camera, controls other flashes wirelessly); press again to set it to Slave/Receiver (off-camera, triggered wirelessly) — screen turns orange in Receiver mode.
- Channel (CH): must match between the transmitter and every receiver, or they won't communicate — set via the dial the same way as above.
- Group (A/B/C/D/E): press the button under each group letter to turn that group's transmission on/off from the transmitter, and set the matching receiver to the same group letter. Don't assign two off-camera flashes to the same group — the second one will shut itself off.
- TTL/M toggle: press Mode to cycle between TTL and Manual for the master or for each group; in Manual, use the dial to set power level.
Sources: Fstoppers — Round Heads are All the Rage: Reviewing the Godox V1; Godox V1C Instruction Manual (Flash Modes, HSS, Multi, Battery, C.Fn, Wireless Settings, and Protection Function/Technical Data sections); Kelley Hoagland Photography — How to Use the Godox V1 Flash
Note: the manual referenced above is for the Canon-mount V1C; button labels and a few spec numbers (e.g. exact power in Ws) can vary slightly by mount (V1N/V1S/V1F/etc.), though the menu structure and functions are the same across versions.