Westcott’s FJ800 and FJ400 II Strobes Promise Powerful Light On Location

Westcott’s two new strobes offer full power flash in a compact, lightweight design for demanding on-location shoots.

Westcott unveiled the new FJ800 and FJ400 II strobes today — two compact yet powerful all-in-one flashes for location shoots and demanding field work. Both models are lightweight, wireless with long-lasting battery options, redesigned with initiative touchscreen controls, and should be able to handle any conditions thrown at them.

The FJ800 features an 800-watt-second strobe with a recycle time of 0.01 to 1.8 seconds and a nine-stop power range. It supports a high-speed sync of a 1/8,000 shutter speed but also includes a Freeze Mode that allows the flash head to reach an impressively quick 1/25,000s flash duration. The strobe is calibrated to 5,500 Kelvin and uses a self-monitoring cooling system to maintain performance while allowing the flash to keep going at full power.

The smaller FJ400 II is a 400-watt-second strobe that can still pack a punch on location. It has 0.01-0.9 second recycle time and can reach flash sync as fast as 1/24,000 using Freeze Mode. At 5.3 pounds (2.4 kilograms), it’s lighter than its bigger brother FJ800, which is about 7.5 pounds (3.4 kilograms), and shares many of the same features. It offers the same color performance, calibrated to 5,500 Kelvin, meaning it can pair well with the FJ800 or work great on its own.

The touchscreen on the FJ800 and FJ400 II makes controlling the light on location easy.

Both strobes feature a Bowens mount and Rapid Box Switch Insert, meaning they can work with Westcott’s entire line of light modifiers and many third-party modifiers. The bracket also includes a nine-millimeter mount for umbrellas.

Westcott released a number of accessories to accompany the FJ Strobe system. The strobes come with the FJ Pro AC/DC battery, rated for over 550 shots for the FJ400 II and 250 for the FJ800. There is also an optional FJ Max battery, which almost doubles the shooting capacity on a single charge, for 1000+ shots for the FJ400II and 550+ for the FJ800.

The FJ Pro and FJ Max batteries are optimized for working in the field.

Pricing and Availability

Several kit arrangements are available, including single strobe, 2-light kits with a travel bag or hard carrying case, and options with and without soft boxes and modifiers. Additionally, each of the strobes are available with a multi-brand trigger, or a Sony-specific trigger that uses Sony’s multi-interface shoe to send settings data between the camera and trigger.

The base FJ800 kit, with the strobe, Pro battery, reflector, frosted dome, a set of magnetic gels, and case is available now for $999. The base kit for the FJ400 II with the same accessories starts at $600.

Image credits: Westcott.