Photography

Usually, the psyche of people is used to seeing reflexes in the eyes of a round shape - the Sun. Therefore, round ones are more attractive. But you should choose according to the functionality, and not according to the shape of the lamp.

There’s no difference between round and rectangle flash heads other than some of the round heads have magnets in them making it easy to attach compatible accessories. This will depend on manufacturer of course.

Unless you're shooting straight on a wall in an otherwise dark room, you'll never notice the difference. You should literally ignore it for the purposes of purchasing. Pick the flash with the features and cost that make sense.

Do you mean the actually head , because for 50 plus years they are usually round or are you talking the soft boxes surrounding the strobes ..

Neither. Different applications with different pros and cons.

Anyone telling you a round head has higher 'quality' or softer light is at least kind enough to out themselves as an idiot, though. So there is one point for round heads.

Here is a decent write up on comparing them;

I like the quality of light from round flash heads better, but it's a minute difference besides the reflection. When using diffusers you won't be able to tell a difference if done right. Don't get into your head to much about it, especially when you're a beginner and just go with what your budget tells you.

It makes virtually no difference. The difference in surface area is minimal, so it won’t be noticeably softer and the catch lights in eyes won’t look any different at any normal viewing size.

Such a small difference between the two on camera should not be a deciding factor.

Flashes are fickle things so make sure you get one with a good manufacturers warranty, I buy the flashpoint units instead of the identical godox units just to get the warranty from flashpoint.

A round flash head produces a light patter like this: ( )

A rectangular flash head produces a flash pattern like this: [ ]

Both are fine and are only noticeable is your subject is very close to a background and even then not much.

Personally I prefer round in studio and standard for editorial stuff because the flash can “zoom” or create a narrower beam of light.

If I buy the round adapter is that the same thing or do I still need a round head flash ?

No. Is not better it’s the same.

If you’re comparing the godox v1 to the godox V860iii, in my experience and from the reviews, the v1 is much more durable than the v860iii. Don’t know what’s the issue with the v860 but they have a nasty habit of dying in a year to year and a half.

I have both and the light is basically the same unless you’re shooting a specific shot against a wall. The V1 does have a really handy magnetic attachment mechanism that lets you put gels and a diffuser on it super easily which is actually the main advantage.

The only reason I bought a round head for one of my Ad200pro strobes was for it to fit specific modifiers for a certain look I was going for. But honestly, most modifiers don't need a round head to work. And once you modify your light, the shape of your catchlight is determined by your softbox, umbrella etc.

round flash heads give a more pleasing catch light in the subject's eyes, while both shapes can look harsh without proper diffusion.

Not particularly - but there are a number of attachments designed specifically for round-headed flashes that can improve your shot.

Hmm

My favorite speedlight is the Godox V1. It's a round head. There are two things I like about it:

• The round head has a bigger diffusion surface, so the light is slightly softer than a conventional speedlight at close range. This could be easily fixed with a diffuser, but I use it off-camera 90% of the time and space can be tight.

• The round head has the magnetic accessory ring that i use constantly. If used with a grid, the projections around round, not weirdly rectangular.

Godox round heads have built in modelling lights. The V860III's modelling light is not in the flash head, so its less useful

Godox round heads are compatible with magnetic attachments, but for speedlights, rectangular heads are more versatile IMO. There are tons of accessories for rectangular flash heads and there are flash brackets that a round head won't fit into

Theoretically a round head with more surface area will create softer light than a rectangular head, but its too small to be a noticeable difference. I wouldn't recommend using flash without a modifier or bouncing it, so the head shape ends up being irrelevant to the light quality

A round head will provide a nicer looking catchlight, but that only matters if you're using it without bounce or modifiers

The advantage to having round heads is that you’ll get circular diffusion. Practically this means you have more manageable hotspots. For shoot-through softboxes, umbrellas etc. this does make lighting a bit easier.

It also means much better control for illuminating a background.

Welcome to flash photography! My photography took a ginormous leap forward when I truly learned how to use and control off camera flash.

If this is your very first flash, then my suggestion is to not worry at all about round vs. rectangle. Not important.

What is important is to really learn how to work with flash...how it impacts your setting choices, how to balance it with ambient light, how to use it to control the scene, create the shadows you want, highlight the subject in the way you want, etc.

My suggestion:

• get the cheapest flash that works with your camera. Look at Godox offerings for example.
• ignore TTL modes...instead keep the flash in manual and spend a good amount of time really truly learning how to balance the flash settings with the camera settings (endless YT tutorials available for free). Nothing wrong with TTL modes per se, just like there is nothing wrong with auto modes on the camera. But, when you really understand how to fully control the manual settings on both the camera and flash in order to get the photo you want by having this new found control over the light, you will find yourself with this confidence in shooting that can't be bought.
• The reason I say go with the cheapest one to learn on is because if you really do learn off camera flash, you WILL end up wanting to upgrade and expand. At that point is the point to start investigating the minutia of difference between flash features (such as round head vs rectangle). Also, at that point is when you say RIP Bank Account. lol

round flash heads tend to create more pleasing catchlights in the eyes, but both shapes can look harsh without diffusion. ultimately, the difference in size is unlikely to be noticeable in eye reflections.

I prefer octaboxes and beauty dishes hides

round reflectors will have a cone of light output and a rectangular reflector will have a bar of light output. Put a flash behind a diffuser and the light output will be the shape of that.

How will you be using the flash, close up, wide shots, zoom lens?

I shoot really wide and round heads sacrifice some coverage I'd need

I shoot really wide and round heads sacrifice some coverage I'd need

round reflectors will have a cone of light output and a rectangular reflector will have a bar of light output. Put a flash behind a diffuser and the light output will be the shape of that.

How will you be using the flash, close up, wide shots, zoom lens?