Last Updated 12th November 2023

While undoubtedly not the most exciting bit of photographic equipment, nor one with specs that anyone is ever likely to geek-out on, lighting stands and mounting clamps are nonetheless an essential consideration for anyone putting together a photographic lighting system for either studio or location work. And although most stands may superficially look the same, small variations in design and manufacturing can make a big difference to their performance in the field.

Unfortunately, with inferior stands, these are often the kinds of differences you only find out about once it’s too late, and your expensive lights lie broken on the floor. Thankfully though, Godox offer a broad selection of sturdy, well-made stands that are up to the punishment of daily professional use and will keep your valuable equipment positioned firmly on its feet.

Standard Light Stand

Available in a variety of measurements, this air-cushioned aluminium light stand provides a sturdy but lightweight solution for most shooting situations.

Heavy Duty Light Stand

The Godox Heavy Duty Light Stand will prove indispensable when working with bigger lights or when shooting outdoors in windy conditions. Made from strong but lightweight aluminium.

Heavy Duty Roller Stand - SA5045

The four sections of this Godox SA5045 heavy-duty roller stand give it an operating range from a compact 146 cm to an impressive 450 cm. It can support up to 40 kilograms of lighting equipment at any height. It has a folding base, and the wheels tuck inwards for easy storage and to make it more compact when transporting it between assignments. Its steel construction and clever design provide sturdy support for heavy strobe lights and large modifiers. Even though this steel stand extends to 4.5 metres, its weight is only 16.2 kilograms, making it solid but portable.

With an adjustable levelling leg, this stand remains upright on uneven ground, stairs, or tight spaces. For added flexibility, lighting equipment can be mounted vertically or horizontally on the frame. Even when fully loaded, this stand has enough stability to roll smoothly upon its wheels. The wheels can be locked when in position to provide further steadiness and security.

The SA5045 roller stand from Godox has a combo/universal head that makes it a general-purpose device for supporting all types of photographic equipment, such as strobes, speedlights, and backdrops. The incredible height available from this stand offers opportunities for diverse lighting angles.

Heavy Duty Roller Stand - SA5015

If you have a strobe light, you must have a suitable light stand to keep it secure and to ensure your safety. The heavier the strobe is, the more robust the stand has to be. Production sets for professional filmmakers and videographers require large lights; therefore, they need heavy-duty stands. The Godox SA5015 is a heavy-duty steel stand that reaches 168 cm high. Its three sturdy wheels support a folding base that can hold up to 40 kg. One leg is adjustable to ensure stability on uneven terrain or stairs, and the wheels can be locked for extra security.

Even though this stand is made from steel, it weighs only 10.4 kilograms. The base will fold for easy storage and transport. It has a retractable pin that can be tilted 90 degrees to allow the gear to be mounted vertically and horizontally. This heavy-duty stand is recommended for heavy lights like the KNOWLED Bi-colour LED MG1200Bi and large modifiers such as Parabolic light focusing systems.

C-Stand

C-Stands offer an extra degree of stability when compared to regular lighting stands. For this reason, they are the default stands in most professional photography studios the world over. C-Stands are not only for studio work though; despite their extra weight, they can be highly advantageous to use even on location.

Planning on using a big softbox? With a boom arm? Outdoors? In high wind? The only safe solution would be a C-Stand and a couple of sandbags for ballast.

S-Type Bracket

The S-Type Bracket is a patented bit of Godox innovation that allows speedlite users access to all the advantages of a Bowen’s mount; namely the kind of pro-level modifiers and accessories that are normally only available to owners of larger studio lights. Just clamp the head of your speedlite into the bracket, and you can now make use of any Bowen’s-compatible modifier such as an umbrella or softbox.

Aside from permitting the use of a greater range of accessories, though, the S-Bracket is simply a much more secure way of mounting a speedlite on a stand, bypassing as it does the weakest point of any speedlite; the hot shoe.

S2 Bracket

An updated version of the S-Type Bracket (above), the S2 is weightier and sturdier than the first iteration and features an improved mounting grip that will now also accept round flash heads such as the V1.

What’s more, the S2 comes with a more convenient handle for adjusting the angle of the bracket on a light stand, and the mount itself is now made of metal and will permit horizontal positioning on the stand. There’s an improvement to the umbrella mount too, as this now features a slide-in auto-locking mechanism that makes the umbrella much more stable when in use.