Godox iM22 review: shine your little light

Godox has been going great guns when it comes to flash. I’ve relied almost entirely on a pair of Godox Ving V860III flashguns with my Nikon Z system cameras for the last couple of years, complete with a Godox XPro i-TTL RF wireless trigger, and they’ve never let me down.

I’m also quite taken with the Godox V1, Godox V1 Pro and Godox V100 flashguns, all of which feature a round rather than rectangular flash tube. Godox has proved itself as a maker of some of the best and most cost-effective flashguns on the market.

The iM22 pare everything back to the bone, aiming to keep the build as small and lightweight as possible. Hardly any of my recent mirrorless cameras feature a pop-up flash, and the tiny iM22 aims to be a pop-on substitute. It has a universal fitting that enables it to work in the hot shoe of the vast majority of cameras past and present, but as such is a purely manual affair.

Godox iM22: Specifications

Godox iM22: Price

Up-market, dedicated flashguns from Camera manufacturers can be notoriously pricey. Similarly powerful and feature-rich independents can be relatively affordable, like the Godox Ving V860III at around $209 / £179 / AU$295, but that’s still quite a price to pay, and it’s typically bulky. The Godox iM22 is a real featherweight in terms of build and price tag, selling for just $34 / £32 / AU$80. Sure, it’s relatively lacking in fancy features and lacks dedication, but it could still be a steal at the price.

Godox iM22: Design & Handling

Pop-up flash modules tend to get the cold shoulder from many expert photographers. Perhaps they’re a dying breed (pop-up flashes, not expert photographers), as they only seem to adorn a few up-market mirrorless cameras these days. I’m actually quite a fan of pop-up flash, as I’ve found it useful for filling in shadows when I’m taking portraits on a sunny day, or if I’m after a bit of additional illumination when ambient lighting goes to the dark side.

The iM22 is designed with compactness and lightweight in mind. It measures just 40x57x22mm (1.6x2.2x0.9") and weighs a mere 34g (1.2oz). Ultimately, it’s less than an inch thick and is barely more than a single ounce in weight. I can’t say that about many flash guns! It conveniently slips into a spare pocket for carrying around, and slots into my camera’s hot shoe when I need it, without even needing to clamp in place. It’s nothing if not quick and easy.

To be fair, the iM22 is only half the story. Godox launched two very similar mini-flashes at the same time, the iM20 partnering with the iM22. Both have the same essential components but the iM22 is designed to be taller and thinner. It’s a little better suited to use with physically longer lenses and can be ever so marginally better for avoiding red-eye in portraiture.

There’s no room for even a pair of AAA batteries, so the iM22 runs on an internal, rechargeable Li-ion battery. You charge the battery via a USB-C port, and a charging cable is supplied (but not a mains charger). A completely flat battery takes about 70 minutes to fully charge, after which it should be good for about 440 full-power flashes. You’ll get many more flashes if you can stick to the lower end of the power range.

The power range itself is delivered in five steps, decreasing in 1EV increments from maximum output down to 1/16^th power. There’s no light-sensitive cell to enable automatic flash metering and as it’s not a ‘dedicated’ flash, TTL (Through The Lens) flash metering is also off the menu. You basically just set the power level manually, using +/- keys on the back of the flash.

The iM22 is designed to be universal, fitting into the hot shoe of the vast majority of cameras. With that in mind, it only has a solitary, central electronic connection pin in its mounting foot, for triggering the flash. As with most things in life, there are some cameras that don’t have a standard hot shoe, but an adapter is usually available for these.

Godox iM22: Performance

You wouldn’t expect a moped to have the same kind of grunt as a hot rod and Godox doesn’t actually state a Gn (Guide number) for the maximum power of the iM22. I tested it with a Sekonic Flashmate L-308X / L-308X-U light meter and was reasonably impressed that the maximum output was Gn 5.6 / 18 (ISO 100, m / ft). That’s roughly the same as I get from the pop-up flash in the likes of a Nikon Z50II or Canon EOS R50.

In a nutshell, the iM22 is ideally suited to supplementing ambient indoor or outdoor lighting with a little fill-in flash, rather than acting as the main light source. That’s how I’d use it, bumping up my camera’s ISO setting as necessary to get a well-balanced net result. When using the iM22 on its own, I found that reducing the power output one step at a time gave an accurate and consistent 1EV drop each time. The only exception was when switching to the very lowest setting. At 1/60^th of a second and ISO 100, and shooting at a distance of one meter, I needed aperture ratings of f/5.6 at maximum power, dropping down through f/4, f/2.8, f/2 and finally to f/1.7 at the lowest end of the scale.

Actual image quality when using the flash as a predominant light source has an old-school look to it. The flash fires from fairly low above the camera, straight on at the subject. That gives precious little modelling and results in fairly flat, two-dimensional looking images. Objects with shiny, reflective surfaces also bounce the flash straight back at the camera, which can result in a lot of glare. When I have the choice, I tend to bounce flash off a ceiling or wall to soften the effect but that’s not possible in this case. The fixed head has no bounce or swivel facility and there’s not really enough power for effective bounce flash.

You can get a more 3D look to images by using the flash off-camera. One option is to spend the big bucks on a wireless trigger and receiver setup. A better idea that’s more in keeping with the ethos and price of the iM22 is to use an old-fashioned remote flash cord, to link the flash to the camera’s hot shoe.

I also found that when using the iM22 as the main light source in fairly dark or indoor surroundings, I’d need to switch to manual and set an exposure of, for example, 1/60^th of second at f/5.6. That can give a black preview in the viewfinder or rear screen of a mirrorless camera, so you need to disable the live exposure preview function. Again, that’s because the iM22 isn’t a ‘dedicated’ flashgun. It’s an extra step in the process but not a deal-breaker.

The color temperature is pretty consistent throughout the power range but, again, with the camera not knowing that a flash is in use, it can pay to switch to the Flash white balance setting if you’re using the iM22 as your main lighting source, rather than just for a bit of fill-in flash.

I hate missing important shots because my flash is still recovering from the precious shot, so recycle speeds are an important facet of overall performance. Recycling times are almost instantaneous at the lowest 1/16 and 1/8 settings. In my tests, they rose to 0.6 seconds after a ¼ power flash, 1.4 seconds after a ½ power flash and 2.5 seconds after a full-power flash. Overall, recycle speeds are pretty average but not at all bad for such a small flashgun.

Godox iM22: Lab Results

We test all available features for each flashgun that goes through out labs. To test power output, we used a Sekonic flash meter placed at a distance of one meter from each flashgun. We check the complete range of manual power settings, in one-stop increments. Based on a sensitivity of ISO 100, the figures correlate directly with the Gn (Guide number) in meters. The results are double-checked by taking shots of a gray card with the appropriate lens apertures and using the camera’s histogram display in playback mode. This is done for flash zoom settings of 24mm, 50mm and 105mm (in full-frame terms), where available.

We also check the accuracy and consistency of electronic/intelligent TTL (Through The Lens) flash metering, where featured, and the speed with which each flashgun can recycle to a state of readiness after a full-power flash, using both Ni-MH and alkaline cells, or a Li-ion power pack where supplied.

Power output:

Maximum power output is modest to say the least but bear in mind that many top-end flashguns with a maximum power rating of, say, Gn 60, only provide this much power at their longest zoom setting and may drop to around Gn 25 at their shortest zoom length, more equivalent to the fixed length of the iM22. Even so, the tiny iM20 is a lot less powerful.

Recycle speed:

I’ve come to expect flashguns that run on a Li-ion battery rather than alkaline or Ni-MH AA batteries to have very fast recycling speeds. The time taken by the iM22 isn’t overly quick, considering the relatively low maximum output power, but it’s no slouch.

Godox iM22: Verdict

I like that I can reach into my pocket and pull out the tiny, featherweight Godox iM22, for instant ‘available light’. It neatly takes the place of a pop-flash that’s so often absent from modern mirrorless cameras. This little flash is quick and easy to use and great for adding a bit of fill-flash under tricky lighting conditions. Sure, it doesn’t have a huge maximum power rating and lacks any dedication or automatic flash metering, but it keeps things small and simple.

Alternatives

The Godox iM20 came to the market at the same time as the iM22. They both have the same internals and control system, and cost the same price, but the iM20 is shorter and more squat in shape.

The Godox iA32 was also launched around the same time as the iM20 but is a more sophisticated flash that includes a bounce head with greater maximum power, optical dual-mode slave functions and auto flash exposure, albeit with basic rather than TTL flash metering. Again, it’s a ‘universal’ fit and costs around $50 / £47 / AU$112.