Godox Ving V850 and the Godox AD-360 Barebulb Flash (Cheetah Lights) - Initial Impression

My first day with the V850s

I must admit when I first started out with photography, I was afraid of flash because a) it really seemed complicated to use b) the first speedlight I had was confusing as heck to operate and c) I didn't have a grasp of the exposure triangle.  I think the biggest deterrent for me was the fact that my first flash, an all manual Sunpak auto 422 Thyristor, had all these sliders that made no sense to me.  The unit was not user friendly.   Fast forward several years, I opted to get the Olympus fl-600r for its TTL (through the lens) metering. For those who are not aware, it's like setting your flash to auto mode where the flash determines the output strength through a pre-flash and/or from the camera's metering system.  As I have mentioned in my previous post, I obsess over understanding how to use things manually and having something other than my brain determine the settings bugged me beyond all recognition.   So you guessed it, I shot adjusting the power myself.  After spending a couple of years with the flash, I can say that it is a great tool with some shortcomings. See below for a list of my personal pros and cons of the Olympus fl-600r:

Pro:
1. Compact - a great complement to my OMD E-M5 and currently the E-M1
2. Has TTL and TTL-FP mode (essentially high speed sync)
3. Built very well and feels like a quality product
4. Great Slave mode for studio work (Still has TTL mode when set off by another flash)
5. Ability to control the power from the camera
6. Syncs perfectly with the E-M1 at 1/250th of a second in manaul mode and 1/200th of a second in TTL

Cons:
1. Optical Slave does not work well in bright sunny days
2. Abysmal recharge rate from half to full power.  This gets worse as the battery start to drain
3. True guide number in the mid 30s at ISO 100.
4. Takes AA batteries.  OH How I HATE AA BATTERIES 

From Left to Right - The Godox AD-360, Godox Ving V850,
Olympus fl-600r and my first flash, the Sunpak auto 422 Thyristor