General information
about flashbulbs
A flashbulb is a device which produces a lot of light as a result of the
combustion of material in an oxygen rich atmosphere contained within a glass envelope or
bulb. The combustible material can be magnesium, aluminium or zirconium.
A flashbulb can only be flashed once!
A small voltage from a dry cell battery (6v) will fire any electrically
activated flashbulb!
Flashbulbs were once the most popular source of light for photographers
until electronic flash units were perfected and mass-produced.
Flashbulbs still have certain advantages over other light sources:
1) They produce a "softer" light output with longer duration due
to the combustion characteristics. As the material ignites, the "fire" starts
slowly at first, producing low light output, increasing rapidly to a peak, then, declining
as rapidly as it rose, to low and zero light output. The duration of the light produced
can be from 4 milliseconds to 2 seconds, depending on the type and design of flash bulb.
This can help to produce photos with more definition with the use of smaller grain film
with smaller aperture settings.
2) Larger flashbulbs can produce more light than any portable electronic
flashgun and this can be useful if mains or grid electric power is not available to supply
electrically powered strobe lights or other types of lighting. Larger format architectural
photography or cave photography are typical applications for flashbulbs.
3) Flashbulbs can be very useful in destructive environments where more
expensive lighting systems might not be used due to the potential damage to these systems
during the event to be illuminated or "loads of light" is required in difficult
to light areas. A vehicle crash test or materials testing are examples of these
situations.
4) Flashbulbs provide a lot of light output which can be useful to high
speed photography applications where high frame per second speeds require high light
output to capture images of high speed events on film or electronic storage media.
Aircraft engine component testing or materials performance testing during explosions are
some of the applications for high light output flashbulbs.
If you need huge light output without the hassle of transporting and
setting up a lot of electronic flashguns and providing electric power, then flashbulbs
could be the answer to your light requirements.........have a look at our photo gallery to see a few........ |