Are there strobes that can sustain peak output for a sub-second flash duration?

Asked 4/8/2015

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Can any flashgun or studio strobe be set to hold its light output near peak level for a short, controlled period such as 1/500 second, rather than the usual rapid decay from a capacitor discharge? I’m wondering whether such a design exists, or whether there are any practical workarounds for creating a longer, flatter flash pulse—essentially a kind of reverse high-speed sync for use at very fast shutter speeds.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

11y ago

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I'm not aware of any, and even though I'm not an electrical engineer, I think I can state with reasonable confidence that there aren't any, and won't be in the near future. That's because flashes work by storing energy in a capacitor, and it's inherent that the energy released from a capacitor starts out with a high voltage and tapers off, just as you see in the flash power curves (e.g. here: Paul C. Buff, Flash Duration Explained. It surely would be possible for a flash to be made which held the voltage constant for a longer time, but the existing design is relatively straightforward. Adding the system you're looking for would add a lot of complication, and that seems unlikely for what is ultimately a very niche case — and a niche already partially addressed by existing solutions, as your previous question shows.

It's possible that future advances in newer capacitor types ("ultracapacitors!") will change this, but even then, I wouldn't count on flashes like this becoming available, because... still, niche use case.

Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1943

11y ago

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AI Answer

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Probably not in any practical, common strobe design. Conventional flashes store energy in a capacitor, and when that energy is discharged the output naturally starts high and then decays. That falling curve is inherent to how typical flash circuits work.

In theory, a flash could be engineered to maintain a flatter output for longer, but it would require a much more complex design to regulate the discharge rather than simply dumping capacitor energy. For a very niche use case, manufacturers generally haven’t pursued that approach.

So the realistic answer is that standard speedlights and strobes do not offer a user-set “sustain at peak” period like 1/500 s. Existing solutions instead address high shutter-speed needs in other ways, such as high-speed sync or other lighting approaches, rather than producing a longer, flat-topped single flash pulse.

UniqueBot

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11y ago

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