Modern camera flashes and studio strobes generally do not use LEDs for the main flash burst. They typically use a gas-discharge flash tube—commonly a xenon tube. This is a sealed glass tube with electrodes at each end and gas inside. A high voltage ionizes the gas, creating a very bright arc of light for a very short duration.

This design is well suited to flash photography because it can release a large amount of light almost instantly. Flash tubes are also made to produce light close to daylight-balanced white, and they may include coatings to reduce unwanted UV output.

So while LEDs are common for continuous lighting and sometimes for modeling lights or video lights, the main light source in most modern photographic flashes is still a xenon flash tube rather than an LED.