New flashbulb shipment, unexpected find.

[mopar_guy]

If it's too dark, you can always use more bulbs:

http://zeropoint.six-something.org/v04/unsorted/b-c_flash.jpg

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

If it's too dark, you can always use more bulbs:

http://zeropoint.six-something.org/v04/unsorted/b-c_flash.jpg

THAT is BAD-ASS!!



You could cook eggs at 20-feet!

Ken

 

[brianmquinn]

Stone NYC, I have thousands of flashbulbs (actually 10s of thousands). It is not hard to tell them apart and use them well if you just a pay LITTLE attention. You said you do not use them so don't make a statement that would lead others to think that flashbulbs are difficult or unreliable. They are neither.

 

[StoneNYC]

If it's too dark, you can always use more bulbs:

http://zeropoint.six-something.org/v04/unsorted/b-c_flash.jpg

On movie sets, sometimes they use something like that to simulate flashes in press scenes...

 

[AgX]

Be sure to use condensor ignition for such set-up.

 

[mopar_guy]

I stole that link from this thread:

http://graflex.org/helpboard/viewtopic.php?t=2686

 

[PCGraflex]

Stone NYC, I have thousands of flashbulbs (actually 10s of thousands). It is not hard to tell them apart and use them well if you just a pay LITTLE attention. You said you do not use them so don't make a statement that would lead others to think that flashbulbs are difficult or unreliable. They are neither.

X2.
I think are very easy to use, solve lot's of lighting problems and the gizmo factor is what I like most about them.


"I have thousands of flashbulbs (actually 10s of thousands). "

Another hoarder. Nice!!!

 

[StoneNYC]

X2.
I think are very easy to use, solve lot's of lighting problems and the gizmo factor is what I like most about them.


"I have thousands of flashbulbs (actually 10s of thousands). "

Another hoarder. Nice!!!

Sorry guys, since I'm unfamiliar with the sizes and none of the bulbs I own fit in the lamps I own, I find it difficult and confusing, plus of course not having thousands of them (or the space to store thousands) I personally find it all daunting, but that's not to say it is or would be. It's just like LF photography, at first it seems so daunting until you start to "get it" and understand what the lens names mean. Etc.

Perhaps someday I'll get the right lamps( I mean reflector dish and camera attachment).

 

[bvy]

I have 2 cases of #22 bulbs, they work great in a 7" reflector with Arista Ortho Litho film when shooting at 6-12 ASA

I'm intrigued. Do you have any examples of this work? Details on shooting and processing?

 

[railwayman3]

I used plenty of small flashbulbs (and even flashcubes) back in the day, and still have a good stock of them. But I've always thought that the huge flashbulbs looked a bit scary.

 

[OptiKen]

I sort of match the flash to the camera so older cameras still use the flash bulbs in my house.
I don't use flash very often but it is sort of fun 'blinding' people after the shot. Most people today have no idea of how intense the flash from a bulb is.
Use a strobe and it is hardly noticed. Use a bulb and you are seeing a big black hole in the center of your vision for a while

 

[wastelanded]

I'm not the OP, but I'll give some reasons from personal experience...

First, the quality of the light is markedly different. This is primarily because of the much longer "burn" time of bulbs. At the shutter speed you choose you get the same exposure effect as natural sunlight because the light is present during the entire time the shutter is open. What you don't get is the strobe effect of ultra-high-speed xenon flashtubes producing maximum, clinical sharpness at 1/10,000-second bursts of light. Click (there was a url link here which no longer exists) for an example of that maximum sharpness. The platform was in free fall at the moment of exposure. Such sharpness is appropriate for some subjects, but not for all.

Second, using bulbs allows you to vary the GNs by varying the shutter speed. The higher the shutter speed, the lower the GN, because of the lower slice of the total bulb output that is caught on the film. Electronic flashes which implement a "power ratio" feature can simulate that same performance. But not all units have this feature.

Third, the output from portable bulbs is generally higher, and in most cases much higher, than portable electronic flash units. Studio lighting trumps this, but with all of the disadvantages of equipment bulk and weight. The lowly Sylvania Press 25 and its cousins are rated by various manufacturers between GN 200-240 (tungsten, in feet) for 1/100-second shutter speeds at ASA 100. This surpasses just about all portable electronic units, including the monster Sunpak 622 Super handle-mount. (Rated by Sunpak at GN 200, but like almost all portable electronic units is actually a little less than that in the real world.)

Fourth, when paired with older (antique?) cameras, bulbs affect almost total compliance from potential subjects. Most have never seen them, let alone seen them work, let alone been photographed by someone using them. It's like an amazingly alien magic trick to most. I always reward my subjects with the offer of either a scan or print, AND the used bulb popped from its reflector (after it cools). I suspect many are more interested in the burned bulb than the photograph it made possible. Go figure...

Fifth, and not least important, the display and use of ultra-cool vintage flashbulbs and equipment is a highly effective chick magnet. Mostly because the guys are way too embarrassed to admit their ignorance about them. And the girls are often genuinely curious, and not afraid in the least to just walk right up and ask questions.



Ken

Wish there was a Like or Thanks button on this board.