Read-only discussion
I have often wondered why, when we use a device that emits a controlled burst of light in "above water" photography, we call it a flash (or a flash gun?) and yet we call it a strobe when we take it underwater. Apart from the waterproofing, is there any significant difference between the devices?
Any thoughts?
If we take a normal flash unit and but it in a housing and take it underwater, does it then become a strobe?
Regards
Peter
As far as I know, the word "strobe" is used in pro photo studios to describe a flash. It could well be that the use of that word for underwater photography came from that, at a time when this activity was left mostly to pros.
actually... only brits call it a flash gun..
us N Americans think you lot talk funny....
A strobe is an electronic flash. So all of today's flashes are strobes.
It case you are too young to remember, flashes used to come from bulbs. We used to love the sound of bulbs flashing, even more than popping bubble wrap.
And yet it's you N Americans with the speech impediment !us N Americans think you lot talk funny....
The reason it gets called a strobe underwater I would have said is mostly to do with Branding. the Nikonos SubStrobe ? meaning sub marine strobe.
As most UW photographers had to use Nikon in the past they picked up terms fromthe Nikon branding like this Strobe business. And it stuck.
Yes you can call it either a strobe or a flash gun .. either is fine. And if you ever read blurb about Nikon or Canon Strobes/Flashes they call them speedlights !
oi oi oi....
at least us canucks know when to use a U..
lets make fun of yanks now....
at least us canucks know when to use a U..
lets make fun of yanks now....
People who wear hats with ear flaps are not allowed to make fun of other people.
IMHO, strobes are electronic resusable light bulbs that make flashes, flashbulbs are single use light bulbs that make flashes. Flash is what comes out of either, but it's also a somewhat generic/amateurish term for either.
real men use flash rafts:
nice one rogerC...do you know if there are digital ones available
People who wear hats with ear flaps are not allowed to make fun of other people.
Red Green is my cousin...
It case you are too young to remember, flashes used to come from bulbs. We used to love the sound of bulbs flashing, even more than popping bubble wrap.
Unfortunately not too young.
My father used flash bulbs. One pop each. You had to pop them out using a button at the back and, if you grabbed them too quickly, they burned your fingers, something I learned the hard way as a kid...
Then he upgraded to one of the earliest electronic flashes. I experimented to see what would happen if you held it to your eye and test fired it. Saw a huge green blob in the sky for the next few days...
Regards
Peter
............. the Nikonos SubStrobe ? meaning sub marine strobe........................
fwiw, it was told to me that Ike Brigham (Ikelite) coined the phrase "Substrobe".
Maybe Ike could confirm..........
Hi,
"Strobe" is the term used for when trying sound profesional to impress ladies , or newbies.
Cheers,
Hi,
"Strobe" is the term used for when trying sound profesional to impress ladies
Cheers,
Until I started underwater photography, I always thought that "strobes" were those flashing lights used in scientific labs to stop motion and in discos to give you a headache...
Regards
Peter
It's a "strobe" because it's a very short-lived burst of electrically generated light. You don't HAVE to stck to one at a time (look at what happens when you use a compact with pre-flashes: an INON strobe tracks each flash)... but usually do, to increase power and get away with small batteries (look at a pros power packs sometime).
Oh, and all humans like to use impenetrable and exclusive jargon: isn't that what Wetpixel is for?
Tim
B)
May I suggest you Google Harold Edgerton, aka "Papa Flash" ?
He invented quite a bit of good stuff for undersea exploration & photography.
Iconic images of milk drops, golf swings, bullets breaking glass all captured with high-speed strobe light.
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~psyc351/Images...ertonBullet.jpg
http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/edgerton.html
A stroboscope uses very rapid flashes to "freeze motion" of machinery.
Another application is for tuning automobiles.
AFAIK, the first commercially available electronic flash was the Honeywell Strobonar.
A rather cool potato masher design. That, plus a Rolleiflex TLR was all the rage in the 1960s.
If you want to see what can be done with a "flash bulb" look up Weegee or O. Winston Link.
The first artifical light assisted underwater photographs used magnesium powder.
To clarify this issue once and for all 
FLASH means "Federal Alliance for Safe Homes" (see www.flash.org)
and STROBE means "STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology" (see www.strobe-statement.org)
For those wondering about the meaning of "speedlight" ... it's jargon for dives between 100 and 150ft that simulate the effect of a low dose of mind-altering-substances. Deeper dives are referred to as "godspeed" (in some circles the term stupidity is also used)
Bart
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