DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Air Gap Flash V1 Is A 16,000 Volts Flash “For The Masses”

Oct 21, 2013 by Udi Tirosh 8 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

One of our favorite makers, Maurice Ribble, who is the mind behind the wonderful CameraAxe high speed photography system just released what I think is the first in the world (or at least in the last 10 years) to-the-masses AirGap flash.

An AirGap strobe works differently than your typical hot shoe or monoblock. Your typical strobe ignites a Xenon bulb with about 300 volts of power. An AirGap strobe pours 16,000 volts into an air filled tube (yup, good old simple air).

So why would you want to use an AirGap flash? mostly because its light burst is super short. A regular strobe (at low power setting) will shoot a burst of light lasting about 1/25,000 of a second. This means that a bullet traveling at 1000 feet / second will be smeared over 1.4 inches. An AirGap flash pop will last 1/1,000,000 of a second practically freezing the bullet in mid air. Here is a comparison using a few different kinds of strobes trying to freeze a bullet mid air.

Air Gap Flash V1 Is A 16,000 Volts "For The Masses"

Or another shot comparing the crispness of glass breaking with two different strobes, a Xenon and an AirGap:

Air Gap Flash V1 Is A 16,000 Volts "For The Masses"

This video explains what the AirGap strobe is and gives a little intro on what it can do.

While Maurice has already built an AirGap strobe back in 2011 the design was not suitable for mass use.

Air Gap Flash V1 Is A 16,000 Volts "For The Masses"

The new design will be available to any dedicated shooter who can justify spending $2,000 on a low light output strobe. (you’d have to convince Maurice that you really, really want one). So this time around the strobe is well encased and protected.

Air Gap Flash V1 Is A 16,000 Volts "For The Masses"

Here are the internals, including one mean capacitor in the middle, not that you’d wanna open the box.

Air Gap Flash V1 Is A 16,000 Volts "For The Masses"

For full details head over to TechPhotoBlog.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailHigh Speed Air-Gap Flash Will Freeze A Bullet In Mid Air Yongnuo brings another cheap lens to the masses: a 50mm F1.4 Prime Lens Samsung is bringing cheap 4TB SSD drives to the masses Default ThumbnailThis Is Your Flash, This Is Your Flash On HSS (Strobes At 500,000 FPS)

Filed Under: Tutorials

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.net

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

« How To Effectively Pitch to Photography Clients
Build A $10 Smartphone To Microscope Stand »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Comica CVM-VM30 is the world’s first wireless shotgun mic
  • Everything you need to know about science/technology photography
  • How Fujifilm survived while Kodak didn’t
  • Use these two simple methods to remove skin shine from portraits
  • Improved Sun Moon Expert app gets you perfectly timed sun and moon photos

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy