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Vela Lab’s Uber High Speed Flash Aims To Freeze Bullets In Mid Air

Nov 25, 2014 by Mitch Highman 6 Comments

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Vela One
Vela Labs developed an LED flash with speeds of up to 1 /2,000,000 of a second – the Vela One. This means that the Vela One is fast enough to stop a bullet in flight.

Vela Labs CEO, Matt Kane, told us that such a fast speed is obtained by using ultra-high flux COB LEDs, and overdriving them. My first question was how exactly can you push an LED so brutally and not damage it. Matt explained that the massive currents are delivered in very short pulses and do not damage or shorten the life of the unit. 

Vela One Front/Back

Vela One Front/Back

And you definitely do not want to damage the unit… its beautiful! Its powder-coated aluminum chassis has 9 ultra-bright LEDs behind a debris-resistant polycarbonate screen. Here is their kickstarter pitch:

More specs on Vela One

Vela One Specs

Vela One Specs

High speed photography is not an easy task and takes power. A speedlight can fire at 1/20,000 second and that can stop the motion of a water droplet or balloon popping, but a bullet would still smear.

Speedlight Vs Vela One

Speedlight Vs Vela One

We have seen other uber high speed flashes like the Air Gap Flash V1 – it uses AC power and it’s quite big. Vela One runs on 4AA batteries and according to Vela Labs, will run all day with recycle times less than a millisecond! This comparison should help you make sense of the differences. comparison

Wondered what 1/2,000,000 means, here are some sample shots:

backlit-800

Looking at the Vela One as it backlights

bulb-800

Lightbulb & Bullet

bulb-strobe-800

Lightbulb & Bullet

grape-800

Grape

tomato-800

Tomato

This is a pretty interesting offer from Vela Labs as Previous offerings of High Speed flash were about $2,000 and could probably stop your heart is used incorrectly – early bird prices start from £450 (around $700), with full Kickstarter price £550 (around $860).

[Vela One at kickstarter]

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Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: air gap, high speed photography, kickstarter, vela one

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Alex 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

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John 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.

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