flashtubes usually have a 100 to 200K tolerance, even when voltages vary while
units are plugged into a household circuit. Uncoated, less expensive tubes are
closer to 5600K or higher.
The temperature variance is rarely noted by manufacturers and is more ram-
pant in non-multivoltage flash units, as the voltage supplying the electricity to
the capacitors changes by the second. The voltage supplied to the capacitors
in a flash head is more stabilized, or regulated, with higher-end units, especially
those that work from 110 to 240 volts, or multivoltage flash units.
The flashtube tolerances and temperatures, as well as temperature variances
and durability over time, also depend on where the flash was manufactured.
All flashtubes will eventually fail. The average life span of a tube depends on
many factors, including the ambient operational temperature relative to the
modeling lamp type (wattage), the amount of flash energy used, and how
often the flash is triggered in sequence.
I served proudly in the U.S. Army for eight-plus years. I served eight more
years as a civil servant in the U.S. Air Force, and I consider myself a true pa-
triot. I do my best to buy American, but I buy and use what I think works best,
and sometimes it comes from overseas. (Note: Many “manufactured in the
U.S.A.” flash units are assembled in America from foreign parts. Federal Trade
Commission guidelines allow manufacturers to claim that such products are
“Manufactured in the U.S.A.” This does not mean that the product and all of
its component parts were made in the United States. Some manufacturers will
skirt the “made” issue by purchasing parts from U.S. distributors, though
many internal capacitors and even the flashtubes they drive are not made in the
United States. My point here is, don’t be swayed into thinking you must buy
one brand over the other one to be a patriot, regardless of your ethnic roots
and where you live in this world.)
Speaking of manufacturing, the way the tube is sealed will impact the life
span of your flash. Some tubes use epoxy, some use a glass-type solder (fused
quartz), and some use the glass itself to seal the highly-pressurized gases inside
of the tube. Over time, heat and other factors, such as banging your equip-
ment around, can cause these tubes to leak, and you will need to replace them.
The old adage, “you get what you pay for” applies here. If you go for the
cheaper options, you get cheap tubes.LIGHTING BASICS 33LIGHTING BRANDS
The bottom line is, you get
what you pay for. The better
the light, the more accurately,
efficiently, and effectively you’ll
work. Don’t be mislead by mar-
keting; do your research. It’s
the most important decision
you’ll make in photography.
GOOD LIGHTING
Novatron
Impact
Interfit/Paterson
White Lightning
Multiblitz
JTL
Britek
SP-Systems
Smith-Victor
Sunpak
BETTER LIGHTING
Dynalite
Calumet
Photogenic
Elinchrom
Visatec
Norman
Bowens
Speedotron (brown line)
BEST LIGHTING
Broncolor
Hensel
Profoto
Balcar (no longer in production)
Briese
Comet
Speedotron (black line)
FACING PAGE—Tom Suhler photographed Playboy model Laura F. in an aban-
doned hotel in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Notice how Laura’s body creates a diag-
onal line from each corner of the image. (CAMERA:Nikon D3 fitted with Nikon
70–200mm f/2.8 lens, SETTINGS:90mm effective focal length 90mm,^1 / 250 second
shutter speed, f/9, white balance at 5880, ISO 200)