Stroboflash
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c6/Stroboflash_II_on_Pacemaker_Graphic_45_with_Graflite_battery_case.jpg/220px-Stroboflash_II_on_Pacemaker_Graphic_45_with_Graflite_battery_case.jpg)
Stroboflash is the name of one of the earliest commercially successful portable dry cell battery powered electronic flashes produced.
History of development
It was designed and initially manufactured in 1942 by Strobo Research, a company founded by Edward Farber and Harold Edgerton that was located in
Stroboflash Flash features
All four Stroboflash models consisted of a power pack that connected to a separate flash head via a power cord and special plug and all used the same Stroboflash flash heads, which were light weight and had a satin reflector that produced very soft, non directional light. Professional photographers used Stroboflash II and IV electronic flashes extensively in the 1950s through 1980s because of the soft, well diffused light they produce. The Stroboflash electronic flash units are still considered flashes that produce excellent quality high power lighting, but the battery expense and the fact that the batteries only produce between 1,000 and 2,000 flashes (depending on the power level selected) and the fact that these flash batteries were not rechargeable led to professionals replacing these flashes with other models that were powered by batteries that could be recharged.
Current repairs and updates
There is a company that has developed a rechargeable power supply for the Stroboflash II, III, and IV, which plugs right into the Stroboflash power pack instead of the original dry cell batteries and uses two 12 volt rechargeable battery packs. They also repair these flashes. This can be found at Stroboflash.com.
Sources
- Graflex.org, particularly: http://graflex.org/graflex-products-list.html
- Stroboflash.com, particularly: http://www.stroboflash.com/Stroboflash/Stroboflash_Main.html
- History of Technology, more particularly: http://www.uwgb.edu/Library/spc/findingAids/technology.pdf