Hello people, I just signed up to this forum. I am a digital photographer, have known about flash photography, using flash bulbs, but just got interested in them when a friend brought his flash bulb set up along with him for some shooting and I have been very interested ever since I saw the results.

I have a couple of questions,

I want to use a bulb that is about the equivalent to a press 50 or so (I am pretty sure that is the name of it, super flash 50?).

What are some good flash guns that you all recommend for cheap that would work with the above flash bulbs?

Can I use a Graflex 2 cell or 3 cell to flash one off?

Where can I get a decent flash gun for a cheap price, I hear swap meets have them for cheap, anyone have any links?

When I buy the bulbs, I will probably want to buy them in bulk, so I can get a better price.

If anyone has any contacts or links for me or has any general information to kind of help a newbie out, I would really appreciate it.

I am sure a lot of you have heard of O Winston Link, I am pretty much like him, I like trains and do a lot of Railroad photography.

Here is a recent set of photos I took using flash bulbs.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a337/Genesis111989/WP%20version%202/15.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a337/Genesis111989/WP%20version%202/16.jpg

Thanks a bunch,
Alex Ramos

IIRC any flash gun that has the correct size socket for the bulb size that you are using will fire the bulb if the batteries are fresh. Old batteries at times would fire a bulb but might be late on the syncronizing.
Flash bulbs need a small but measurable time to reach full brightness so many cameras designed for electronic flash will not make a satisfactory exposure at speeds above 1/30 sec. Also some bulbs were designed for focal plane sutters by holding a constant brightness for much of their burn timewhile others did not hold a level of brightness but rose to a peak and fell off while burning.
The flash guns that use a battery-condenser (capacitor) circut will fire a bulb on time or not at all so were preffered by many of us over the straight battery units.
Hope this helps.

C. Henry

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: C. Henry on 2006-02-28 17:07 ]</font>

Elsewhere on this website is a copy of an old USN guide book on flash basics; print it out and study it.

While there are numerous flash units that will work, the most common and probably best value will be a Graflite. I think there may be a copy of the Graflite manual on this site, also.

The previous post regarding the need for properly synchronized shutters is on target; what kind of camera are you intending to use? As was pointed out, synchronizing bulbs can be a bit of a challenge, and the only way that a typical modern camera will work is with open flash. This may be your excuse (as though one was needed) to get a Graphic.

Flashbulbs are expensive. While you can occasionally find modest quantities of unpredictable types of bulbs locally, if you want usable quantities of specific bulbs you will probably have to get them from a specialty dealer. While there may be others the only one I know of is Cress Photo (www.flashbulbs.com). I have not used them; perhaps others can comment on the companys reliability. There is also information on the Cress website that you will want for your building flash library. From what I have seen the prices are going to be rough, as some types of flash bulbs cost several dollars each.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: disemjg on 2006-02-28 17:45 ]</font>

J&C photo now also lists flash bulbs.

J&Cphotography.com