For years now, I’ve not been a fan of LED strobes or flashes simply because they’re just not powerful, but a new option called the PHOTONICZ ONE is promising to put that problem to rest. But it’s also claiming it can go a step beyond. Besides offering 2,500 watt seconds of power, it’s claiming to offer a flash duration of 1/50,000 at 30 frames per second at full power. Then there’s the TTL options for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Fujifilm, Panasonic and a Olympus. But even then, what’s even more astounding is that they’re offering weather sealing and a full color Touch LED screen panel.
Sounds pretty insane, right? Right, I’m glad I’m not the only one.
Before I get into the unit more, I should explain why I’m so skeptical. For years there has been a push to make LEDs the new big thing. LED flashes are in pretty much every phone and lots of off-camera flash options are using LEDs. But professional photographers have known better–for years. One of the biggest advantages of using an actual flash is flash duration–which tends to overpower sunlight and stops fast moving motion. Want to photograph a basketball player making that really big shot? If you’re not cranking your ISO up all the way, the only way you’ll be able to stop the fast moving motion is by using big flashes. We’ve talked to photographer Patrick Murphy Racey about this a while back. And if you look at the setup he’s using, you’ll understand just how much light is really meant to do something like this. There have been options like Triggertrap which can help, but since the company folded earlier this year there isn’t really something that can be reliable.
Even further, LEDs have not been able to actually trigger a full on chemical reaction in the same way that a real flash does. Flash, in its infancy, was done using what’s called flash powder–which created an explosion. Then it became pint-sized and put into cubes. But not a single dedicated camera manufacturer has used LED flashes simply because of how weak they are.
According to Digital Trends,
“While the company is making big speed boasts, Photonicz says its flagship strobe also has a first-of-its-kind touchscreen interface to access settings and presets. The functionally is expanded with the Photonicz Remote, an iOS and Android app that allows several aspects to be controlled remotely, including the shape and pattern of the light.”
Developed by photographers Alex Munoz, the PHOTONICZ ONE is seriously looking to change the game. Beyond this, the PHOTONICZ ONE is claiming to be smaller than a lot of other options on the market because they want you to take it anywhere–and (as we stated earlier on), even in the rain! It boasts an aluminum chassis and claims to deliver over 1,000 full power flashes on one charge. Additionally, the wireless radio transmitter is boasting claims of being able to trigger the flash at 1 kilometer away, True TTL to see what you’ll get before you even take the photo, and to work with your Android or iOS device.
It sounds pretty insane (as in insanely awesome and no one has ever done anything like this before). So if it is indeed something that can be brought to the market, then more power to them! For more information, please go check out their Kickstarter campaign.
