Learn About Camera Flash Types

A camera flash is a small device used primarily in digital photography creating a light flash in a predetermined color temperature of around 5500 K to assist in illuminating a scene temporarily. A major use of a flash is for capturing quickly changing or rapidly occurring objects. Flash photography helps to capture an action shot where you need the action to be as visible as possible in the shot without causing a continuous and overpowering bright light. Other common uses of flashes in digital photography are when photographing a moving object, such as a baseball bouncing off the outfield wall in a moving scene, when fireworks are popping in a crowd, or when an explosion occurs near the camera.

Softbox flash: A softbox flash consists of two metal chambers separated by a thin material. One chamber is filled with a high powered tungsten bulb while the other is comprised of a lower wattage bulb. A spring forces the light from the bulb onto the film board. The two stops provide one stop transition of light between the bulbs and film board. Soft box flashes have an anti-reflective coating on the glass that reduces glare and allow for clean photo shots.

Auto focus: An auto focus (foil) camera flash has one or more concentric rings that focus the light properly when activated. You can control how much or how little of the light is captured by adjusting the size of the ring. For the most accurate results it is recommended that the angle of the lens is set to match that of the camera lens. This allows for an even more controlled and consistent fill flash exposure.