Camera Flashlight & Not Flash??

[kovacs22]

Why don't camera's simply have a flashlight to shine a steady stream of light that isn't as bright as a conventional flash on a camera? Is the point that the bright flash is timed so that the bright light doesn't interfere with the picture quality? But, wouldn't a hypothetical flood light mounted atop or below the camera, and away from the lens so as to not cause any glare and other negative lighting effects, do just as well? Video cameras use flashlights...

Or is it by convention that burst flashes are used instead of a lower intensity but steady stream of light is used instead?

Do flood flashlights made for cameras exist?

Thanks in advance!

 

[tirediron]

It's MUCH easier to get the amount of light that's often needed for still photography from a strobe rather small, portable, continuous light. You can get shoe-mount continuous lights, but they're application is limited (usually for macro and other close-up work).

 

[kovacs22]

It's MUCH easier to get the amount of light that's often needed for still photography from a strobe rather small, portable, continuous light. You can get shoe-mount continuous lights, but they're application is limited (usually for macro and other close-up work).

Oohh nice, good idea about the macro, closeup photos. I take a lot of coin photos, and they are super closeup. I use optical zoom but I like to get within inches of the coin itself. The downside is the camera's shadow, which can be compensated for with other lighting, but a steady stream of adjustable light sounds easier to work with.

I have a microscope camera with a continuous light stream, but it's more cumbersome than a traditional camera in hand. I'll have to look into that shoe mount light attachment - thanks!