turbo charging your flash

[WTF?]

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2008/04/overclock-your-speedlight-for-more.html

i wasnt quite sure where to put this, but its pretty interesting. ill be keen to try it once christmas rolls around and i get my new camera and flash

 

[Sontizzle]

so does it really work? some of those people are saying it was an april fools joke

 

[Garbz]

Given that it was posted on April 01, 2008...

 

[WTF?]

there was a bunch of people on there saying it did work though, so.....i dunno.
theres an easy way to test this, just get someone to test it, i cant because i dont have a flash but this is a photography forum, so lots of people do.
i vote that someone should test it and report back here if it works or not

 

[Alfred D.]

i vote that someone should test it and report back here if it works or not

And so he'll make an ass of himself.

 

[uplander]

I'm calling B**LS**T on this one
The MIT researcher' name is Justin Phunn ( Just in fun).
and the April 1st post... come on, people who say it works are the ones dumb enough to wreck their own speedlite trying this and want you to wreck yours also

 

[WTF?]

^haha, oh yeah i didnt notice that.
hmm, i guess it probably is a joke then, oh well, it seems pretty plausible.

 

[Helen B]

^haha, oh yeah i didnt notice that.
hmm, i guess it probably is a joke then, oh well, it seems pretty plausible.

It isn't even slightly plausible to someone who knows how a flash works. Here is the TPF thread from the day the article was published: link.

Best,
Helen

 

[WTF?]

yeah well i dont know alot about flashes now do i?
i was just browsing the internet and i came across this, thought it looked legit and thought you guys might want to know about it.
give me a break, im only 15

 

[Mike_E]

I thought that the SB 800 was closer to 200 WS. :/

 

[Rhys]

The power of any flash is governed by the size of the capacitor. You cannot get more power out of a flash than you can get into that capacitor. The capacitor holds a fixed amount of charge. It is effectively a bucket - without getting a bigger bucket you cannot carry more water. Without a bigger capacitor you cannot get a bigger flash.

 

[JerryPH]

Don't you guys read?
They admit it was an april fool's joke. The SB-800 was a unit burned out after being attached to a remote trigger that several other photographers with remote triggers were on the same frequency with.

Seems this hoax is working months later!

 

[Garbz]

That's the problem with these jokes. They seem funny on April the 1st but it all goes belly up a few months later.

As for testing it. I'll pretend to test it and report in: "You canna change the laws of physics capt'n"

 

[Village Idiot]

im only 15

Not a valid excuse. Read a book or the interwebs.

 

[Helen B]

The power of any flash is governed by the size of the capacitor. You cannot get more power out of a flash than you can get into that capacitor. The capacitor holds a fixed amount of charge.

The energy stored in a capacitor is determined by the voltage it is charged to and the capacitance of the capacitor, so a capacitor doesn't really hold a fixed charge. This relationship did get a mention in the original thread here.

Best,
Helen