Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hi there,

I understand that at full power, the WL10,000 have a flash duration of 1/300th seconds (and that the WL5,000 has a flash duration of 1/600 seconds)

What is the flash duration of the two models at 2/3rds and 1/3rd power?

If you don't have the flash durations for the 2/3 and 1/3 settings, could you at least tell me whether they will have shorter durations, or whether they will have longer durations (similar to the Alien Bees)?

Thanks in advance.

Unlike AkienBees, the durations get shorter at 2/3 and 1/3, Example - at 1/3they are 3 times as fast in flash duration and recycle speed.

Thanks for the reply, Paul :)

So for the WL10,000 at 2/3rds power I can expect 1/600th sec and at 1/3rd power, I should expect 1/900th second?

For the WL5,000 at 2/3rd power I should expect 1/1200th second and at 1/3 power I should expect 1/1800th second, right?

My math is horrible, so I apologize in advance if this is completely wrong.

For the old lights, you have three capacitors. These can be used all at once, or one or two at a time. Switching the capacitor banks yield a faster flash duration, but less fine control.

So all three yield a flash duration of 1/300s. Using one is a third of this time, or 1/900s. So two capacitors at 1/900 adds to be 1/450.

Soooo. for a 10,000, you will have flash durations of 1/300 at full, 1/450 at 2/3, and 1/900 at 1/3.

For 5,000, you will have 1/600, 1/900, and 1/1800s, respectively.

Ahh... thanks so much for the math. I really appreciate it.