Flash bulbs: what to do?

[folville]

My great grandfather was a prolific early photographer. He left behind hundreds of turn-of-the-century glass plates (but that's the subject of another thread!) as well as lots of flash bulbs, mostly M2- and M3-type, as well as lots of projection lamp bulbs.

I'd like to see them put to good use. Are they still being used?

Cheers!

 

[x-ray]

A few of us old timers use them. I Recently bought a large lot of Westinghouse #5's to do a personal project. I'm going to use them with my crown graphic and Rollei. The M2&3 bulbs put out a reasonable amount of light but only sync with a focal plane shutter at slow speeds. Most cameras no longer have M or FP sync for bulbs. Bulbs have to fire a fraction of a second prior to the shutter opening so it reaches full output when the shutter does open. Bulbs don't Fire instantaneously like a strobe which has no delay (X sync). Bulbs have a material like zirconium and magnesium that ignites when electrical current is passed through it. It takes a fraction of a second to reach the output peak. Some bulbs have extremely long peaks like the FF33 which was designed for high speed motion picture work and has a peak of 1-3/4 seconds. Most bulbs are a fraction of a second. Focal plane bulbs require FP sync and require a different advance time to ignite than M class bulbs. It's longer as I remember and the peak is longer so the FP shutter can travel for the full exposure during the period of maximum output.

AG, M2&3 are less popular due to lower output compared to #5&25.

I used a lot of bulbs back in the 60's and 70's. I've lit large interiors with the huge and powerful #3's, 11's and 40's. These screw into a regular light socket and can be fired with 110v AC. Don't try triggering other bulbs with that high a voltage. They will burst and you'll damage your shutter. To use 110v you need a special relay box with low voltage going to the shutter. 110v fed to your camera shutter will destroy the shutter and possibly destroy you too.

 

[Scrambler]

My great grandfather was a prolific early photographer. He left behind hundreds of turn-of-the-century glass plates (but that's the subject of another thread!) as well as lots of flash bulbs, mostly M2- and M3-type, as well as lots of projection lamp bulbs. I'd like to see them put to good use. Are they still being used? Cheers!

As X-ray said, some of us still use them.

With older cameras you can sync focal plane provided you use M setting and fast shutter speeds: it's the opposite to electronic flash. I have a nifty adaptable reflector that takes all types except the big screw in ones.

There are websites that specialise in selling flashbulbs. If you have lots (hundreds) they may be worth contacting. Otherwise use the classifieds or eBay.

 

[Scrambler]

Oh, and most burn aluminium.

 

[Santtu Määttänen]

I actually use plenty of M3:s with my polaroid 350. And have hard time finding any anymore. So at the moment I'm at crossroads, to try to convert to using electric flashes. Or to try to find some lot of M3:s which seem overly expensive these days.. I simply love the kind of light they output.

 

[folville]

Thanks for the input!

I actually use plenty of M3:s with my polaroid 350. And have hard time finding any anymore. So at the moment I'm at crossroads, to try to convert to using electric flashes. Or to try to find some lot of M3:s which seem overly expensive these days.. I simply love the kind of light they output.

Care to share some images? I'd love to see what the distinct output looks like.