Difference between revisions of "Strobonar"

From Camera-wiki.org
Jump to: navigation, search
(new photo of more "modern" Auto Strobonar; grouped right)
m (Added category)
 
(9 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{stub}}
+
 
 
{|class=floatright
 
{|class=floatright
 
|
 
|
Line 13: Line 13:
 
|
 
|
 
{{Flickr_image
 
{{Flickr_image
|image_source= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ebelbeb/4686032160/in/pool-camerapedia
+
|image_source= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ebelbeb/4686032160/in/pool-camerawiki/
 
|image= http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4015/4686032160_c63f2467bf.jpg
 
|image= http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4015/4686032160_c63f2467bf.jpg
 
|image_align= right
 
|image_align= right
Line 23: Line 23:
 
'''Strobonar''' was the brand used by [[Honeywell]] for a long-lasting series of electronic flash units.
 
'''Strobonar''' was the brand used by [[Honeywell]] for a long-lasting series of electronic flash units.
  
In 1958, the Heiland division of Honeywell, based in Denver, Colorado, introduced one of the earliest self-contained [[flash|electronic flashes]] which did not require a separate power pack to operate, the '''Futuramic Strobonar'''. (It could also use AC household power.) This was still an imposingly-large "potato masher" design, and the original list price of USD $59.95 would equate to roughly $470 current (2011) dollars<REF>[http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm Inflation calculator] from the US Department of Labor [http://www.bls.gov/home.htm Bureau of Labor Statistics].</REF>. Many of the subsequent large bracket-mount Strobonar models had a recognizable oval shape to their reflector.
+
The Heiland Research Corp., based in Denver, Colorado, originally used the Strobonar brand in 1950<REF>The 1950 origin date is cited in a May, 1965 ''Popular Photography'' advertisement (Vol. 56, No. 5; page 46).</REF> on electronic flash units powered by a separate battery pack.  (These could also use AC household power.) Several years after Heiland's acquisition by Honeywell, they introduced one of the earliest self-contained [[flash|electronic flashes]], the 1958 '''Futuramic Strobonar'''. This was still an imposingly-large "potato masher" design, and the original list price of USD $59.95 would equate to roughly $470 current (2011) dollars<REF>[http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm Inflation calculator] from the US Department of Labor [http://www.bls.gov/home.htm Bureau of Labor Statistics].</REF>. Starting with the 1961 '''Futuramic II''', all the large Strobonar models had a distinctive oval lens over their flash-tube reflector.
  
The Strobonar name was reused over the following decades for successive models, eventually shrinking to more compact shoe-mount flash units. Honewell was a pioneer in flashes which used a photocell measuring light reflected back from the subject to control the duration of the flash pulse, thus offering autoexposure for flash shots—these models carried the '''Auto/Strobonar''' name. Later versions of the "potato masher" models, such as the Strobonar 882, could use a separate '''Strobo-Eye''' mounted in the camera's accessory shoe to achieve this control even with off-camera flash (and the [[Pentax_Spotmatic#The_Spotmatic_SP_IIa|Pentax Spotmatic SP IIa]] included this sensor in the camera body, just below the rewind crank).
+
The Strobonar name was reused over the following decades for successive models, from more compact shoe-mount flashes to stand-mounted studio units with [[flash trigger|slave triggers]]. Honewell was a pioneer in flashes which used a photocell measuring light reflected back from the subject to control the duration of the flash pulse, thus offering autoexposure for flash shots—these models carried the '''Auto/Strobonar''' name. Later versions of the "potato masher" models, such as the Strobonar 882, could use a separate '''Strobo-Eye''' mounted in the camera's accessory shoe to achieve this control even with off-camera flash (and the [[Pentax_Spotmatic#The_Spotmatic_SP_IIa|Pentax Spotmatic SP IIa]] included this sensor in the camera body, just below the rewind crank).
  
 
As electronic flash units increasingly became a built-in feature of many cameras, and with inexpensive Asian imports undercutting the remaining marketplace, Honeywell ultimately retired the Strobonar line.
 
As electronic flash units increasingly became a built-in feature of many cameras, and with inexpensive Asian imports undercutting the remaining marketplace, Honeywell ultimately retired the Strobonar line.
Line 44: Line 44:
 
|image_rights= Public domain US no copyright
 
|image_rights= Public domain US no copyright
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
[[Category:Honeywell]]
 +
[[Category:Electronic flash]]

Latest revision as of 03:40, 5 May 2015

Strobonar was the brand used by Honeywell for a long-lasting series of electronic flash units.

The Heiland Research Corp., based in Denver, Colorado, originally used the Strobonar brand in 1950[1] on electronic flash units powered by a separate battery pack. (These could also use AC household power.) Several years after Heiland's acquisition by Honeywell, they introduced one of the earliest self-contained electronic flashes, the 1958 Futuramic Strobonar. This was still an imposingly-large "potato masher" design, and the original list price of USD $59.95 would equate to roughly $470 current (2011) dollars[2]. Starting with the 1961 Futuramic II, all the large Strobonar models had a distinctive oval lens over their flash-tube reflector.

The Strobonar name was reused over the following decades for successive models, from more compact shoe-mount flashes to stand-mounted studio units with slave triggers. Honewell was a pioneer in flashes which used a photocell measuring light reflected back from the subject to control the duration of the flash pulse, thus offering autoexposure for flash shots—these models carried the Auto/Strobonar name. Later versions of the "potato masher" models, such as the Strobonar 882, could use a separate Strobo-Eye mounted in the camera's accessory shoe to achieve this control even with off-camera flash (and the Pentax Spotmatic SP IIa included this sensor in the camera body, just below the rewind crank).

As electronic flash units increasingly became a built-in feature of many cameras, and with inexpensive Asian imports undercutting the remaining marketplace, Honeywell ultimately retired the Strobonar line.

Notes

  1. The 1950 origin date is cited in a May, 1965 Popular Photography advertisement (Vol. 56, No. 5; page 46).
  2. Inflation calculator from the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Links