Difference between revisions of "Strobonar"
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'''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. | ||
Revision as of 21:50, 20 December 2011
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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 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[1]. Many of the subsequent large bracket-mount Strobonar models had a recognizable oval shape to their 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 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
- ↑ Inflation calculator from the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Links
- Honeywell Strobonar manuals for various models, from Mike Butkus' OrphanCameras.com
A 1971 advertisement of the Honeywell Strobonar flash lineup scan courtesy Michael Raso (Image rights) |