If you are new to artificial lighting, the array of terminology and equipment can be a bit overwhelming at first. One of the most important distinctions is that between a speedlight and a strobe. Though the terms are sometimes used somewhat interchangeably, they are fundamentally different devices with distinct purposes. This great video tutorial will show you the difference between the two and what each is used for.
Coming to you from Jiggie Alejandrino, this helpful video will teach you the difference between speedlights and strobes. For practical intents and purposes, a speedlight is a smaller, less powerful, and often less expensive flash that can be mounted directly on your camera’s hot shoe or separately on a stand. On the other hand, strobes tend to be more expensive, but they offer significantly more power and can take a much wider range of modifiers, making them far more versatile, though they are less portable. It really comes down to your creative and practical needs, and many photographers use both depending on the situation. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Alejandrino.
If you would like to continue learning about how to light a portrait, be sure to check out "Illuminating The Face: Lighting for Headshots and Portraits With Peter Hurley!"
Thank you! :)
Good explanation. Technically, you can pop 3200ws anywhere since the event of pure sine generators (long time ago). That was not uncommon. With batteries, it's been 20 years so this is not really anything new. 1200ws was possible back then, just not as mono block, but even those old models are 100% compatible with hyper Sync where the full power is available unlike the HSS model that would cut the output by half.
IIRC and I may be mistaken in the 70s Europeans used the word "speedlight" for what in the USA we called "strobes". And "flash" was used for the smaller camera mounted gadgets. But I may be misremembering :-P
I think Speedlight is Nikon’s brand name for a small flash unit that fits onto a camera hot shoe. Here in the UK I don’t know if anyone says speedlight, even if it’s a retailer trying to sell you a Nikon Speedlight! They are sometimes called flashguns, but mostly they are just ‘flash’.
Strictly speaking a strobe should be able to give a high frequency sequence of flashes such as might be used to analyse rapid motion. Some small flash units can do this, but it’s mainly the preserve of studio equipment. I have heard Americans call the small, on camera, flash a ‘strobe’. Maybe it dates back to some of the earliest electronic flash that was a feeble, brief, flicker effect compared with the single use flashbulbs that were seriously powerful and gave a longer light burst.
The heavy-duty flash units that have massive battery packs or are connected to the electricity supply are lumped together as studio flash. Each unit is a flash head, usually on a stand and fitted with a reflector, diffuser etc. A studio photographer is more likely to refer to its function in their setup, for example they might ask to move the soft box closer to the subject, but never move the flash or strobe.
strobe in definition are lights emitted in a short amount of time. i think its an adjective word used to describe light and thus strobe be the opposite of continuous. remember they also use strobe in party lighting systems (the bright blinking mf). therefore a speedlight, strobe lights, flash gun or on camera flashes that can create lights in a fast manner series or single are all strobes.