Strobe vs Flash...

What is the difference (if any) between a strobe and a flash? - TF

Strobe = Abbreviation for stroboscopic.

A strobe is the kind that pros use in their studios, and can fire bursts of light at an almost continuous rate. Bullets can be “frozen” in mid-air with such devices.

Flash = The smallish, compact kind that fits onto a camera’s hot-shoe.

Flashes aren’t capable of firing at such speed compared to strobes.

However, it has become common practice for people to use the terms strobe/flash interchangeably, so I guess there is no harm doing so too. The distinction between the two terms has been somewhat “blurred” together.

Thank you. - TF

also a strobe packs more power -

speedlight (hotshoe flash) more easily portable.

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Originally Posted by OldClicker

What is the difference (if any) between a strobe and a flash? - TF

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Sorry, but I have to chime in here. When it comes to photographic lighting, the two terms are interchangable. They are both generic labels for the same thing. They both refer to the way in which a device achieves its illumination and nothing more.

The only difference is that "strobe" is more of a street or slang term. A professional lighting source, store, catalog, or web site will refer to any and all "electronic burst" lighting as a "flash".

And so you can have an on-camera flash, a small portable camera flash, a small portable off-camera flash, a low-powered monolight flash, or even an extremely powerful studio flash system, and they are all called electronic flash.

And you can call any of them strobes as well...

I personally have always disliked the term strobe, if for no other reason than the ease with which it can be confused with a strobe light, which is something entirely different...

So, it's sort of like 'lens' and 'glass'. :-) Thanks all. - TF

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Originally Posted by OldClicker

So, it's sort of like 'lens' and 'glass'. :-) Thanks all. - TF

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Exactly. I suppose we each give the two terms our own meaning based on our own experiences.

Funny how the other guys use strobe for more powerful lighting. When I was learning photography, it was the opposite. I always thought of strobes as being the small, on-camera flashes, as most people referred to them that way.

When we talked about larger, stand alone studio units, we always referred to them as electronic flash.

But, as I said, makes no difference...