Greetings,

I was wondering if anyone would have information on watt second ratings on flashbulbs. I have several 900ws monolights, and would like to experiment with some night shots ala O. Winston Link. I know he had some tremendous flash equipment, but I need to know just how far off I am from matching it with my strobes. I understand some old flashbulbs were quite powerful used singly, nevermind in a bank of 8 or so...
Many thanks!

Thomas Kienstra

I've never heard of a measurement of flash bulbs in watt seconds. AFAIK, you'll have to convert the output of your Monolight into a guide number, then compare that with those of flashbulbs. You can get the flashbulb info here:

http://www.flashbulbs.com/clearbulbs.htm

I think Alec has the easier route. I was going to suggest that you convert your flash into Lumen seconds as flash bulb data in lumen seconds or total lumen output is readily available.

Watt-seconds rating only measures the amount of power used, much like kilowatt-hours. Depending on how efficient your flash unit is you can get more light from your power.

Lumen seconds is tied directly to light output but can be manipulated by the type and size of the reflector.