YASHICA-LITE BC-1
Oct 20, 2020 11:41:46 GMT
on Oct 20, 2020 11:41:46 GMT
Posted: Oct 20, 2020 11:41:46 GMT
It is quite rare these days to find a 1960's bulb flash unit in its original packaging so it had to be grabbed.
YASHICA-LITE BC-1
What makes this doubly pleasing is that it still works. 15v batteries are still readily available and, please note modern flash manufacturers, the 50+ year-old capacitor which has not been used for several decades is fully functional and delivers the charge needed to fire the bulb. I tried it out on a Yashica 35 YK and was taken back to the early-1960s with that familiar pop of the flash-bulb firing. Magic.
An aside:
So how come so many manufacturers of modern flash units have to recommend that you fire the flash at least every couple of months to prevent the failure of the capacitor?
All my Contax flash units - even the monsters such as the RTF540s - still fire up and with them there is that tremendous 'crack' when they fire. When I had them in a 3-way multi-flash set-up, I had to remember to warn the models in advance of the noise. A couple of times I forgot and when set on Auto with a motor drive, I got some amazing facial expressions after the first exposure - perfect for Halloween but not ideal for most models' portfolios.
YASHICA-LITE BC-1
What makes this doubly pleasing is that it still works. 15v batteries are still readily available and, please note modern flash manufacturers, the 50+ year-old capacitor which has not been used for several decades is fully functional and delivers the charge needed to fire the bulb. I tried it out on a Yashica 35 YK and was taken back to the early-1960s with that familiar pop of the flash-bulb firing. Magic.
An aside:
So how come so many manufacturers of modern flash units have to recommend that you fire the flash at least every couple of months to prevent the failure of the capacitor?
All my Contax flash units - even the monsters such as the RTF540s - still fire up and with them there is that tremendous 'crack' when they fire. When I had them in a 3-way multi-flash set-up, I had to remember to warn the models in advance of the noise. A couple of times I forgot and when set on Auto with a motor drive, I got some amazing facial expressions after the first exposure - perfect for Halloween but not ideal for most models' portfolios.
