Camera Flashes

  We offer Canon and Nikon Flash units converted for:

  • IR-Only 715nm
  • IR-Only 1000nm
  • UV-Only

You can jump to the Camera Flash section of our online store by clicking here.

Our infrared (IR) camera flashes currently are available 715nm or 1000nm IR filter.  With a 715nm flash, you will see a noticeable red flash when unit fires if you are looking directly into the flash.  This is because the human eye does have some sensitivity above 700nm though the eyes response is low. With a 1000nm flash, you won't see anything when the flash fires, but you will lose 60% of the range with a modified camera.

These IR flashes should be used with a modified IR-Only or IR+Visible digital camera or IR film camera.  Using an IR flash with a stock camera will work poorly.  

With A UV flash, you should have a UV-Only or UV-VIS-IR camera.  A monochrome UV-Only or UV-VIS-IR camera will have 6x the range of a comparable color camera.

The range of the flash will depend on the camera ISO setting and the cameras inherent sensitivity.  Different cameras have different IR sensitivities.  The primary factors on camera sensitivity are:

  • Camera sensor size: Bigger sensors can have bigger photoreceptors which can gather more light
  • Camera pixel resolution:  As you pack more pixels into the same sized sensor, sensitivity will drop because the pixel surface area is smaller.
  • Camera sensor amplification:  Some of the cameras, especially the small point an shoot cameras, pack a bunch of pixel into a small sensor.  A typical point and shoot camera has a sensor about the size of a fingernail which is about 1/8 the size of a typical APS DLSR camera.  To compensate for the small pixels, the manufacturers amplify the point and shoot sensor data much more which leads to more noise.  Most digital SLR cameras keep this amplification low because they want as clean a signal as possible.
  • Camera sensor construction:  Most camera sensor use the same sized pixels.  Fuji Pro DSLR cameras have an unusual design in that they pair a large and small photoreceptor together to gain dynamic range.  This means the Fuji Pro cameras (Fuji S2 Pro, S3 Pro and S5 Pro) are better at seeing more levels of light to dark.  It also means that the 12 megapixel Fuji sensor chip only takes a 6 megapixel image, but with better dynamic range than a typical DSLR.

These infrared camera flashes can be used to take pictures at night with little visible light emitted.  Depending on the camera, its sensitivity, ISO setting, lens diameter, aperture and shutter speed, these flashes can extend the camera range to 100 meters or more.  Please don't ask us if what the performance is with your particular camera.  We can't test every combination because it simply would take too long.  As a general rule of thumb, the electronic flash with a 715nm IR filter on an IR+Visible camera will have a similar range to a stock camera with a stock flash.

Potential Uses

  • Taking pictures in the dark with a minimal flash
  • Surveillance at night
  • Car and truck license plates at night.  Because of headlight glare, it is difficult to take pictures of license plates at night.  By using an IR+Visible with an IR 715nm filter or IR-Only camera, you can illuminate the license plate from a considerable distance.
  • Night time animal studies