Unlike most hand-held or shoe-mount flashes, the duration of studio strobes tends to be fairly slow. While a Metz or Sunpak or similar usually sports 1/10,000th of a second or shorter second flash durations, studio strobes can range from 1/250th to 1/500th to 1/10000th of a second depending on brand, model, power setting, and how many heads are attached to a pack. That's not a serious issue for portraiture, but it can be for dealing with dancers or fast-moving objects. If you need your flash to stop action, be sure to check out this attribute.
Some typical rates are listed here.
Note that some systems use T=0.5 (the duration between when 50% of maximum light intensity is reached to when it has decayed to 50% of its maximum intensity.), while others use t=0.1 (the duration in which 90% of the max intensity is reached then decayed to.) T=0.1 is closer to being a shutter speed equivalent, but neither is exactly equivalent.
Also note that this is a short table. Some units have highly variable durations depending on power levels, number of heads attached, etc., and the combinations aren't all the same: some are shorter with more heads; some are not. Some are shorter with different power levels; others are not.
Light |
Type |
Power
|
t-0.5
|
t-0.1
|
Balcar |
||||
| A 3200 | Pack | 3200 | 1/700-1/8000 | |
| A 6400 | Pack | 6400 | 1/700-1/8000 | |
| Classic 1500 | Mono | 1500 | 1/900 | |
| Classic 350 | Mono | 350 | 1/2000 | |
| Concept B3 / Z4 heads | Pack (Battery) |
4800 | 1/1500 | |
| Concept P4 / Z4 heads | Pack | 6400 | 1/1500 | |
| Jazz 350 | Mono | 350 | 1/2000 | |
| Jazz 750 | Mono | 750 | 1/1500 | |
| S 1600 | Pack | 1600 | 1/1200-1/8000 | |
| S 3200 | Pack | 3200 | 1/700-1/8000 | |
Broncolor |
||||
| Grafit A2 | Pack | 1600 | 1/250 - 1/6000 (Selectable) |
|
| Grafit A4 | Pack | 3200 | 1/125 - 1/6000 (Selectable) |
|
| Minipuls C200 | Mono | 1500 | 1/1000 | |
| Minipuls C40 | Mono | 300 | 1/1000 | |
| Minipuls C80 | Mono | 600 | 1/600 | |
| Mobil | Pack (Battery) |
1200 | 1/230 | |
| Primo | Pack | 1600 | 1/230-1/530 | |
| Primo | Pack | 3200 | 1/80 - 1/230 | |
Dyna-Lite |
||||
| M1000XR | Pack | 1000 | 1/450 | |
| M2000XL | Pack | 2000 | 1/700 | |
| M500XL | Pack | 500 | 1/600 | |
| M800e | Pack | 800 | 1/450 | |
Elinchrom |
||||
| Chic 1, Mini-A head | Pack | 1200 | 1/2200 | |
| Chic 1, Mini-A head | Pack | 2400 | 1/1100 | |
| Chic 1, Mini-S head | Pack | 1200 | 1/1200 | |
| Chic 1, Mini-S head | Pack | 2400 | 1/600 | |
| Digital 1 | Pack | 1200 | 1/1200 | |
| Digital 2 | Pack | 2400 | 1/600 | |
| Digital 3000 AS | Pack | 3000 | 1/450 | |
| Prolinca 125 S | Mono | 125 | 1/2750 | |
| Prolinca 250 S | Mono | 250 | 1/2000 | |
| Prolinca 400 S | Mono | 400 | 1/1750 | |
| Prolinca 500 S | Mono | 500 | 1/2600 | |
Speedotron |
||||
| 102 | Head | 300 | 1/1200 | |
| 102 | Head | 2400 | 1/225 | |
| 103 | Head | 300 | 1/1800 | |
| 103 | Head | 2400 | 1/1800 | |
| 202 VF | Head | 2400 | 1/300 | |
| 206 VF | Head | 4800 | 1/175 | |
Sunstar-Strobo |
||||
| Magnum-13 | Pack | 1300 | 1/870 | |
| Magnum-25 | Pack | 2500 | 1/350 | |
| Mini | Pack | 1200 | 1/740 | |
| Mini-2400 | Pack | 2400 | 1/380 | |
| VP-24 | Pack | 2400 | 1/650 | |
| VP2400 w/4 heads | Pack | 100 | 1/11840 | |
| VP2400 w/4 heads | Pack | 200 | 1/10240 | |
White Lightning |
||||
| UltraZap 2400 | Mono | 1000 | 1/1300 | |
| X3200 | Mono | 330 | 1/3600 | |
| X3200 | Mono | 1320 | 1/900 | |
| X2400 | Mono | 250 | 1/5000 | |
| X2400 | Mono | 1000 | 1/1300 | |
Data from
Sunstar-Strobo: <http://www.sunstarstrobo.com/sunstar/flash-duration.htm>
White Lightning: <http://www.white-lightning.com/>
Broncolor:<http://www.sinarbron.com>
Elinchrom: <http://www.elinchrom.com>
Dyna-Lite: <http://www.dynalite.com/>
Speedotron: <http://www.speedotron.com/>
Balcar: <http://www.balcar.com/>
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