World’s first weather-sealed LED strobe claims a zero-second recycle time

For photographers, LED lights offer both more power and more portability, but one startup is aiming to take that statement to the extreme. The Photonicz One is a portable LED strobe that boasts zero recycle time at up to 30 flashes per second inside a weather-sealed, remotely controlled light. Photography lighting start-up Photonicz launched what the company calls the world’s first weather-sealed LED strobe light on Kickstarter on Monday, August 28.

Developed by commercial photographer Alex Munoz, the company behind the Photonicz One is claiming unparalleled power, speed, and control inside of a portable, weather-sealed light. The strobe lists a 1/50,000th of a second maximum speed with sync speeds up to 1/32,000 while still putting out up to 2,500Ws of light. The company’s InstaCharge design allows the light to fire at full power as many as 30 times in one second without needing to pause to wait for the light to catch up.

The strobe, equipped with TTL (through the lens) metering, is compatible with a number of different camera systems including most Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Hasselblad, Pentax, Panasonic, Olympus, Phase One and Sony systems, as well as compatibility with 2.4 GHz remote lighting systems.

While the company is making big speed boasts, Photonicz says its flagship strobe also has a first-of-its-kind touchscreen interface to access settings and presets. The functionally is expanded with the Photonicz Remote, an iOS and Android app that allows several aspects to be controlled remotely, including the shape and pattern of the light.

The strobe is designed to be used on site, so Photonicz packaged it all into a weather-sealed, aluminum alloy body smaller than some of the popular LED strobes on the market. The light weights 3.3 pounds and offers a battery life in the thousands for full power flashes away from an outlet.

The light’s modular design will allow photographers to update the hardware, and not just the software, Photonicz says. The light is also compatible with Bowen S-type light modifiers.

“As a longtime professional photographer, my creative impulses have constantly run up against the technological constraints of traditional strobes, so I went back to the drawing board and created the most advanced lighting solution I could imagine,” Munoz said. “With the next-generation speed, power, and unique user controls built into Photonicz One, photographers and filmmakers will find we’re opening new creative doors for their work.”

The Photonicz One is currently a prototype model, but if the Kickstarter campaign is successful, the LED strobe is expected to retail for $1,499. Early backers willing to take the crowdfunded risk could pick up one for a pledge as low as $749. The campaign aims to reach its $84,900 goal by October 9.