The Heiland Research Bulb Flashgun—initially popular with Press photographers when 4x5 cameras were all they used—became popular again back when Star Wars movies were the rage. The shiny chrome handle could be reworked into a light saber, so many were taken out of service.
As you can see—with the flash mounted on a Tower Busch Pressman camera—the flash seems in proportion to the camera. With the huge screw type bulbs and the equally huge 7-inch shiny reflector you had no problem shooting street scenes at night. A #11 bulb had 1 million lumens, or one stop more power than the #5/#25 bulbs (an adapter could allow you to fire the smaller bayonet-based bulbs, but some of their light would be wasted in such a large reflector, although the light might seem more even) There was a #22 bulb (2.4 million lumens) that could be used that allowed you another whole stop of power!
The shiny tube holds 3 D-cell batteries.
There were different mounting choices. This is the plain bracket with several slots to adapt to many different camera’s mounting point. Rings on the flash were also used, mounted to quick release brackets attached to the camera.
The flash-to-bracket screw has the “HR” proudly displayed.
The screw that attaches the bracket to the camera has a tripod bushing.
This is the flash reflector height adjustment slot. The reflector can be slid up and down against constant tension on the chrome slotted track.
There are three plug sockets near the handle’s top. The two outside are labelled “extension”. You could use additional bulb holder/reflectors on the end of extension wires fired by the batteries in the handle of this flash
The center socket is labeled ”shutter”. This would now be called the sync cable with the flash being fired by contacts closing in the shutter. Earlier versions of these flash would have a solenoid fired by a button on the flash that would fire the camera’s shutter while contacts in the solenoid simultaniously fired the flashbulb.
This flash has a button hiding far right. That button pops the flash out of the socket.
Note the sockets are all “polarized”, having a wide and a narrow bladed slot. Between the sync socket and the extension flash cables, changes in which blade is carrying the power and which is ground could have bad results. It was bad enough when multiple flash bulbs were sharing just 4.5 VDC, let alone on the end of relatively long cables.
(above) The actual thickness of the handle and the cap at the bottom you introduce the batteries through is shockingly thin. Tin cans are the closest to giving you an idea of the thickness of metal involved.
On the other hand the casting that has been machined to top the handle and hold the reflector is tough and thick. Note the machining on the brass screw that tightens the assembly to the handle tube
(right) This is the back view of the flash reflector, showing the blade that mounts the reflector held on by two screws into the casting.
(above) Looking down into the flash top you can see the bulb’s threaded base is caught in the coils of a spring, while the centre power tap to the bulb’s base is pointed to better conduct through any possible corrosion the bulb may have picked up in storage.
The eject button is again hiding, this time on the left (behind the barrel of the handle). This means the eject button faces the subject, well away from the cable plugs.
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