One of the big limitations of the iPhone camera is its pathetically weak flash. There are hotspots and its throw is pretty much limited to arms-length selfies before things really start to break down. The iblazr is a new external LED flash unit for iPhones and other mobile devices. According to its website, it’s coming soon and it may just be an essential iPhone accessory.
The iblazr is a 4 LED device that provides over 100 lux on 1m in video mode (x7 than iPhone) and more than 180 lux in flash mode (x4 than iPhone). The unit is self-powered, so it’s not a drain on your iPhone’s battery.
It’s small and thin, about 10mm in thickness. It mounts right into your iPhone’s headphone jack. When not in use, it’s small and flat enough to fit in your pocket.
There will be an available a free camera app for both iOS and Android devices that will adapt the iblazr to the shooting environment, helping you get the perfectly lighted subject. In video mode you will be able to change the level of light just during the shooting.
iblazr sample flash, compared to standard iPhone flash
It’s not in production yet, although if you follow iblazr on Instagram, you’ll see that they’ve already got some pre-production units made. From the sample images, the iblazr is definitely an improvement over the current iPhone’s single flash. It won’t replace a studio rig as a lighting solution, but looks like it’ll put out a much brighter, more uniform light with better coverage when you have to use a flash. It looks like the device even comes with a diffuser, further reducing flash hot spots. Cool!
If it works as advertised, iblazr looks like a great little device and could be an essential iPhone photo accessory.
Right now, this is still, essentially, vaporware. There’s no delivery date information, no pricing information — not even a Kickstarter project. You can sign up for email updates on the product at the iblazr website. UPDATE 0615: The iblazr Flash is now available in more than 35 countries and has appeared in numerous retail chains including the Apple Store, BestBuy and Walmart. The iblazr Flash is available on Amazon.com for about $50-$60, but I’ve seen new units there for as low as $21.
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Photos courtesy of iblazr
