what do people do with camera flashes

[shmulik]

Hi,
I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about how camera flashes can be used with sound-making equipment of various kinds. I wish I could phrase this question better but I intend it rather open-endedly. I've seen some circuit-bender/hacker sorts of musicians use cheap disposable cameras to trigger or alter the output of their equipment.

It seems to me that I read somewhere about this being because the flash can create some kind of interference that affects audio signals...but it might also be as simple as people using flashes with samplers, etc. that have optical sensors?

Anyway, if anyone has a good sense of what possibilities there are for using flashes, I'd love to see it explained better.

thanks

[prof_lofi]

hi ya,

use it with a telephone pick up coil or am radio...that should pick up the interference

bill

www.billthompson.org

[patois]

I've seen Christchurch, NZ guitarist Greg Malcolm use a camera flash to good effect in the vicinity of electric guitar pickups; basically an amplification of the flash's electrical-'tick' followed by the high-pitched whine as it recharges itself, with the expected visual element, of course. Some modern cameras with a built in flash send out a strobe of pulses as the camera judges the autofocus/etc, which makes for a nice burst of electrical sound-activity. I'm not aware of anyone using it as a primary instrument yet...

[jkudler]

http://vimeo.com/5605472

[e-Miel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlrQfjcO ... detailpage