Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup: Need to get an old camera to have a flash.

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Need to get an old camera to have a flash.

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup
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URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4533
Printed Date: 11/04/25 at 3:16am
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Topic: Need to get an old camera to have a flash.

Posted By: little_owl
Subject: Need to get an old camera to have a flash.
Date Posted: 3/20/10 at 4:32pm

I am working on a musical, Leader of the Pack and need to find a way to have an old camera that uses a flash bulb to have a flash at one point. I am not sure how to get this to happen other than gutting the camera, sticking an instant camera inside it in some way and taping it back up and painting it black but I don't think the director is okay with ruining the camera.

The camera is an Argus Super Seventy-five if that helps. I'm not sure what the year is.

I think it would be too expensive for us to get the camera fixed and difficult to find a place in our area to get it fixed as well.

Is there some way to put some type of little electronic type of flash mechanism inside the part where the bulb would be to create a flash I'm wondering or some other way to get a flash? I really have no clue and cannot find much information on how to solve this problem.

Replies:

Posted By: gelcat
Date Posted: 3/22/10 at 3:21pm

I know it's doable, but I don't know how to make it happen. Hopefully someone with more electronics knowledge will be able to tell you how to safely use a flash unit from a disposable camera mounted on the camera somehow.

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www.actorsguildonline.org
Actors Guild of Parkersburg
Parkersburg, WV

Posted By: MartyW
Date Posted: 3/23/10 at 1:02pm

That might be an option. Another is to search out a camera collector in your area. We needed one of the tripod/hooded type cameras with a "hold up" flash for Octette Bridge Club a few years back. We found a guy who had one, AND a supply of flashbulbs. He was willing to let us borrow the camera and use enough bulbs to do one flash per show and tech. (the down side was it did not ALWAYS fire, but most times)

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Marty W

"Till next we trod the boards.."

Posted By: little_owl
Date Posted: 3/23/10 at 2:24pm

Thank you, I should see if I can find someone.

Posted By: David McCall
Date Posted: 3/23/10 at 8:37pm

Fiddling with single use cameras to extract the flash can be quite a shocking experience :-) Electronic flash circuits use very high voltage. I don't know that it would be strong enough to kill you though. I made up a stick with 6 single use cameras and remoted the firring circuitry to a little "nail board" so that I could fire the strobes at random as the basement blew up in "You can't take it with you". I got shocked several times.

If the person taking the picture can have his back to the audience perhaps he could hold the camera with one hand and flash a strobe or single use camera with the other hand.

The collector idea is a good one.

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David M

Posted By: little_owl
Date Posted: 3/24/10 at 9:44pm

I was thinking if they were faced away from the audience but they are not. And the person is a woman.

We might have to get rid of that camera and find another old one perhaps.

Posted By: bebop
Date Posted: 4/06/10 at 3:55pm

I've had success with a similar project. At the dollar store I bought a round LED camping light that is battery powered. I disassembled it and mounted the lights in the cameras flash bowl. I ran a thin wire around the back of the flash neck and down to the back of the camera where I monted the battery pack and a momentary switch which fired the "flash".

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cheers
bebop

Posted By: little_owl
Date Posted: 4/11/10 at 5:56pm

I don't know if I could pull that off, I'll stop at a dollar store and check if I can find something like that and see if I could do that.

Posted By: bmiller025
Date Posted: 4/12/10 at 12:22pm

Are you sure the camera is broken? You might want to try to track down some of the flashbulbs it uses on eBay or an older camera store in your area, put a battery in the camera, and see if you can get it to fire. It may not be broken. :) The flashbulbs can't be terribly expensive. I have a few of them tucked away out in my garage that are left over from my childhood, which I have used on occasion for such purposes.

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http://www.brianmiller.biz/BrianDesign.htm

Posted By: little_owl
Date Posted: 4/25/10 at 1:25pm

The camera is broken. We are going to get a small instant camera, tape it to the front of it with masking tape, and paint it black to match the camera. It's already big and clunky so it should be no problem.

And the person taking the picture will get in front of the two actors, facing upstage when they take the picture so the audience doesn't see that the flash isn't coming from where the lamp should be on it. The person with the camera was going to do that anyway which is good.