Review: SparkPlug Flash
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 10:16PM | Glyn Evans A few weeks ago I posted news on an iPhone flash/light for the older generation iPhone's called the SparkPlug Flash, and a few days ago my review sample arrived, and here is my quick review.
The design
Made of hard piano black plastic with 4 LED's at one end and a cap covering the iPhone connector at the other, this little device looks well made.
Attaching the flash to the iPhone is as simple as removing the cap and connecting to the iPhone connector, where it draws its power to light the 4 LED's.
To use
Having attached the flash to your iPhone, simply launch the camera, either via the built in camera app, or any of your favourite apps with camera interface. Then touch the indicated spot on the rear of the flash to light all 4 LED's, and snap away.
Above: This shot was taken in almost complete darkness with the SparkPlug Flash, hot spot and all!!
Verdict
The SparkPlug Flash, whilst a nice idea, is badly let down by the choice of LED's. These LED's produce a noticeable hot spot that offers little more than shinning a maglite at your subject, and as such gets a disappointing 1 star rating from me.
The SparkPlug Flash is available from SparkPlug Industries LLC priced at $19.95.
SparkPlug Flash, iPhone Flash in Hardware Review
Reader Comments (3)
I'm wondering if using that spray that people frost their windows with (I don't know the name of it) would help to diffuse the light and minimize the hot spot? Shrug, just a thought; probably not a great one.
I have a Canon S90 and I've learned that if I can't take the picture WITHOUT flash, I won't take the picture. The flash just makes pictures look unnatural. Fortunately, the S90 takes beautiful pictures in low-light conditions, and I can stick it on a lightweight tripod and take STUNNING pictures with exposure bracketing.
Anyone considering getting this: play around with a real camera for awhile and learn how to use it, and you'll hopefully feel the same way.
This product has an instant benefit that some people will love in this age of fake lo-fi: true in camera vignetting ;-)