LumoPro LP120 - The Flash I Helped Design

OK, so it was me and a few thousand fellow memebers of the Strobist group on Flickr, but the features LumoPro built into the just-released LP120 are what everyone in the group was asking for. This new strobe is aimed squarely at followers of the small flash movement (aka the Strobist movement..the result of David Hobby's evangelical efforts, and his great legs).

The specs break down thusly (taken from MPEX.com...the only retailer I could find carrying the LP120 at the moment):

GN: 80 (True value, no EV compensation inflation, equivalent to Vivitar 285HV)
Swivel: 270 degrees
Tilt: 180 degrees
Zoom: 28mm, 50mm, 85mm
Wide Angle adapter: Yes
Sync ports: Miniphone and PC
Shoe: Standard ISO size, center pin contact, locking ring
Optical Slave: Yes, Switchable On/Off
Power Variable: 1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32
Power: 4 AA (Alkaline or NiMh recommended)
Warranty: 2 years - International

I won't go through these line by line, but there are a few LumoPro included that really show they were listening.

First: There's no AUTO Thyristor feature on this flash. You don't need it. These things are all manual. You're in control of the amount of light coming out it, just like a studio strobe. Cool.

Second: The sync ports they built into the LP120 are exactly what needs to be included on this type of flash. Curse you Sunpak and Vivitar with your proprietary sync jacks. The PC connection has been the standard for the photo industry for how long, now? Well played LumoPro for including a PC sync. And, the inclusion of a 1/8" miniphone sync means if you're near a RadioShack, Target, WalMart, K-Mart, Fry's, CVS, Rite Aid or Walgreens and one of your sync cords dies (along with all your spares) all hope is not lost. 1/8" miniphone to miniphone cables are commonly available, commonly inexpensive and commonly the sync socket of choice on all types of wireless triggers on the market today. This means you don't have to drop thirty dollars on a proprietary sync cable that will only work with one specific kind of flash. Thirty dollars for a cable you're going to ball up and stuff into your camera bag at the end of the shoot. Thirty dollars for a cable that is going to break, eventually, no matter how good you treat it. Instead, in some dark corner of the www, you can probably find an electronic components retailer that will sell you a bag of twelve for ten bucks**.

At $130, I'm thinking the LP120 will quickly find its way into the Strobist gear bag of many a shooter seeking the zen of the small flash.

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**Disclaimer: I haven't actually contacted Ametron and asked if they sell miniphone cords in bulk, but I have been inside the place and wouldn't be at all surprised to learn they do. Cool store.