Electronic flash system

Claim 1

An electronic flash system comprising, in combination, a flashtube, a plurality of capacitors in which is stored electrical energy to be translated into light energy by means of said flashtube said plurality of capacitors including a first capacitor having a value capable of storing sufficient energy for illumination of said flashtube under conditions of relatively low level lighting requirements and at least one second capacitor for providing further energy under conditions of higher level lighting requirements when the energy supplied by the first capacitor is insufficient, a circuit for delivering the electrical energy stored in said capacitors selectively to said flashtube, a circuit for monitoring a quantity of the light energy produced by said flashtube, said monitoring circuit generating a signal at the instant when the quantity of the light energy has reached a predetermined value, bypass means coupled to said monitoring circuit for causing the electrical energy discharged from the capacitor coupled to said delivering circuit to bypass said flashtube in response to the signal generated by said monitoring circuit, the remaining capacitors remaining energized, a detecting circuit for generating a signal when the electrical energy of the capacitor coupled to said delivering circuit has been discharged through said flashtube, and a control circuit responsive to the signal generated by said detecting circuit for selectively and successively coupling the rest of said capacitors to said delivering circuit only when the electrical energy discharged from the capacitor which has been coupled to said delivering circuit is insufficient for said flashtube to produce a desired quantity of light energy.