Speedlight Question

[newb]

Ok, wasnt sure where to put this, so Ill start it here. Please move or lock if it need be. Thanks.

Anyways, today a friend asked me to take some pictures of her daughters birthday party, so I did. I was using my SB600 at 1/4 to full power (mostly 1/2 power), and I was firing it fairly quickly in short runs. I tried to space my shots out a little bit to keep the light cool, but thats not so easy at a 3 year olds birthday. The lens on the flash got warm, not hot just warm. My question is, is that acceptable or could I have done some damage to my light? Or, would doing this once or twice a week shorten the life of my flash noticably? Im new to using Speedlights, so Im just tryin to get an idea for their limits without burning one up. Thanks.

[ian408]

You're probably fine. If you abuse the flash (or anything for that matter) it will obviously shorten it's life.

[newb]

You're probably fine. If you abuse the flash (or anything for that matter) it will obviously shorten it's life.

Was that considered abuse or excessive use though? Thats what Im not sure about, since Ive never used a Speedlight for more than a handful of shots at one time.

[ian408]

Was that considered abuse or excessive use though? Thats what Im not sure about, since Ive never used a Speedlight for more than a handful of shots at one time.

I wouldn't consider it abuse.

[hgernhardtjr]

As a Speedlite (no "gh" = Canon) user, it sounds to me you are well-within the "normal usage" range of a flash.

Now, using mine with an external battery pack and super-fast recycle times, I can push the envelope into abuse ... but my current flashes have a thermal slowdown feature to help prevent overheating. If I remember rightly, though, your SB600 does not have thermal protection.

Nonetheless, at 1/4 to 1/2 power with tne occasional full power you mentioned, given recycle times and time between shots I suspect it might be tough for you to overheat it at a child's birthday party. You're flash is just fine and you did not abuse it!

[newb]

Awesome! Thank you both for the answers!