Photoflash capacitors and regular capacitors differ significantly in their design and intended use.
Key Differences & Lifetime Rating
Photoflash capacitors are engineered for high-energy storage and rapid discharge, which makes them useful in applications like camera flashes or other applications that require a quick burst of energy. They are designed to handle high voltages and release a large amount of energy in a short time. Unlike conventional capacitors, their lifespan is typically measured by the number of discharges they can endure, and their performance may degrade over time due to the stress of repeated high-voltage discharges.
Conventional capacitors are designed for a wide range of applications used for varying operational needs. They come in various types, including electrolytic, ceramic, and film capacitors, each suited for specific functions within electronic circuits. Unlike photoflash capacitors, these are more suited to handle continuous or periodic tasks, such as filtering, smoothing voltage, or coupling signals. Their lifespan is influenced by factors such as temperature and voltage and are generally rated in terms of operational hours rather than the number of high energy bursts.
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Being these capacitors are less common, their photoflash attribute may not always be searchable based on this parameter. The best method is to narrow down capacitor options by first filtering basic specifications you need such as voltage, capacitance, size, and any other specification. From this point, it will require datasheet diving in order to find this specification. By searching “photo” within the Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors category, these options are the select few that rendered any results since photoflash happens to be within their description:
B43416 & B43415 series from EPCOS - TDK are an example of products which do not list photoflash rated within the website attributes, however, according to the datasheet they are photoflash rated.
There are also instances where a capacitor may not specifically list it is photoflash rated even within their datasheet, but lists very similar attributes such as flash or discharge life, high charge/discharge cycle ratings, charge and discharge proof, or have high joule per cc energy densities. The Vishay 250 RMI-V series is an example capacitor which lists charge and discharge proof per its datasheet although does not specifically list for photoflash applications.
Tech Tip: The energy of a discharge is proportional to the capacitance, therefore large variations in tolerance are not acceptable for photoflash applications, typical tolerance is within 10~20%. Discharge cycles typically range from 10,000 ~ 100,000 on average and have around 1 joule per cc energy densities.
Related Capacitor Topics
Finding a Replacement Electrolytic Capacitor
Initial Charging of a Supercapacitor
Applicable Part Numbers
56-MAL225090185E3-ND
56-MAL225099117E3TR-ND,56-MAL225099117E3CT-ND,56-MAL225099117E3DKR-ND
56-MAL225099909E3TR-ND,56-MAL225099909E3CT-ND
56-MAL225051102E3-ND
56-MAL225050222E3-ND
56-MAL225099913E3TR-ND,56-MAL225099913E3CT-ND,56-MAL225099913E3DKR-ND
56-MAL225098475E3-ND
56-MAL225058102E3-ND
56-MAL225099014E3TR-ND,56-MAL225099014E3CT-ND,56-MAL225099014E3DKR-ND
56-MAL225099616E3TR-ND,56-MAL225099616E3CT-ND,56-MAL225099616E3DKR-ND
56-MAL225099515E3TR-ND,56-MAL225099515E3CT-ND,56-MAL225099515E3DKR-ND
56-MAL225038681E3-ND
56-MAL225050332E3-ND
56-MAL225099017E3TR-ND,56-MAL225099017E3CT-ND,56-MAL225099017E3DKR-ND
56-MAL225054682E3-ND
56-MAL225056472E3-ND
56-MAL225090105E3-ND
56-MAL225055822E3-ND
56-MAL225055332E3-ND
56-MAL225056222E3-ND
56-MAL225058681E3-ND
56-MAL225050152E3-ND
56-MAL225098476E3-ND
56-MAL225060152E3-ND
56-MAL225090106E3-ND
56-MAL225068681E3-ND
56-MAL225066222E3-ND
56-MAL225098473E3-ND
56-MAL225030152E3-ND
56-MAL225036222E3-ND
56-MAL225090103E3-ND
56-MAL225035332E3-ND
56-MAL225065332E3-ND
56-MAL225098685E3-ND
56-MAL225054472E3-ND
56-MAL225098686E3-ND
56-MAL225064472E3-ND
56-MAL225061102E3-ND
56-MAL225098683E3-ND
56-MAL225031102E3-ND
56-MAL225034472E3-ND
56-MAL225031122E3-ND
56-MAL225051122E3-ND
56-MAL225061122E3-ND
56-MAL225030222E3-ND
56-MAL225031152E3-ND
56-MAL225035472E3-ND
56-MAL225038102E3-ND
56-MAL225034682E3-ND
56-MAL225036332E3-ND
56-MAL225061152E3-ND
56-MAL225064682E3-ND
56-MAL225060222E3-ND
56-MAL225065472E3-ND
56-MAL225068102E3-ND
56-MAL225066332E3-ND
56-MAL225090183E3-ND
56-MAL225055472E3-ND
56-MAL225056332E3-ND
56-MAL225051152E3-ND
56-MAL225099417E3-ND
56-MAL225099818E3-ND
56-MAL225099706E3-ND
56-MAL225055682E3-ND
56-MAL225065682E3-ND
56-MAL225066472E3-ND
56-MAL225060332E3-ND
56-MAL225056682E3-ND
56-MAL225051332E3-ND
56-MAL225058222E3-ND
56-MAL225050472E3-ND
56-MAL225060472E3-ND
56-MAL225061332E3-ND
56-MAL225065822E3-ND
56-MAL225068222E3-ND
56-MAL225066682E3-ND
56-MAL225099316E3-ND
56-MAL225099618E3-ND
MAL225090185E3
MAL225099117E3
MAL225099909E3
MAL225051102E3
MAL225050222E3
MAL225099913E3
MAL225098475E3
MAL225058102E3
MAL225099014E3
MAL225099616E3
MAL225099515E3
MAL225038681E3
MAL225050332E3
MAL225099017E3
MAL225054682E3
MAL225056472E3
MAL225090105E3
MAL225055822E3
MAL225055332E3
MAL225056222E3
MAL225058681E3
MAL225050152E3
MAL225098476E3
MAL225060152E3
MAL225090106E3
MAL225068681E3
MAL225066222E3
MAL225098473E3
MAL225030152E3
MAL225036222E3
MAL225090103E3
MAL225035332E3
MAL225065332E3
MAL225098685E3
MAL225054472E3
MAL225098686E3
MAL225064472E3
MAL225061102E3
MAL225098683E3
MAL225031102E3
MAL225034472E3
MAL225031122E3
MAL225051122E3
MAL225061122E3
MAL225030222E3
MAL225031152E3
MAL225035472E3
MAL225038102E3
MAL225034682E3
MAL225036332E3
MAL225061152E3
MAL225064682E3
MAL225060222E3
MAL225065472E3
MAL225068102E3
MAL225066332E3
MAL225090183E3
MAL225055472E3
MAL225056332E3
MAL225051152E3
MAL225099417E3
MAL225099818E3
MAL225099706E3
MAL225055682E3
MAL225065682E3
MAL225066472E3
MAL225060332E3
MAL225056682E3
MAL225051332E3
MAL225058222E3
MAL225050472E3
MAL225060472E3
MAL225061332E3
MAL225065822E3
MAL225068222E3
MAL225066682E3
MAL225099316E3
MAL225099618E3
495-B43416C9707A000-ND
495-B43415C3668A000-ND
B43416C9337A000-ND
B43416C3108A000-ND
B43416C9567A000-ND
B43416C8108A000-ND
B43416C3158A000-ND
B43416C9907A000-ND
B43416C9118A000-ND
B43416C9128A000-ND
B43415C3218A000-ND
B43415C9108A000-ND
B43416C6567A000-ND
B43416C6607A000-ND
B43415C8218A000-ND
B43415C3308A000-ND
B43415C9218A000-ND
B43415C8308A000-ND
B43415C6108A000-ND
B43415D9218A000-ND
B43415D9308A000-ND
B43415C9498A000-ND
B43415C6218A000-ND
B43415C6258A000-ND
B43416C9707A000
B43415C3668A000
B43416C9337A000
B43416C3108A000
B43416C9567A000
B43416C8108A000
B43416C3158A000
B43416C9907A000
B43416C9118A000
B43416C9128A000
B43415C3218A000
B43415C9108A000
B43416C6567A000
B43416C6607A000
B43415C8218A000
B43415C3308A000
B43415C9218A000
B43415C8308A000
B43415C6108A000
B43415D9218A000
B43415D9308A000
B43415C9498A000
B43415C6218A000
B43415C6258A000
1572-806FSR330XGAG-ND
1572-306FSR330Z2BF-ND
1572-606FSR330XBJG-ND
1572-606FSR330XGJD-ND
1572-706FSR330XHBF-ND
1572-806FSR330XBJD-ND
1572-127FSR330XBAD-ND
1572-187FSR360XPCG-ND
1572-277FSR360XRCF-ND
1572-277FSR360XKCW-ND
1572-307FSR360XKCF-ND
1572-107FSL450XDE-ND
1572-157FSL450XDG-ND
1572-128FSB330XDZ-ND
1572-227FSL450XEG-ND
1572-277FSL450XEP-ND
1572-337FSL450XFP-ND
338-7P122V330A062-ND
338-7P122V330A062L-ND
806FSR330XGAG
306FSR330Z2BF
606FSR330XBJG
606FSR330XGJD
706FSR330XHBF
806FSR330XBJD
127FSR330XBAD
187FSR360XPCG
277FSR360XRCF
277FSR360XKCW
307FSR360XKCF
107FSL450XDE
157FSL450XDG
128FSB330XDZ
227FSL450XEG
277FSL450XEP
337FSL450XFP
7P122V330A062
7P122V330A062L