The biggest photography stories of the decade all involved the iPhone in some way. The approaching decade’s first story will likely be the rise of add-on strobe lights for iPhone photographers.
Less than two weeks after news broke that Apple told accessories companies that it would add flash support for the iPhone 11 lineup, Anker is claiming to have the first MFi flash unit that plugs right into the Lightning port.
Anker, best known for charging accessories, say its new iPhone LED Flash will be available for pre-order sometime in January for $49.99.
Flash photography has been possible through various gadgets, like the Lume Cube, with Bluetooth and an app. But native camera strobe support will make it easier to add a light of significantly better quality than the tiny onboard flash. It could also lead to companies building trigger devices for studio lights.
The Anker iPhone flash looks identical to a Lume Cube, right down to the bulbous snap-on flash diffuser. Its spec list offers great versatility for a range of styles and qualities of light.
It works with iPhone camera app and third-party apps, according to the company.
The flash enables off-axis or direct fill flash effects and is said to illuminate subjects at two times the ranges and four times the brightness. It also boasts of 10,000 shots on a single charge.
Anker has not made a splash about its iPhone flash on its website. Its only mention is a post on the company blog.
Anker may very well be the first of the MFI certified companies with a flash, but many others will likely follow with flash products.
