iFlash - External Flash for the iPhone
When the iPhone’s initial specs were released by Apple, tons of users complained about its lack of a camera flash. Using a USB connector, 4 white LED’s, and a tact switch, I built a removable flash unit.
More after the jump.
The LED’s are ~8000mcd 3mm white LEDs (T3 IIRC). You can get a set of 50 from ebay for less than $20. I had a bunch of them sitting around the house when I was struck with this idea.
The connector is from a broken car charger. I was afraid that the car charger’s connector would only include pins for the + and - points on the iPod, and I was right. Luckily I was able to pull the pin in the + position out and stick it in the 3.3V out spot.
So bright!
You turn the flash on by holding a small tact switch I installed in the hole where the cord used to be. Just hold down on the button and snap your picture - it’s that simple.
And of course some before/after shots from the iPhone’s camera itself:
Of course, in a completely dark room, it lights up beautifully. Here’s my hall closet, which was originally solid black:
I posted a brief how-to over at the forums, enjoy
-Joe
September 28th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Genius! Very useful. Can i have one?
September 28th, 2007 at 10:45 am
[…] word of a crazy cool hack– using LEDs and a broken iPod car charger, he’s created what he has dubbed the iFlash– an external flash device for the iPhone’s […]
September 28th, 2007 at 10:48 am
[…] word of a crazy cool hack– using LCDs and a broken iPod car charger, he’s created what he has dubbed the iFlash– an external flash device for the iPhone’s […]
September 28th, 2007 at 11:11 am
[…] word of a crazy cool hack– using LCDs and a broken iPod car charger, he’s created what he has dubbed the iFlash– an external flash device for the iPhone’s […]
September 28th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
[…] word of a crazy cool hack– using LEDs and a broken iPod car charger, he’s created what he has dubbed the iFlash– an external flash device for the iPhone’s […]
September 28th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Do the dock cables that come with the 5th gen iPod have the required pins?
there were 4 wires, none of them seem to provide +3.3v. and the entire thing is messed with hot glue :\
September 29th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
I’m working on a version of this, i grabbed up 3 cheap iTalks ($10 a piece) since it came with a button already that seems to turn on/off but it seems it’s a tact switch as well.
any ideas for maybe a toggle switch, that’s the same size as the tact switch config? (the case won’t hold some complex switch.
I have a metal prong switch that’s tiny that fits in the hole where the headphone jack was but ehh, that’s kinda fugly :\ i wanna use the button. it is after all there.
any ideas?
September 30th, 2007 at 8:16 am
[…] Pewien fan iPhiPhone one znany np. z stworzenia programu Ringtonator stworzył własnej roboty lampe błyskową do iPhone. Została zrobiona z czterech diód LED i wtyczki np. od ładowarki samochodowej. Trzeba przyzać, że zdjęcia w ciemnych pomieszczeniach wychodzą dużo lepiej Pełny opis i przykłady zdjęć na stronie stwórcy http://www.iphonexe.com/blog/?p=22 […]
September 30th, 2007 at 8:27 am
Alex: what you want is a submini slide switch (I think this is the name). You can get them in various sizes, some as small as your fingernail and not very thick.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:47 am
[…] I’m sure we’ll see a cheapo “retail” version of this iPhone light amongst the metric tons of iPhone accessories, but for now here’s how to build your own - [via] Link. […]
October 1st, 2007 at 8:15 am
What brand of LED was used? You said 8000mcd right?
October 1st, 2007 at 1:09 pm
[…] I’m sure we’ll see a cheapo “retail” version of this iPhone light amongst the metric tons of iPhone accessories, but for now here’s how to build your own […]
October 1st, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Very well done… professional looking too… brilliant… you could use on a standard ipod as a torch too, brilliant….
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:13 pm
I built one a couple about a year ago for my hacked CVS one time use camcorder. its nice to see others using the end connector. http://homer8babs.googlepages.com/pictures http://homer8babs.googlepages.com/Dscf0017.jpg/Dscf0017-full.jpg http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3157695 http://homer8babs.googlepages.com
October 3rd, 2007 at 5:51 am
Clean up your freakin’ desk you slob
Intuitive work.
October 3rd, 2007 at 7:56 am
[…] von Joe auf iPhoneExe veröffentlichte Projekt, die im iPhone integrierte Kamera mit einer eigenen Lichtquelle zu versorgen hat uns so gut […]
October 3rd, 2007 at 9:55 am
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October 4th, 2007 at 4:13 am
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October 4th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
I can’t believe that there isn’t an accessory manufactuer that isn’t already doing this. I’d buy one (or two) if they were for sale.
October 4th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
[…] iFlash - External Flash for the iPhone [iPhoneExe] […]
October 7th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Are you gonna sell these on ebay? If not then you should
October 17th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
[…] Original post, with tons of pics. […]
November 10th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Can you sell this on ebay please????? there are some of us that are not pretty good modding but will love to have this
November 19th, 2007 at 8:57 am
I like turtles
December 24th, 2007 at 12:59 am
Dude i am India. i Am kinda gettin use this I-Phone! its nice but really wanna know how to get these parts like the LED’s and the taqct switch.. And wat r the other think u invented for the I-Phone’s Purpose ??[:D] reallly,Do tell me!!
January 2nd, 2008 at 5:29 am
[…] when enough light is around but once it starts getting dark, the pictures get grainy really fast. iPhoneexe posted up a mod awhile back that utilizes LED’s, a tact switch and a dock connector to give […]
April 19th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Can someone make me one and sell it to me if so please email me at jpsycoboy5@yahoo.com
August 19th, 2008 at 9:07 am
iPhone downloads site…
I like this particular post and am browsing through your past ones. Great job!…
October 3rd, 2008 at 10:30 am
[…] A câmera só tem 2 megapixels, e não tem flash; Os megapixels não da pra mudar mas para o flash já inventaram uma solução […]
October 7th, 2008 at 4:42 am
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October 14th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Macromedia Flash 8 Pro…
When the iPhone’s initial specs were released by Apple tons of users complained about its lack of a camera flash. Using a USB connector 4 white LED’s and a tact switch I built a removable flash unit.More after the jump.The LED’s are…..
October 28th, 2008 at 11:38 am
ok…that is a ghetto flash. might as well use a flashlight. iphone users…just wait for the next iphone with a powerful flash…if apple includes it.
October 28th, 2008 at 11:39 am
that is a ghetto flash. might as well use a flashlight. iphone users..just wait for the third iphone with a powrful flash, if apple includes it.
October 31st, 2008 at 2:13 am
charger…
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November 1st, 2008 at 1:01 am
iPhone downloads sites…
Just the information that I need. I am so glad I found this post. Thanks :)…
November 28th, 2008 at 10:32 am
[…] Just in case you were thinking of adding a "Flash" for the camera: iPhonexe | Blog Blog Archive iFlash - External Flash for the iPhone […]
December 13th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Hey Joe, not sure if your reading this but I have bought some parts to build a few of these, would you object to me selling them on ebay? We may be able to come to some arrangement.
December 21st, 2008 at 3:00 pm
iPod music downloads…
Thanks for posting these useful information. Keep them coming :)…
January 10th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
The only thing I’m worried about is that we don’t know the maximum current pin 18 can handle before something inside the iPhone overloads. 10ohms is very VERY little resistance, and a diode with no resistance might as well be a short circuit. I like the idea a lot, but unless you know the maximum current capacity of pin 18, I think you’re asking for trouble.
April 6th, 2009 at 8:13 am
hi there,
i’m from singapore, was wondering if have you started shipment? i would like to know how much will it cost for me in total* if i were to buy one from you?
let me know,
*shipping cost + item..
thank you, nasar
April 12th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Brilliant. Apple take note, this is what the people want from the next iphone.
June 6th, 2009 at 3:44 am
[…] plug but it is difficult for obvious reasons :P. My contribution to the book came in the form of a blog post I wrote about iFlash - a useful little device I hacked together one day that serves as an external […]
August 19th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Go to barns and noble look for stuff like mac for dummies or windows (whatever flavor) for dummies and then look for iPhone hacks it’s a thick white book (paper back) and it’s in the back of the book (past index) and the same exact thing and it’s a guide with the pinout! This guy say this was his doing but unless he wrote the book (which he didn’t) he’s lying his butt off.
August 20th, 2009 at 8:06 am
УХОД ЗА ГУСЕНИЦАМИ…
УХОД ЗА ГУСЕНИЦАМИ ПРИ КОКОНОЗАВИВКЕ Пра&…
August 21st, 2009 at 10:57 am
Шаг 9: Реализация….
Шаг 9: Реализация. Как уже указывалось ранеk…
August 23rd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Is anybody selling any of these? Where can i get them?
August 26th, 2009 at 1:52 am
УХОД ЗА ГУСЕНИЦАМИ ПРИ КОКОНОЗАВИВКЕ Пра&…
August 31st, 2009 at 8:34 am
Опалубка и теплозащита…
Опалубка и теплозащита снимаются при тем&#…
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September 2nd, 2009 at 3:56 am
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September 3rd, 2009 at 5:07 am
Что используют в…
Что используют в подобных случаях профес&#…
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:21 am
Love it! I have to try this!
I think it would be great if the LEDs where on a longer cable, so you could hold it in one hand and the phone in the other perhaps. I made a macro lens for my phone yesterday ( http://pappmaskin.no/2009/09/diyhow-to-make-your-own-iphone-macro-lens/ ) but I find it hard to light the object I’m taking a picture of. Just one led on a longer cord would give me a lot of plexibility in ways to light things in cool ways, or perhaps even several leds on separate cables to put light sources on lets say four sides of an object.
Nice work, I’m bookmarking this for later.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
is it just me or does the iphone come up short on loads of things , jesus, a flash for craps sake !. think i might revert to my nokia
November 11th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Do you sell these?
November 13th, 2009 at 10:33 am
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January 16th, 2010 at 2:27 am
This is useful article. Thanks so much.