One of our bestsellers in the 90’s was the Contra series with a recycling time of 2.1s at max. power and shortest flash duration of 1/1300s. Nice back then, when most photographers used relatively slow analogue cameras. These units didn’t need a fan. Today our Expert D 500 fires a full power flash every 0.5s and reaches 1/5600s flash duration. The fastest flash sequence time is a maximum of 9 flashes – continuously. If you relate this to cars, it is like comparing a VW Beatle with a Porsche Carrera.

Generally, the airflow has to be matched to the output performance of the flash. Units offering top performance also need proper cooling to match it. When necessary, the ventilator dependably blows all hot air out of the unit. In this case (at high performance levels) it may become a little bit louder.
The ventilator is temperature controlled which means you will hardly hear it at normal level of operation. However, when ‘push comes to shove’ one can absolutely rely on the equipment’s durability and the ventilator increases the airflow inside the unit. On top, this active cooling extends the lifespan of the electronics.