Editing FIL

'''FIL''' (ФИЛ<ref>This abbreviation apparently comes from Фотографическая Импульсная Лампа - Photographic Impulse Light.</ref>) electronic flashes were made by the '''Norma''' company of Tallin in Estonia (former USSR) from 1957 to 1990s.
The production line included models of different size and power, from small popular models to big, handle mounted professional units. Some of them were equipped with variable power settings, but no automatic exposure control was used, nor bounce and swivel heads. FIL flashes - with an exception of FIL-22 - were all powered by 220V mains, but majority of them were sold in sets with dedicated battery packs.{{br}}
A battery pack for powering 220 V mains flashes with four D-size cells was also marketed by Norma as a separate item.

It's interesting to note, what rules had to be observed when a new flash unit was to be used for the first time. The FIL-16 manual states:{{br}}
''Before putting the FIL-16 flashlight unit into service, the flash needs to be connected to 220V AC mains for 10...20 minutes without making any flashes during this time.'' {{br}}
''Moreover, it is recommended for forming the electrolitical capacitor, that intervals between first 5-10 flashes should be not shorter than 1 minute.''


'''FIL electronic flashes'''{{br}}

* FIL
* FIL-2
* FIL-3
* FIL-4
* FIL-5 - set of two flashes
* FIL-6 - set of two flashes
* FIL-7 - set of two flashes
* FIL-8 - set of two flashes
* FIL-9
* FIL-10 Nova
* FIL-10M
* FIL-11 - set of FIL-41 and a battery pack
* FIL-11M - set of FIL-41M and a battery pack
* FIL-12/ Fil-42
* FIL-16 - set of FIL-46 and a battery pack
* Fil-17 /Fil-47
* FIL-22 - battery powered flash of 1992s
* FIL-40
* FIL-41
* FIL-41M - modernized FIL-41
* FIL-42
* FIL-46 - further development of FIL-41M, now with hot shoe
* FIL-100 - professional flash
* FIL-101 - FIL-100 with a built-in photocell
* FIL-102 - set of FIL-100 and FIL-101
* FIL-105 - professional flash
* FIL-106 - FIL-105 with a built-in photocell
* FIL-107 - set of FIL-105 and FIL-106

==Notes==

{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* Бунимовч Д.З., Фомин А.В.: Справочник фотогафа [Photographer's handbook]; Легкая Индустря, Moscow, 1970.
* Симонов А.Г.: Фотографирование при искусственном освещении [Photographing with artificial light]; Искусство, Moscow, 1959.

==Links==

* [http://www.photohistory.ru/index.php?pid=1221154076106857 Flash page] of [http://www.photohistory.ru/1208091119011488.html G. Abramov's "Development stages of Soviet and Russian photographic industry"]

[[Category:Estonia]]
[[Category:Former USSR]]
[[Category:Electronic flash]]