Camera flash: ON vs. OFF terminology

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J.C. - 29 Aug 2008 20:36 GMT

When people say a camera's flash goes OFF ("1,000 flashes went off at
halftime") don't they really mean ON? How did this usage get started?

A buildup of electrical charge is released when a flash goes...off, but
"off" really implies darkness being generated. "The flash was triggered or
fired" makes more sense to me.

Another way to pose this question is: when does off mean on?

J.C.

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Raymond O'Hara - 29 Aug 2008 20:59 GMT

> When people say a camera's flash goes OFF ("1,000 flashes went off at
> halftime") don't they really mean ON? How did this usage get started?
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
> J.C.

Bombs go off, guns go off.
being on implies a steady state as opposed to a one time discharge like a
flash, bomb or gun.

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Pat Durkin - 29 Aug 2008 21:44 GMT

> When people say a camera's flash goes OFF ("1,000 flashes went off at
> halftime") don't they really mean ON? How did this usage get started?
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Another way to pose this question is: when does off mean on?

Think "gun". Think explosion. When a gun goes off, it is an explosion.

Flashes for cameras were once frequently called "flash guns", but before
that, the phosphorous flashes were actually explosions.

There was instantaneous light and heat and noise. The darkness came
_after_ the tray of powder was ignited (was set off). Lights in the old
camera flashes burnt themselves out in a flash (single use). Thank
goodness the noise was eliminated, and the heat was minimal for being of
such short duration.

Fireworks are "set off", and it is not the darkness they are created
for. It is the lights of the explosions.

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Andrew Heenan - 30 Aug 2008 09:27 GMT

> When people say a camera's flash goes OFF ("1,000 flashes went off at
> halftime") don't they really mean ON? How did this usage get started?
> A buildup of electrical charge is released when a flash goes...off, but
> "off" really implies darkness being generated. "The flash was triggered or
> fired" makes more sense to me.
> Another way to pose this question is: when does off mean on?

It's a histrical thing; the predecessor of the electric flash was plain old
fashioned explosive charge, using chemicals that created more light than
heat when they 'went off'. usually, anyway!

Signature

Andrew
http://www.wordskit.com/
http://www.flayme.com/

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J.C. - 30 Aug 2008 17:26 GMT

>> When people say a camera's flash goes OFF ("1,000 flashes went off at
>> halftime") don't they really mean ON? How did this usage get started?
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> plain old fashioned explosive charge, using chemicals that created
> more light than heat when they 'went off'. usually, anyway!

I gathered as much, but you can still see the confusion. OFF tends to
indicate the absence of something, whereas ON indicates the presence of
something.

Light, noise & heat are generally taken as something active or present,
while darkness, etc. means something is missing. It's the same as black
being the absence of color and white being the full spectrum.

I am fine with the historical context but I only think it makes sense
50/50.

J.C.

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Daniel James - 30 Aug 2008 10:02 GMT

> When people say a camera's flash goes OFF ("1,000 flashes went off at
> halftime") don't they really mean ON? How did this usage get started?

Think about what you do with a camera, you turn the flash 'on' in order
to take a picture, and when the picture is taken and the flash
discharged it "goes off".

Modern electronic cameras have flash systems that recharge very quickly
after use and appear to remain 'on' constantly, but there is still a
brief 'off' period after taking a photograph before the flash can be
used again (but you probably won't notice, as the camera is also
unusable for a brief period after taking while it writes the image to
the memory card).

Older flash equipment using flash bulbs needed to be turned on before
use, and afterwards were very definitely 'off' as the bulb needed to be
replaced.

Cheers,
Daniel.

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contrex - 30 Aug 2008 12:20 GMT

> Think about what you do with a camera, you turn the flash 'on' in order
> to take a picture, and when the picture is taken and the flash
> discharged it "goes off".

In the UK, the "curing" that takes place when two-pack epoxy resin
solidifies is often called "going off", perhaps by analogy with the
thus-termed perishing of certain foods such as cheese, milk cream,
eggs etc.

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Andrew Heenan - 30 Aug 2008 15:50 GMT

> In the UK, the "curing" that takes place when two-pack epoxy resin
> solidifies is often called "going off", perhaps by analogy with the
> thus-termed perishing of certain foods such as cheese, milk cream,
> eggs etc.

*say* cheese, by all means, but *think* Fireworks. Going off in the manner
you describe would only apply if the flash failed to, er, go off.

Signature

Andrew
http://www.wordskit.com/
http://www.flayme.com/

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Peter Duncanson (BrE) - 30 Aug 2008 17:11 GMT

>> In the UK, the "curing" that takes place when two-pack epoxy resin
>> solidifies is often called "going off", perhaps by analogy with the
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>*say* cheese, by all means, but *think* Fireworks. Going off in the manner
>you describe would only apply if the flash failed to, er, go off.

There are really two different meanings of "off" being
discussed.

There is "off" the state which is the opposite of "on", and
"off" as in a firework, flashgun, gun, bomb, etc "going off".

A few months ago the electricity supply to my house failed.
I phoned the electricity company to report this.

I found myself saying "The electricity supply to my house has
failed. The supply to other houses nearby has failed, so it is
not just my house affected. I know that other houses have lost
electricty because at the instant the power went off in my house
a burglar alarm in a neigbour's house went off."

I had to explain that what I meant by "burglar alarm...went off"
was "burglar alarm... started sounding".

As far as I know this second meaning of "off" occurs only in a
phrasal verb: "go off", "set off", etc.

Signature

Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.english.usage)

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J.C. - 30 Aug 2008 17:34 GMT

>> When people say a camera's flash goes OFF ("1,000 flashes went off at
>> halftime") don't they really mean ON? How did this usage get started?
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> unusable for a brief period after taking while it writes the image to
> the memory card).

That all makes sense and it does come down to semantics. A flash goes ON in
terms of light, but goes OFF in terms of a capacitor being discharged. A
limbo state between off and on for a very brief time? I somewhat equate it
with double negatives, like "I ain't got nothing."

> Older flash equipment using flash bulbs needed to be turned on before
> use, and afterwards were very definitely 'off' as the bulb needed to be
> replaced.

Now that makes the most sense of anything, but times sure have changed.

J.C.

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / August 2008

Camera flash: ON vs. OFF terminology