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Sere81
27th of August 2008 (Wed), 18:41
With an external flash like a speedlite will I be able to get shutter speeds faster than 1/200 sec?
Titus213
27th of August 2008 (Wed), 18:57
Yes, but what are you looking for, how do you plan on using it? There are caveats to exceeding your maximum sync speed with an EX flash.
tim
27th of August 2008 (Wed), 20:19
Yes, using high speed sync. The sync speed on the 20D/40D/rebel series is 1/250th for all I think, the 5D is 1/200th. Above that speed HSS is needed. Using HSS you lose a lot of power from the flash. There's links to how HSS works from the eos bible, which is linked from the sticky thread. Or google it.
emtp563
27th of August 2008 (Wed), 20:49
If he has a 1D, x-sync speed is 1/500. That's one of the things I love about the 1D.
Sere81
28th of August 2008 (Thu), 19:37
I have an xti, and I was just curious. My wife is planning on getting me an external flash for xmas, and I don't know a thing about them yet. So I was just wondering since my on camera flash doesn't allow for shutter speeds beyond 200/s with the flash.
emtp563
28th of August 2008 (Thu), 20:12
I have an xti, and I was just curious. My wife is planning on getting me an external flash for xmas, and I don't know a thing about them yet. So I was just wondering since my on camera flash doesn't allow for shutter speeds beyond 200/s with the flash.

Sure, you can get higher shutter speeds higher than you camera's x-sync speed (1/200th in your case). All you need to do is put the flash into high-speed sync mode (HSS). Keep in ming, you lose flash power by doing this.
Curtis N
28th of August 2008 (Thu), 20:37
With an external flash like a speedlite will I be able to get shutter speeds faster than 1/200 sec?With a Canon EX series Speedlite, yes. With a few of the aftermarket E-TTL compatible flash units, yes. With most budget-priced aftermarket brands, no.

High Speed Sync is a proprietary technology that has been reverse-engineered by a few competitors. Be careful before you buy.
Titus213
28th of August 2008 (Thu), 22:28
You should understand that you do not need high shutter speeds to stop action with a flash. Motion blur with a flash will be a function of shutter speed and ambient light. If the majority of your light is provided by the flash you can stop some pretty serious action with it because of the duration of the flash.

High speed sync as mentioned above, works to allow high shutter speeds but it comes at a cost in flash range.