Trick the flash to use higher than sync SS?

Hello!

I've read here on this forum that it's possible to set your shutterspeed to a value that's shorter than the sync speed of a speedlite and still come out with a photo that looks just fine, without the black banding being too apperent.

But I ran into problems because I can't set the shutterspeed shorter than 1/200th because camera's software doesn't allow it.

Is there a way to fool the camera into thinking that there is no flash attached and therefore alowing me to use shorter SS?

Please note: I use 550D + Nissin Di866 or 430 EXII. I know these flashes have HSS but it's not useful to me coz it takes away too much power.

What setting do you have your camera set to? I seem to remember the shutter speed being limited to the sync speed if the camera is set to Av mode and high sync is not enabled. I believe that the limit is not there if you shoot with your camera in manual mode.

I'm not sure about this, but FWIW this is what I remember.

You can use the tailburn of a studio strobe to do what you are talking about, but using speedlites you pretty much are stuck with HSS and its power limitations. Fooling the camera into thinking there is no strobe isnt really the issue, you can shoot in M mode in the camera with the flash on at whatever speed you like, but the shutter banding happens because the curtain isnt fully open at one time when the flash fires.

Like Robert said when in manual it lets me choose whatever shutter speed I want. The other modes I'm limited to the camera SS which is 1/200, but when it manual I can increase it to whatever the flash SS is.

D 550D wrote in post #15377340
Hello!

I've read here on this forum that it's possible to set your shutterspeed to a value that's shorter than the sync speed of a speedlite and still come out with a photo that looks just fine, without the black banding being too apperent.

But I ran into problems because I can't set the shutterspeed shorter than 1/200th because camera's software doesn't allow it.

Is there a way to fool the camera into thinking that there is no flash attached and therefore alowing me to use shorter SS?

Please note: I use 550D + Nissin Di866 or 430 EXII. I know these flashes have HSS but it's not useful to me coz it takes away too much power.

Do you actually have a situation where 1/200 second shutter just will NOT get the job done, but 1/250 second or 1/320 second shutter speed will fix everything? With a camera that has a focal plane shutter that is about the best you can expect to achieve. You may not even be able to achieve that, this is not just an issue of "because camera's software doesn't allow it", it is also a physical limitation of the focal plane shutter in your camera.

I have asked this question many times as this issue comes up over, and over, and over, and I am yet to see even one example where another 1/3 or 2/3 stop afforded by trying to squeeze a bit more out of your focal plane shutter made any difference.

I am not saying that there could not be a case where it MIGHT make a difference, but I have not seen one and I am skeptical regarding any meaningful utility afforded by such modest increase in maximum x-sync shutter speed.

Enjoy! Lon

Your camera and 430EXii will do everything you wish with the new Yongnu YN-622C and several things with the Di866. These are listed in the compatibility pages of the following link to the latest 'The Other YN-622C User Guide'. Have a read through as it's very interesting to know the limitations of your equipment. https://docs.google.co​m …7OmmGIg0gMVFpqN​kpBYXBHajA

Good luck

Malcolm

Back up this truck, gentlemen. Let's clear up some misinformation.

With a dedicated flash unit attached (directly on the hotshoe or via E-TTL cord), turned on and ready, Canon cameras will not exceed X-sync shutter speed (unless the flash is in HSS mode).

In other words, if the "flash ready" light is on in the viewfinder and HSS is not enabled, the camera will not use a shutter speed faster then X-sync, no matter what mode, and no matter what your shutter speed is set to.

The only way to get past X-sync is to use a non-dedicated flash (flash unit or studio strobe). If you connect to the flash via PC cable or garden variety radio trigger set, the camera won't recognize the flash, there will be no "flash ready" icon in the viewfinder, and you can crank the shutter speed to your heart's content.

By the way, I agree with Lon.

D 550D wrote in post #15377340
Hello!

I've read here on this forum that it's possible to set your shutterspeed to a value that's shorter than the sync speed of a speedlite and still come out with a photo that looks just fine, without the black banding being too apperent.

But I ran into problems because I can't set the shutterspeed shorter than 1/200th because camera's software doesn't allow it.

Is there a way to fool the camera into thinking that there is no flash attached and therefore alowing me to use shorter SS?

Please note: I use 550D + Nissin Di866 or 430 EXII. I know these flashes have HSS but it's not useful to me coz it takes away too much power.

see my thread on "cheating maximum sync speed" - but if you've tried HSS and it doesn't help then this trick probably won't help either. I noticed using manual wireless triggers (RF-602) you could go up to 1/400 depending on the ambient and flash power levels without seeing any black bar

doidinho wrote in post #15377887
What setting do you have your camera set to? I seem to remember the shutter speed being limited to the sync speed if the camera is set to Av mode and high sync is not enabled. I believe that the limit is not there if you shoot with your camera in manual mode.

I'm not sure about this, but FWIW this is what I remember.

I tried in Manual mode. I set the SS to 1/400 but the camera changed it to 1/200 when I half pressed the shutter

Well I guess that even if I could get 1/400th that wouldn't be enough, because I would like to have thin DoF for portraiture. Would an ND filter be a better solution for my needs?

Start here
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1154254

gonzogolf wrote in post #15377909
you can shoot in M mode in the camera with the flash on at whatever speed you like.

Is this also true of the 50D, when using the pop-up flash?
I've had a problem similar to what the OP has described, but with the pop-up flash. A flash is basically useless to me if I can't use it with a fast shutter speed.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #15381285
Is this also true of the 50D, when using the pop-up flash?
I've had a problem similar to what the OP has described, but with the pop-up flash. A flash is basically useless to me if I can't use it with a fast shutter speed.

I was wrong. I havent used the dedicated speedlite in the shoe, in that fashion, recently and forgot about the safety shift.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #15381285
Is this also true of the 50D, when using the pop-up flash?
I've had a problem similar to what the OP has described, but with the pop-up flash. A flash is basically useless to me if I can't use it with a fast shutter speed.

I belive so. My pop up flash behaves that way.

Curtis N wrote in post #15378328
Back up this truck, gentlemen. Let's clear up some misinformation.

With a dedicated flash unit attached (directly on the hotshoe or via E-TTL cord), turned on and ready, Canon cameras will not exceed X-sync shutter speed (unless the flash is in HSS mode).

In other words, if the "flash ready" light is on in the viewfinder and HSS is not enabled, the camera will not use a shutter speed faster then X-sync, no matter what mode, and no matter what your shutter speed is set to.

The only way to get past X-sync is to use a non-dedicated flash (flash unit or studio strobe). If you connect to the flash via PC cable or garden variety radio trigger set, the camera won't recognize the flash, there will be no "flash ready" icon in the viewfinder, and you can crank the shutter speed to your heart's content.

Thank you, Curtis!

BTW with just a YN-622C camera-mounted and on, the flash-ready indicator is on, and x-sync is enforced. Unless HSS sync is on, when the indicator includes "H" and permits an over-xsync shot without flash. (It's not "garden variety".)