Flash sync

I've tried searching but haven't been able to come up with the answers. I need a definitive guide on flash sync.

I'm thinking of setting up a small product studio with 2 lights (most probably D-lite-4's) on a budget. Will be using the Elinchrom skyport triggers. Now the D-Lite 4's are capable of up to 1/800 sync (assuming this is at full power). But the Skyport triggers say they can only sync with you SLR in SPEED mode up to 1/250?

I know I'm missing some vital knowledge somewhere but don't know what it is and hence can't even look for it. Any help regarding this would be great.

Sync speed is a function of your camera's shutter mechanism. Your camera's max sync speed is the fastest shutter speed at which the entire sensor is exposed at once. I believe most Canons are in the 1/200 - 1/250 range.

Thanks Mike. So how does one achieve freeze motion shots of up to 1/8000? Not that I'm looking to sync that fast just yet. But I'd like to be able to at least reach 1/800 sync.

tman2782 wrote in post #13491735
Thanks Mike. So how does one achieve freeze motion shots of up to 1/8000? Not that I'm looking to sync that fast just yet. But I'd like to be able to at least reach 1/800 sync.

Speedlites have a high speed sync mode that acts like a super high speed strobe light to illuminate the entire frame when the shutter speed is over max sync speed. I don't think studio strobes can do that but someone more knowledgeable on the subject will correct me if needed.

tman2782 wrote in post #13491735
Thanks Mike. So how does one achieve freeze motion shots of up to 1/8000? Not that I'm looking to sync that fast just yet. But I'd like to be able to at least reach 1/800 sync.

When you are working with strobes in a studio setting, the flash duration of the strobe pulse freezes the motion, not your shutter speed. Shutter speed only matters when you are mixing ambient light into the shot, such as balancing strobes with ambient sunlight outdoors.

You certainly don't need to worry about any of this when shooting products. They aren't moving, so no worries about motion blur.

Sheldon N wrote in post #13491810
When you are working with strobes in a studio setting, the flash duration of the strobe pulse freezes the motion, not your shutter speed. Shutter speed only matters when you are mixing ambient light into the shot, such as balancing strobes with ambient sunlight outdoors.

You certainly don't need to worry about any of this when shooting products. They aren't moving, so no worries about motion blur.

This!

'Synch speed' is NOT the same as 'flash duration'

Synch speed is normally the fastest shutter speed which uses the two shutter curtains in the fully open position during exposure (not merely a narrow slit which exposes only a portion of the frame at a time).

Flash duration is how long/brief the flash output of light is. The 1/800 specification of the Dlite is 'flash duration'. In other words, because it emits light only during 1/800, it effectively freezes the motion to that brief period.

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=gXVdNwsNJiI

Thanks everyone for the valuable information. Turns out, I'd actually followed this but simply browsing through product specs just confused me.

Solution: Turns out studio strobes aren't really capable of high speed sync, so I simply use my camera settings to block out ambient and get the strobe to fire at it's fastest capable duration to freeze the motion.

Hope I got it right.

tman2782 wrote in post #13501987
Thanks everyone for the valuable information. Turns out, I'd actually followed this but simply browsing through product specs just confused me.

Solution: Turns out studio strobes aren't really capable of high speed sync, so I simply use my camera settings to block out ambient and get the strobe to fire at it's fastest capable duration to freeze the motion.

Hope I got it right.

It certainly does not make it easier for lighting novices to understand, when there is

• HSS mode in speedlights, which spreads light out over a longer duration of time but which leaves 'motion freezing' to the shutter speed itself; and there is also
  
• a 'faster shutter speed synch' mode being offered by outfits like Pocket Wizard, which leaves the motion freezing to the brief flash duration.

tman2782 wrote in post #13491696
I'm thinking of setting up a small product studio with 2 lights

Those must be some fast products to need such fast shutter speeds. Most products I shoot just sit there nicely and let me take their picture.

dedsen wrote in post #13503371
Those must be some fast products to need such fast shutter speeds. Most products I shoot just sit there nicely and let me take their picture.

LOL! No Dale, it's not that my products will be trying to run away while I struggle to photograph them. It was more for the creative end of the spectrum. I'm broadly interested in using liquids splashes and other fast moving elements etc. to incorporate into my work hence the need for high speed.

But having thought about it, I doubt it's going to affect the bulk of my work but I would love to have the option and not be limited by my equipment. I'm looking to buy right even though my budget is limited rather than cheap out now only to find out I need an upgrade soon.