Flash for Dummies (me); very basic questions

I'm completely new to flash. In fact, the only flash I've ever used was the pop-up one on my 50D.
Then last week a guy from Texas came up to shoot hummingbirds with me. He had this multiple-flash setup with 5 flashes. It worked really well for hummers in flight.
He did it in such a way that he still used very low shutter speeds, like 1/200th of a second.
He used really cheap flashes that he got for $50 a piece off of B&H.
These flashes are no longer available thru B&H, but they have these that he said should work just as well:
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …&N=4168864822&s​rtclk=sort

I now want to buy some flashes of my own. If I buy this type (see link above), would I be able to do "high speed sync", or whatever it is that they call it?
You know, like, could I shoot at fast shutter speeds such as 1/2000th of a second and 1/4000th of a second?
Or will I forever be limited to the ridiculously slow "synch speed" that the camera is limited to?
BTW, I am shooting with a Canon 1D Mark 4.

Would other (more expensive) flashes allow me to shoot at high shutter speeds, even if these do not? If so, which ones? Please don't recommend the Canon speedlites, they are far more money than I have any interest in spending......when you need 4 or 5 flashes to light things exactly the way you want, Canon's speedlites become prohibitively expensive.

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Having a hard time imagining his set up needing 4 weaker speedlights vs one stronger light. Give us some details on how he worked.

Why do you think you need 1/2000 or 1/4000th?

This article probably explains why what the person had worked. To stop the wings, you use a very fast flash duration, and not a fast shutter speed. It took me a few times to read through it to understand, but it completely makes sense. This is most likely how bullet shots are frozen in time as well.

http://www.dyesscreek.​com …aneous_pages/ho​wto_1.html
http://photo.net …-photography-forum/000R1Y

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #18038259
Having a hard time imagining his set up needing 4 weaker speedlights vs one stronger light. Give us some details on how he worked.

He had each part of the bird's plumage in mind, and for each part of the plumage he wanted it illuminated from a very specific direction. This system he has is the result of many years of using multiple flash setups for hummingbirds, and he has fine-tuned every little detail over the course of many years and hundreds of thousands of images. He used to do it with just three flashes, but said that he much prefers the results of the 5 flash setup.

I have a photo (albeit a very poor one) of his setup that I will post in a moment if I can find it quickly.

EDIT:
Here is a shot of his setup and a pic that shows the hummer. I don't understand all of the subtleties of the 5 flashes because I don't know anything about this kind of photography. He just put a transmitter on my hotshot and I shot along with him for an hour or two and got one or two ok shots. Would really like to learn more about this type of photography and gear up for it so that I can start doing this kind of thing on my own.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18038262
Why do you think you need 1/2000 or 1/4000th?

Because I want to be able to use flash in many other types of situations. In order to freeze the wings, he had to establish studio-like conditions and he had to make it so that the ambient light had practically no effect on the exposure. Which means that this could only be done in a shaded area. I would like to use this type of setup "on the go", and carry it along with me in a backpack so that I can set it up anywhere in just a few minutes time. A lot of the places I would like to use such a setup would be in sunny areas that are far away from roads and trails, and it would be impossible to create or find a shady area, and I would still want to freeze the wings.

Plus, if I get flash equipment I want to be able to use it high up in trees for woodpecker nests, and out in the prairie for running deer, etc, etc, etc. Having to stay below the body's synch speed would limit the scenarios in which I could use flash, and I want to be able to use flash in all conditions, not just the ones in which a slow shutter speed can be used.

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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18038288
Because I want to be able to use flash in many other types of situations. In order to freeze the wings, he had to establish studio-like conditions and he had to make it so that the ambient light had practically no effect on the exposure. Which means that this could only be done in a shaded area. I would like to use this type of setup "on the go", and carry it along with me in a backpack so that I can set it up anywhere in just a few minutes time. A lot of the places I would like to use such a setup would be in sunny areas that are far away from roads and trails, and it would be impossible to create or find a shady area, and I would still want to freeze the wings.

Plus, if I get flash equipment I want to be able to use it high up in trees for woodpecker nests, and out in the prairie for running deer, etc, etc, etc. Having to stay below the body's synch speed would limit the scenarios in which I could use flash, and I want to be able to use flash in all conditions, not just the ones in which a slow shutter speed can be used.

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Shooting in a shaded area is not really killing ambient light. Shutter speed controls ambient exposure and aperture and flash control flash exposure. Check the different background exposure but simply changing SS.

http://neilvn.com …ues/dragging-the-shutter/

High speed sync is fine to use but remember the faster the shutter the more flash power you lose. This in the shade would be helpful because overpowering the sun can be difficult in direct sun using HSS.

Here are two shots with my 600 RT using HSS however it did not kill the ambient as I wanted it there.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18038265
He had each part of the bird's plumage in mind, and for each part of the plumage he wanted it illuminated from a very specific direction. This system he has is the result of many years of using multiple flash setups for hummingbirds, and he has fine-tuned every little detail over the course of many years and hundreds of thousands of images. He used to do it with just three flashes, but said that he much prefers the results of the 5 flash setup.

I have a photo (albeit a very poor one) of his setup that I will post in a moment if I can find it quickly.

EDIT:
Here is a shot of his setup and a pic that shows the hummer. I don't understand all of the subtleties of the 5 flashes because I don't know anything about this kind of photography. He just put a transmitter on my hotshot and I shot along with him for an hour or two and got one or two ok shots. Would really like to learn more about this type of photography and gear up for it so that I can start doing this kind of thing on my own.

Hosted photo: posted by Tom Reichner in
./showthread.php?p=180​38265&i=i190732428
forum: Flash and Studio Lighting

Hosted photo: posted by Tom Reichner in
./showthread.php?p=180​38265&i=i45766216
forum: Flash and Studio Lighting

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That is a lot of flashes. Not sure you are going find many for $50 that have ETTL and HSS.

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digital paradise wrote in post #18038377
That is a lot of flashes. Not sure you are going find many for $50 that have ETTL and HSS.

What do you mean by ETTL? Is it something that some flashes have and some don't have? Would it be something that would help me use it at fast shutter speeds? If so, then this would be exactly the kind of info that I was looking to get when I started the thread.

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I've never seen this but it may be helpful

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=r5kh2PyR99U

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18038380
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What do you mean by ETTL? Is it something that some flashes have and some don't have? Would it be something that would help me use it at fast shutter speeds? If so, then this would be exactly the kind of info that I was looking to get when I started the thread.

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Yes, ettl makes flashes "automatic" ... it allows them to instantly vary ouput depending on the subject, ambient, and camera settings.

generally speedlights that have ETTL are the ones that can do HSS. I think the cheapest Yongnou flash with HSS is about a hundred bucks.

to be honest, the result shown above is really not very spectacular.

edit: cheap YN with HSS http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …reless_ttl_spee​dlite.html

digital paradise wrote in post #18038372
Shooting in a shaded area is not really killing ambient light. Shutter speed controls ambient exposure and aperture and flash control flash exposure. Check the different background exposure but simply changing SS.

Right, of course.
But by shooting in a shaded area and using ISO 400 and f22or f32 absolutely did kill the ambient light.
However, if the area had been sunny, there were no settings that would have been able to kill the ambient light. My friend said that you really have to do this in shade, or there will simply be too much ambient light and there will be some ghosting on the wings.

I am not especially looking to be challenged on how I want to use flash. I have a pretty good idea of how I want to use flash, I just don't understand the technical stuff enough to know what is possible with the various kinds of equipment.
In other words, I know what I want the flashes to do, and how I want them to work with the camera, and how I want the camera to work when using it with the flashes. I just don't know fi any given flash will enable me to do all that I want to, so I am looking for some recommendations on specific items, and some discussion on what the limitations of each type of flash are. Links to products would be especially helpful.

I want to be able to use flash effectively in shade, with slow shutter speeds, like my friend did with his set-up.
I also want to be able to use flash effective in shade, but with very high shutter speeds, for times when I am looking for different types of results.
I also want to use flash in bright sun, with slow shutter speeds.
And I also want to use flash in bright sun, at very high shutter speeds, when I am looking to create different types of images than I would be at slower speeds.

Basically, I want to be able to use flash in all kinds of different conditions and at any shutter speed at all. I just want to make sure that I buy the type of flash gear that enables me to do so, because I do not want to buy something, and then later find that there are certain limitations that the gear has.

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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18038380
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What do you mean by ETTL? Is it something that some flashes have and some don't have? Would it be something that would help me use it at fast shutter speeds? If so, then this would be exactly the kind of info that I was looking to get when I started the thread.

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Yes, some do and some don't. ETTL is Evaluative Through The Lens metering. The system fires a pre flash (so fast you can't see it) and exposure is calculated from the light that is reflected back (from that pre flash) from your subject. It is ball park and you still may need to tweak flash power. This of course can done manually by simply adjusting the flash output power which is more consistent but many people like to have ETTL for versatility. I used ETTL for those two shots but had to dial back the FEC or Flash Exposure Compensation that works with ETTL.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #18038390
to be honest, the result shown above is really not very spectacular.

Nor is it meant to be. I personally am not that much of a fan of "zero phase angle" imagery, but it was my friend's intended result, and he accomplishes precisely what he wants to with his setup, with light falling evenly on every part of the subject with no visible phase angle whatsoever. I'm not saying that it is a great way to make images, I just want to be sure to be able to do it when I think that such a technique would work well for a particular situation.

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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18038391
I am not especially looking to be challenged on how I want to use flash.

the above doesn't jive with the below.

you are asking a flash to do a lot in a simple easy to implement way without much input from you the user. Not going to happen.

btw i added a link to my post above.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18038391
Right, of course.
But by shooting in a shaded area and using ISO 400 and f22or f32 absolutely did kill the ambient light.
However, if the area had been sunny, there were no settings that would have been able to kill the ambient light. My friend said that you really have to do this in shade, or there will simply be too much ambient light and there will be some ghosting on the wings.

I am not especially looking to be challenged on how I want to use flash. I have a pretty good idea of how I want to use flash, I just don't understand the technical stuff enough to know what is possible with the various kinds of equipment.
In other words, I know what I want the flashes to do, and how I want them to work with the camera, and how I want the camera to work when using it with the flashes. I just don't know fi any given flash will enable me to do all that I want to, so I am looking for some recommendations on specific items, and some discussion on what the limitations of each type of flash are. Links to products would be especially helpful.

I want to be able to use flash effectively in shade, with slow shutter speeds, like my friend did with his set-up.
I also want to be able to use flash effective in shade, but with very high shutter speeds, for times when I am looking for different types of results.
I also want to use flash in bright sun, with slow shutter speeds.
And I also want to use flash in bright sun, at very high shutter speeds, when I am looking to create different types of images than I would be at slower speeds.

Basically, I want to be able to use flash in all kinds of different conditions and at any shutter speed at all. I just want to make sure that I buy the type of flash gear that enables me to do so, because I do not want to buy something, and then later find that there are certain limitations that the gear has.

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There is really not that much to it. The camera and flash have two specific jobs and neither care what the other is doing.Camera takes care of ambient exposure and the flash subject exposure. It is like two exposures in one. Your camera's light meter measures ambient light and there are multiple ways to set that up to taste. The camera's light meter has nothing to do with the flash. It can't because there is no flash event. ETTL does that. It uses the camera's exposure metering system and you can only look after at the LCD after the exposure and adjust flash power.

Same goes for manual flash exposure. Unless you have a flash meter you take a guess at flash power and adjust as required. The histogram is very helpful with flash exposure.

For those two bird shots I was just on Av, put the flash on in ETTL, adjusted the FEC a few times and that was it. Using Av gave me a good ambient and I just added flash. Many like to put the cam in manual and so do I when in the mood.