Need High-Speed Sync, but don't have the equipment for it? Up to a point, like maybe 1/500 sec., you can fake it!
NOTE: You need an off-camera flash to get the higher shutter speeds, use a sync cord, or tape the pins on some auto flashes.
Shooting V-ball is not all that easy to WB (White Balance). Many of the high school gyms are black holes for lighting; + The lights above are not full spectrum & the light from below which is bounced from the wood floor is biased toward yellow.
And most refs will only allow bounced flash, although some will allow direct flash from the stands in a non-championship match.
So I thought I'd try some tests to see if I could live with the 1/250 sec. sync speed that Canon recommends.
This image was shot against a blank wall to show where the shutter will cut off the flash at higher speeds:
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Notice that you can probably get away with 1/400 seconds?
I'm usually shooting with the 85mm f/1.8 lens, which is a bit wide for some angles, so I can afford to crop in, & if I bias the shot toward the top of the frame, I think I can even get away with 1/500 sec as you can see in this image. It's direct flash during warm-up, but bounce flash gives the same result:
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So think about squeezing out a little higher shutter speed when you feel that it will help. I suggest that you run a test with your camera like the first image to see just where your shutter cuts off, too.
(Ignore the overexposure. It's just for illustration.)
