Question: Why can't I get my ss higher than 250 when shooting basketball?

Good afternoon,

Let me start by saying that I typically shoot soccer so my boys are new to basketball. I have been reading and practicing and reading some more. I have a question though...

I have a 30D, using 85/1.8 and 430EX flash. The lighting stinks in the gym but I'm wondering why I can't get higher than 250 for my shutter speed?

I'm shooting in manual, ISO 1600, aperture in the 2.0's and I cannot get any higher than 250 for shutter speed. What am I doing wrong? I know I need to keep my ISO high so I haven't been adjusting that so I really only have the aperture to play with. No matter what I do, I can't get it.

Do I have something set incorrectly on the camera that is preventing me for reaching a higher ss?

Thanks for the insight.

Karman

Hmm. That is wierd. I know the built in camera flash can't sync beyond 1/200, but i didnt think that applied to the externals.

What is even stranger is that I can set the ss to say 500 or 640 or whatever and then when I go to shoot, it's back to 250. I just don't get it.

FOX2PRO wrote in post #7178878
Hmm. That is wierd. I know the built in camera flash can't sync beyond 1/200, but i didnt think that applied to the externals.

Max x-sync applies to both external and pop-up flash and is typically 1/200s or 1/250s depending on the camera body. However, with a Speedlite you can set it to HSS (high speed sync) and fire away at whatever shutterspeed you want. Flash output is significantly reduced in HSS mode though.

What is really weird is that I can set the ISO to 500 or 640 but when I get ready to shoot, it's back at 250. I know it has to be me but I don't understand what I'm doing wrong.

If you check your CUSTOM OPTOINS in your camera. It must be set to SYNC at a maximum of 1/250th. You should be able to switch auto sync off.

nickybegood1998 wrote in post #7178904
What is even stranger is that I can set the ss to say 500 or 640 or whatever and then when I go to shoot, it's back to 250. I just don't get it.

You have to use HSS

Also, remember that if the subject is only being illuminated by flash you could shoot at 1/30s and the image would still be sharp because the flash burst is very fast. To do this though the background exposure (not the subject) would need to be 2-3 stops underexposed

This should be in the manual (no clue if it is) but you can't get a higher sync than 1/250th using external flash, and that includes strobes. The action is not frozen by the shutter speed it's frozen in the flash duration. If it's a Canon user at the games you see strobes they are all shooting 1/250th at most. Nikon as a few bodies that are 1/500, a friend was just complaining because the new body Nikon came out with was only 1/320 with her strobes.

Let me go and get my camera to check EOS_JD. Please keep the suggestions coming just in case. I'd like to correct this before next Saturday.

Thanks everyone!

Look at Custom Function 03. Flash Sync speed in Av Mode 0 is Auto and 1 is fixed 1/250th.

That may be the problem? Set it back to 0

If using higher than 1/250th shutter speed you need to use HSS with the canon Speedlites.

HSS is NOT intended for sports use, it will NOT help...

http://webs.lanset.com​/rcochran/flash/hss.ht​ml

EOS_JD, the custom function was set to Auto. I scrolled and saw the fixed 1/250 option but it was set to Auto. Darn it.

Maybe I'm trying to do something that isn't possible but I could swear that I have read tons of basketball threads here that say they have reached higher ss than what I'm getting. If this is the best that I'm going to get minus strobes, I'm ok. I just wanted to make sure.

They're not using flash and that's how they're getting higher shutter speeds. The sync speed is 1/250 for Canon except the older 1D's had 1/500, you can manually override it but it won't help. If you manually override it so you're getting 1/500 but your flash is still at 1/250 you'll have a nice picture of your shutter in half the frame. HSS is a lot of short bursts while the shutter is open and will show a lot of ghosting. HSS intended purpose is for fill flash in bright outdoor light.

Yes that's right. If using strobes you cannot shoot at higher than the sync speed. Some cameras have a sync speed of 1/500th - maybe that's what you need.....