How to get Sync speed above 200?

Is it possible to trigger manual flashes at sync speeds above 200, more like 800 for example? I am triggering my Lumopro and Vivtar flashes in manual mode with cables or optical slaves. Do I have to buy a different triggering device to go above 200 sync speed? Or I must buy a monolight to acheive that?

Thanks in advance!

Only way to increase increase sync speed I know of is with the new PocketWizards. But I don't think you can get anywhere near 800 with those either.

Familiaphoto wrote in post #7881706
Only way to increase increase sync speed I know of is with the new PocketWizards. But I don't think you can get anywhere near 800 with those either.

interesting, does that apply to monolights too? If so how are high speed shots taken with studio lighting?


Thanks for responding!

If the lights are constant and not strobes you don't need to trigger them and you can use whatever SS you want.

Any non-dedicated flash unit will not be recognized by the camera and allow the use of any shutter speed.

EX series Canon Speedlites and other E-TTL compatible flash units connected to the hotshoe are dedicated. Most other units, or other connection methods, are non-dedicated. Examples include:
* Generic hotshoe-mounted flash units such as the Vivitar 285HV, Sunpak 383, etc.
* Any flash unit or studio strobe triggered via PC cord or radio triggering system.

Sometimes you can "cheat" the camera's X-sync speed by 1/3 stop, and perhaps a bit more if you can tolerate an unexposed area in the bottom of the frame. I highly doubt you'll produce anything useful at 1/800.

There's a post of shutter speed test using cable versus various triggers. Sync cable you can achieve 400 and Cybersync around 320. Beyond that you start to get curtain shadow. The only option to get anything above that is to use ETTL with high speed sync.

One sample.... on page 4.

https://photography-on-the.net …hread.php?t=429​444&page=4

Curtis N wrote in post #7881782
* Any flash unit or studio strobe triggered via PC cord or radio triggering system.

What do professional photographers do for shots requiring the use of flash/strobe lighting power and high speed shutter to freeze action. Do they use dedicated flashes?


Thanks

mellofelow wrote in post #7881816
There's a post of shutter speed test using cable versus various triggers. Sync cable you can achieve 400 and Cybersync around 320. Beyond that you start to get curtain shadow. The only option to get anything above that is to use ETTL with high speed sync.

One sample.... on page 4.

https://photography-on-the.net …hread.php?t=429​444&page=4

Thanks for the link, I will have to go through the whole thing because it looks very useful.

abdul10000 wrote in post #7881868
What do professional photographers do for shots requiring the use of flash/strobe lighting power and high speed shutter to freeze action. Do they use dedicated flashes?


Thanks

If they limit the amount of ambient light in the scene the short duration of the flash freezes the subject motion so the shutter speed is a minor consideration. The duration of a modern studio flash can be as short at 1/6000 of a second, not sure about speedlights but still high enough to freeze most subjects short of speeding bullets and paint splatters.

Gonzogolf is correct. As long as the ambient exposure is insignificant, the flash duration is your effective shutter speed.

The one was shot at 1/250 but could have been done at 1/60.

gonzogolf wrote in post #7881913
If they limit the amount of ambient light in the scene the short duration of the flash freezes the subject motion so the shutter speed is a minor consideration. The duration of a modern studio flash can be as short at 1/6000 of a second, not sure about speedlights but still high enough to freeze most subjects short of speeding bullets and paint splatters.

Got it. I am curious though, if the flash duration is above 1000 how can a slow 200 shutter speed catch it? Is that because the flash is firing after the shutter opens? If the shutter opens fast, 320 for example, why black bars show up?


Many question and many thanks!!

The first shutter curtain opens, the flash turns on and turns off, then the second shutter curtain begins to close. With shutter speeds faster than X-sync, the second shutter curtain begins to close before the first curtain is completely open. That's why it's impossible to expose the entire frame with flash.

More info here:
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=208520

Also, lookup "focal plane shutter" on wikipedia.

Curtis N wrote in post #7882026
The first shutter curtain opens, the flash turns on and turns off, then the second shutter curtain begins to close. With shutter speeds faster than X-sync, the second shutter curtain begins to close before the first curtain is completely open. That's why it's impossible to expose the entire frame with flash.

More info here:
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=208520

Also, lookup "focal plane shutter" on wikipedia.

Wow that's an awesome thread, thanks.

To get a faster sync you can use leaf shutter lenses, think 1/500th or maybe 1/1000th sync speed... but you only really find them on medium and larger format lenses.

The reason you'd want a faster shutter speed is to overcome bright ambient lights, like the sun.

The other alternative to increasing shutter speed is to add more flash power and close the aperture or add ND filters, or if you need a shorter duration use multiple units powered down (assuming shorter durations at lower power, not always the case)

Read this thread and follow the video... see how to turn mid day into night.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=684587