Is flash sync speed important?

Unless you're 1) Shooting against a lot of ambient light, or 2) Freezing a very fast-moving subject, high speed sync is not important.

Flash duration is arguably more important that a faster shutter speed for freezing action. The only time I can think of that not being able to shoot over the x sync of the camera would be detrimental is if you're shooting into a really bright ambient. Using a low ISO and a higher f/ stop, you can kill the ambient enough in most situations where any motion blur that occurs will be the result of a longer flash duration than a slower shutter speed.

That's why I went with the Alien Bee B800 for my first "studio strobe". It's flash duration is 1/3300 at full power where as the Elinchrom D-lites I was looking at is only 1/800.
 
And I like to post.

I've been using my C Pol for this lately. That's why my next filter will probably be a two stop ND.

My film N80 didn't support FP sync. I used Kodacolor-25 until Kodak dropped it and then I bought a 3-stop ND. So far, FP sync has worked fine with my D80 so I haven't had reason to use the filter.

It's kind of a lose-lose situation. FP drops the flash output intensity but an ND filter prevents the full intensity from reaching the film/sensor. In both cases, your distance is dramatically reduced. The main advantage of FP over ND is on-the-spot adjustability.
 
My film N80 didn't support FP sync. I used Kodacolor-25 until Kodak dropped it and then I bought a 3-stop ND. So far, FP sync has worked fine with my D80 so I haven't had reason to use the filter.

It's kind of a lose-lose situation. FP drops the flash output intensity but an ND filter prevents the full intensity from reaching the film/sensor. In both cases, your distance is dramatically reduced. The main advantage of FP over ND is on-the-spot adjustability.

I have one flash that supports high speed sync and I just ordered an studio strobe, so that's not an option. But the ND works in that situation as having a nearly 400 w/s strobe will give me enough power to use the ND outside and still over power the sun if I need/want to.
 
The d40 (not the d40x), d70, and d50 (maybe even the d70s) and the Canon 1D can do this. In fact, the x xync is not limited to 1/500, and can actually sync all the way up to the camera's max shutter speed. Try it.

Benefits? You can easily overpower the sun if your flash is powerful enough. It's like having unlimited access to ND filters with a standard mechanical shutter.

As far as Nikon and Canon, I believe any of their cameras with a CMOS sensor has a mechanical shutter and is limited to 1/200-1/250 depending on the sensor size where as the CCD sensors are not limited.

That applies to the D40 and D70, but not the 1D. The 1D's high sync speed is a result of an excellent fast shutter. The D40 and D70 it's a result of electric control.

Also this isn't limited to CCD or CMOS. In the past when D100 were new and I was going though 1 roll of film per week wishing I had a digital camera the CMOS sensor could not be electrically turned off. The result was horrid blooming. These days both can be controlled electronically, and my CCD based D200 definitely uses a mechanical shutter all the way. Only the cameras with cheaper shutters don't in order to fake much higher shutter speeds.
 
That applies to the D40 and D70, but not the 1D. The 1D's high sync speed is a result of an excellent fast shutter. The D40 and D70 it's a result of electric control.

Also this isn't limited to CCD or CMOS. In the past when D100 were new and I was going though 1 roll of film per week wishing I had a digital camera the CMOS sensor could not be electrically turned off. The result was horrid blooming. These days both can be controlled electronically, and my CCD based D200 definitely uses a mechanical shutter all the way. Only the cameras with cheaper shutters don't in order to fake much higher shutter speeds.

The original Canon 1D was a CCD sensor with an electronic shutter.
 
That's why I went with the Alien Bee B800 for my first "studio strobe". It's flash duration is 1/3300 at full power where as the Elinchrom D-lites I was looking at is only 1/800.

True, but the AB's are like +/- 800K across their power range. Have fun color correcting!
 
Yeah FP mode is what it is on the Nikons, available with the SB-600 or 800 flashes. And yes, it's very inefficient.
I don't think you can get a pulse mode on the SB-600. The manual says it's only compatible with the 800 :(.

Also, a higher flash sync speed is useful for being able to use a larger aperture when focusing on one certain object to get a shallow DOF and for being able to get less motion blur in the non-flash lit parts of an image.
 
Huh? You might have been looking at something else because what we're discussing here definitely works fine on my SB-600.
 
Huh? You might have been looking at something else because what we're discussing here definitely works fine on my SB-600.
Oh, yes. Sorry, I stand corrected. I think I was thinking of the strobe mode :er:. It's only avaliable with the D2H, though, so how can you tell? Apart from merely being able to use the flash at the D40's 1/500s, I guess... I'm still a noob when it comes to flashes, lol.
 
True, but the AB's are like +/- 800K across their power range. Have fun color correcting!

Because of the drop at lower power range (1/32). True the Elinchrom d-lites are fairly good across the bored, but not being able to sync over 1/160 with radio triggers and having a max flash duration of 1/800 is really limiting. The AB's drop from 1/3300 to 1/1650. Can you imagine what a d-lite's max flash duration is a it's lowest setting? 1/400? 1/300? Try stopping action with that and you're going to have a good bit of motion blur. That's not acceptable for me.

And several test I've seen show 400k across the range.
 
Because of the drop at lower power range (1/32). True the Elinchrom d-lites are fairly good across the bored, but not being able to sync over 1/160 with radio triggers and having a max flash duration of 1/800 is really limiting. The AB's drop from 1/3300 to 1/1650. Can you imagine what a d-lite's max flash duration is a it's lowest setting? 1/400? 1/300? Try stopping action with that and you're going to have a good bit of motion blur. That's not acceptable for me.

And several test I've seen show 400k across the range.

I agree and disagree. I'm not that huge of a D-lite fan anyway. No fans. In any event, you've actually got it backward. Flash duration is always shorter at lower power, not the other way around. That's why the B800's, weighing in at only 320w/s, have a fast t.5 duration. This is all inconsequential anyway. Rarely will you have a need to sync above 1/500 shutter speed. Besides, if you go second-for-second with shutter speed, what on earth are you gonna be shooting at 1/3300? Maybe if you captured a hummingbird, fed it a bunch of speed, and then let it loose in your studio...
 
I agree and disagree. I'm not that huge of a D-lite fan anyway. No fans. In any event, you've actually got it backward. Flash duration is always shorter at lower power, not the other way around. That's why the B800's, weighing in at only 320w/s, have a fast t.5 duration. This is all inconsequential anyway. Rarely will you have a need to sync above 1/500 shutter speed. Besides, if you go second-for-second with shutter speed, what on earth are you gonna be shooting at 1/3300? Maybe if you captured a hummingbird, fed it a bunch of speed, and then let it loose in your studio...

Speed lights often have shorter flash durations at lower power, it's the other way around for studio strobes. Right on AB's website it shows Full power 1/3300 1/32 power 1/1650. I have it right.

And it's not about syncing at higher speeds. If you're shooting at 1/250 and 100 ISO in most in door situations, you're going to kill the ambient. At this point, it's up to the flash duration to freeze motion. If the d-lites are down to 1/400, then it could cause blur opposed to a light that's not.

What about using strobes to stop motion on something like a bike doing a burnout? A person running? Glass breaking? If you want to be absolutely sure you have that ability, you're going to want the fastest possible strobe you can get in that budget. I'm not up for buying a $1000 strobe right now. I want it for my reasons. I don't see why you're so opposed to that fact.
 
Those numbers are typos and need to be reversed. Paul Buff has not reinvented electrical engineering. Check the specs on any other manufacturer.
 
Those numbers are typos and need to be reversed. Paul Buff has not reinvented electrical engineering. Check the specs on any other manufacturer.

No they're not. If you do a bit of reading, you'll see that not all strobes have shorter flash durations at lower power than they do at higher power. Do some googling and you'll see that other strobes from other companies are also rated with a faster flash duration at higher power.

Ed. Lumedyne's chart shows their strobes have faster flash durations at higher powers
http://www.lumedyne.com/products/ACTPACKS.ASP
 

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