Flash Newb question, Mixing flashes

[kainu7]

OK question about flash sync speed, how fast the shutter speed can be. my camera has a flash sync speed of 1-320 (auto FP) so does that mean the this is the fastest I can have the flashes shoot? Ive noticed none of the flashes have a sync speed listed on them...

 

[MTVision]

That's is the fastest shutter speed you can have with flash. It doesn't matter though since flash freezes motion.

Aperture controls flashed area
Shutter speed controls background that isn't lot by flash

Shutter has no relationship with the flashed portion of your image. Basically aperture controls light intensity so when you take a picture the cameras aperture will open up and the area that is flashed is exposed. The background will start to expose based on amount of time you told the shutter to stay open. Are exposed by aperture won't expose more because of the open shutter

Since flash freezes motion you can go fairly low in shutter speed and not get blur

Fast shutter speed will give a darker background and slow shutter speed will expose background properly (?)

 

[Village Idiot]

OK question about flash sync speed, how fast the shutter speed can be. my camera has a flash sync speed of 1-320 (auto FP) so does that mean the this is the fastest I can have the flashes shoot? Ive noticed none of the flashes have a sync speed listed on them...

Auto FP Is Nikon's High Speed Sync? If so, the flash has to be in TTL mode and won't work off camera at that SS unless using CLS or TTL compatible triggers. It's also highly inefficient. What it does is fires the flash like a strobe so that it covers the entire time that the shutter is open. This allows you to use a speed higher than the camera's native x-sync. The Auto FP mode will use batteries quicker and not allow as powerful of a flash, but will allow you to use a faster shutter speed. X-sync on most modern APS-C sensor DSLRs is 1/250, unless your manual states differently.

That's is the fastest shutter speed you can have with flash. It doesn't matter though since flash freezes motion.

Aperture controls flashed area
Shutter speed controls background that isn't lot by flash

Shutter has no relationship with the flashed portion of your image. Basically aperture controls light intensity so when you take a picture the cameras aperture will open up and the area that is flashed is exposed. The background will start to expose based on amount of time you told the shutter to stay open. Are exposed by aperture won't expose more because of the open shutter

Since flash freezes motion you can go fairly low in shutter speed and not get blur

Fast shutter speed will give a darker background and slow shutter speed will expose background properly (?)

Shutter speed is still important. If you're letting ambient into your photo to where it's lighting your subject (say they're not a big enough distance from the abient source as to cause the fall off needed to under exposed them enough), then you run the possibility of it creating an exposure (since using a flash essentially creates an exposure every time the flash flashes) based on the ambient bleed. For action shots, this can cause motion blur if your subject is moving fast enough to cause motion blur at whatever your SS is.

Ways to fix that are a smaller aperture to cut out the ambient and stronger light to compensate or if you don't want the wider DOF, an ND filter with a stronger light.

 

[kainu7]

OK Ive been reading anything and everything about flashes but I cant seem to find a lot about the LP160 other than on the strobist website, how well do you guys think the LP160 is compared to the 285hv? is it work the difference in price? I plan on buying some radio triggers to use 2 or 3 of them just not sure which triggers I want yet.

Since ill be using radio triggers I wont need all the different connections that the LP160 offers right?

The lp160 also has more control over the light right? So that in theory would be best for me...