High-speed sync with flash

[motta]

Hi, I was wondering If I can make high speed shots with my 1000d and an external flash. I'm not into strobism so I have no idea.

Sometimes I like having fun with macros of splashing water, but I can't really make them freeze with only a 1/200 speed.

What flash do I need. Does a 430 speedlight work? What is the cheapest model available with good quality?

 

[redtippmann]

Would you be inside or outside? Either way if you wait till there is NO ambient light you could drag your shutter at like 1/10th and if the flash is the only thing exposing the image it will still be frozen. Because the flash is only "on" (or firing) for aprox. 1/1000th of a second.

But if you were doing this where there was ambient light then you would probably need HSS. And I dont know much about canon but I am pretty sure both of the items are able to sync at high speeds.

 

[Josh66]

I'm pretty sure any Canon flash will high-speed sync with your camera...
Maybe not the 270EX though. The 430 & 580 will though.

When you're looking at the specs of them, they'll sometimes say 'FP mode' instead of high speed sync.

 

[Buckster]

Yes, it's not a problem. Keep in mind that the flash is much faster than the shutter, and that's how the high speed capture is made. The shutter itself can be open for a very long time if ambient light isn't bright enough to overexpose the shot.

Tip: Place your flash as close as possible to the subject without it being in the shot itself, and dial down the power (or use ETTF). Though it happens in the blink of an eye, the flash actually has to go from no light, power up to full brightness, then dim back down again to zero, and that takes time. The less power it fires at, the faster that flash cycle happens which means the fastest capture possible.

Here's an example: These (and others from the series) were shot at f/22 with a 180mm macro lens @ ISO 100.

The shutter time? 2 full seconds long.

Why it's frozen is that it's lit with two 580EXII flashes placed as close as possible to the subject and both working at just 1/64th power.

Have fun with it!

 

[motta]

Thank you guys! That's exactly what I was looking for.
I managed to shot some water drops with fantastic definition. That was my mistake, I was using a "high" shutter speed and trying to use the ambient light to iluminate the shot.

Great pictures Buckster, congrats.

 

[jake337]

Thanks now I understand as well

 

[KmH]

A Nikon SB-800 speedlight at 1/64 power has a flash duration of approximately 1/32,000 of a second and a duration of 1/18,000 of a second at 1/32 power. At full power the duration is 1/1000 of a second.

The fastest dSLR shutter speed is 1/8000 of a second.