Max sync speed

[Jus7 A Phas3]

Im thinking about getting skyports because i dont want to spend tons of mone on PW's. Im going to be using them off camrea all the time, most likely SB 24's or 26's. Skateboard photography is my think so i will be shooting alot of that which will require a fast shutter speed like 500 or higher which i know my D80's max sync speed isnt that fast. I am confused will i only be able to shoot at what my camreas max sync speed is at or will i be able to shoot faster?

 

[Mav]

The standard sync speed is 1/200s which stinks, but you can crank it up even higher if you're using Nikon Creative Lighting System compatible flashes (SB-600 or SB-800) via the high speed sync mode. It'll let you work at flash sync speeds of 1/500s or even faster, but it's enormously wasteful of flash power. This is one of several reasons why I have my D40. It has a real 1/500s flash sync which makes freezing daylight action without harsh shadows on people's faces a whole ton easier. The D50 and D70 also had 1/500s flash sync speeds.

 

[Jus7 A Phas3]

Thanks, so does that mean that unless i get SB 800's or 600's i cant sync my off camrea flash up to 500 I can only shoot at 200 or my camreas flash sync speed theres no way to have it go faster like maybe 1000 even with the SB's?

 

[sabbath999]

Yes, that's what it means.

Having said that, there are two options you might consider. One is getting a D40 or a used D70 which have a flash sync of 1/500th of a second.

You can use FP, but keep in mind (and no, I am not a math guy so I can't give a good explanation of this) that the faster you sync your flashes with FP, the less light they put out proportionally (I use the word proportionally to satisfy one particular user here ). If you are shooting close up, this is no big deal, but if you are giving your flash guns a workout by using the longer ends of their range, then the guide number reduction is something to pay attention to (i.e. you MAY need more flashguns).

Consumer grade cameras cannot be all things to all people.

Personally, if you need a high speed flash sync, I would just pick up a cheap D40 and run with it.

 

[Big Mike]

Another option would be to shoot when it's dark. The burst of flash is very very fast/short and will freeze the action, even if your shutter speed is long.

Yet another option is to forget about flash and just shoot with as fast a shutter as the light will allow.

 

[Shibby!]

Another thing to remember (from what I've read) is that a more powerful flash (1/1) has a longer durration so it opens the door to motion blur, where as 1/4 and 1/2 have a lot faster "flash" time.

Goes against what most people think, but I know I am going to try it when I start shooting my action sports again. Shoot with a lower Fstop and lower the flash power.

 

[sabbath999]

Another thing to remember (from what I've read) is that a more powerful flash (1/1) has a longer durration so it opens the door to motion blur, where as 1/4 and 1/2 have a lot faster "flash" time.

Goes against what most people think, but I know I am going to try it when I start shooting my action sports again. Shoot with a lower Fstop and lower the flash power.

Keeping in mind that "longer" in flash terms is still EXTREMELY short in duration...

 

[Socrates]

Keeping in mind that "longer" in flash terms is still EXTREMELY short in duration...

Yes. A very long electronic flash duration (excluding FP mode) is approximately a millisecond (1/1000 second).

 

[Early]

Another option is to just try what you have. The trick is to get the skate boarder just when he/she comes to a stop and is about to reverse course. I believe you have 2nd curtain sync, also, which may make you want to try even slower shutter speeds, maybe even down to 1/30 th of a sec to get that trailing blur behind the sharp subject. Experiment! It’s digital, so shoot often.

 

[Mav]

Another option is to just try what you have. The trick is to get the skate boarder just when he/she comes to a stop and is about to reverse course. I believe you have 2nd curtain sync, also, which may make you want to try even slower shutter speeds, maybe even down to 1/30 th of a sec to get that trailing blur behind the sharp subject. Experiment! It’s digital, so shoot often.

Yeah, rear-curtain sync flash. Not exactly skateboarding, but I took this at 1/30s and tried to track as best I could. I didn't think to use rear-curtain sync flash, but it probably would have helped. I was sorta shooting in stealth mode anyways.

 

[Jus7 A Phas3]

So it looks like unless i spend 300 or so dollers on Sb800's i wont be able to shoot any skateboard photography with flash. That sucks, well it looks like im gonna save my money up for a fisheye then. Thanks guys

 

[Mav]

You don't need an SB-800 for most things. A 600 at about half the price is just fine. And like somebody else mentioned above, with practice and if you time your shot just right, you should still be able to freeze shots at only 1/200s based on their trajectory. Just get creative. Try to get a skateboarder that's frozen, but with a little motion blur in the background if you track their motion perfectly. These photos can look fantastic.

 

[Jus7 A Phas3]

That is very true. lol