Speedlight compatibility with d3200

[hamlet]

It basically comes down to: don't let your gear tell you what to do.

 

[ratssass]

You a baaad Mo-Fo Hammy!!!

 

[pgriz]

Sigh. There seem to be some different concepts being smushed together in the blender. It may work for KT if the concepts are vegetables, but this ain't it.

Shutter speed is one thing. A high shutter speed really is a very narrow slit travelling across the sensor. Depending on the direction of the subject movement relative to the shutter movement, you can get some pretty weird effects.

Flash pulse "speed" is a different animal. Assuming you're dealing with a single pulse, the flash light pulse has a very rapid rise, then a gradual fall-off. A studio flash can have a flash pulse duration that lasts as much as 1/250 sec. Most speedlights have a much smaller flash-tube, and their light pulse (at full power) is probably anywhere from 1/2000 sec to 1/1000 sec long. As you cut down the flash power setting, the flash is shortening the flash pulse. So at the smallest flash-power setting, you get the shortest flash pulses.

If the flash is the only source of light, then the speed of the shutter is irrelevant, since the flash pulse is determined by how long the power is being dumped into the strobing gas. You could have anything from 30 seconds to 1/200 sec and still get the exact same exposure. If you shorten the shutter speed beyond the sync speed, then the shutter is never fully open, but becomes a travelling slit. Shooting a flash pulse with a too-high shutter speed will result in blank sections across the image, which is really the shadow of the partly opened shutter on the sensor.

The so-called "high-speed flash" is a different implementation of the flash, where the flash pulses a very rapid sequence of individual flashes. Since these flashes are spread over the length of time the shutter opens, it becomes possible to shoot a flash image with a higher shutter speed than the sync speed, but only with cameras and flashes that are designed to operate together in this way.

 

[amolitor]

I certainly don't know for sure if the D3200 supports high speed sync. The SB-910 does, I think.

 

[ratssass]

...thanks,pgriz.I guess i'm the kind of guy that has to actually "touch" it to understand it.I understand the HSS concept of multiple flashes.What confuses me,is,for example,if my o/c flash duration is,say,1/2000,and i'm shooting at,say 1/2000 there should be no banding,i'm thinking.With that being said,what purpose is HSS?If I'm not mistaken my D7000 has a s/s of 1/250,but something about 1/320....(that i'll delve into)

 

[Mach0]

I certainly don't know for sure if the D3200 supports high speed sync. The SB-910 does, I think.

No d3xxx and d5xxx bodies support auto FP

 

[Mach0]

...thanks,pgriz.I guess i'm the kind of guy that has to actually "touch" it to understand it.I understand the HSS concept of multiple flashes.What confuses me,is,for example,if my o/c flash duration is,say,1/2000,and i'm shooting at,say 1/2000 there should be no banding,i'm thinking.With that being said,what purpose is HSS?If I'm not mistaken my D7000 has a s/s of 1/250,but something about 1/320....(that i'll delve into)

HSS and auto FP are really tricks. The shutter is really only open for the actual max sync speed and the flash is pulsating like pgriz said. There's a few videos online that elaborate.

 

[pgriz]

...thanks,pgriz.I guess i'm the kind of guy that has to actually "touch" it to understand it.I understand the HSS concept of multiple flashes.What confuses me,is,for example,if my o/c flash duration is,say,1/2000,and i'm shooting at,say 1/2000 there should be no banding,i'm thinking.With that being said,what purpose is HSS?If I'm not mistaken my D7000 has a s/s of 1/250,but something about 1/320....(that i'll delve into)

The main reason for HSS is to be able to use a wide aperture when using fill flash. A wide aperture during daylight means a fast shutter speed. But a fast shutter speed (ie, greater than the sync speed) would mean the banding that I mentioned earlier. So to get around THAT problem, the various manufacturers implemented the multiple rapid flashes, which would together "paint" the sensor with light while the shutter slit traveled across it.

At any speed greater than the max sync speed, the shutter is never fully open. So at 1/2000 sec, the first curtain starts to travel down, exposing the sensor at the very top. After a very short pause, the second curtain starts to follow the first curtain, with the gap between the two being the travelling slit that we mentioned earlier. If the flash fires at the opening of the first curtain, and the flash duration is 1/2000 sec, you still won't get a proper exposure, because the shape of the light pulse is almost triangular, with a very fast initial rise to maximum power, then a rapid fall-off of light that forms the "tail" of the light pulse. The total light pulse may be 1/2000 sec, but maybe 80-90% of the light is in the first 20-30% of the pulse. So your travelling slit will record a good exposure at the top of the sensor, and have almost no light at the bottom.

 

[18.percent.gary]

The main reason for HSS is to be able to use a wide aperture when using fill flash.

Given that this scenario is always in bright sunlight I think it is much easier (and cheaper) to ditch the flash and use a reflector for fill light. No sync speed issues with a piece of white nylon Lol. HSS/Auto FP is definitely a gimmick in my book.

 

[Mach0]

Given that this scenario is always in bright sunlight I think it is much easier (and cheaper) to ditch the flash and use a reflector for fill light. No sync speed issues with a piece of white nylon Lol. HSS/Auto FP is definitely a gimmick in my book.

Or an nd filter.

 

[ratssass]

...thanks,pgriz.I guess i'm the kind of guy that has to actually "touch" it to understand it.I understand the HSS concept of multiple flashes.What confuses me,is,for example,if my o/c flash duration is,say,1/2000,and i'm shooting at,say 1/2000 there should be no banding,i'm thinking.With that being said,what purpose is HSS?If I'm not mistaken my D7000 has a s/s of 1/250,but something about 1/320....(that i'll delve into)

The main reason for HSS is to be able to use a wide aperture when using fill flash. A wide aperture during daylight means a fast shutter speed. But a fast shutter speed (ie, greater than the sync speed) would mean the banding that I mentioned earlier. So to get around THAT problem, the various manufacturers implemented the multiple rapid flashes, which would together "paint" the sensor with light while the shutter slit traveled across it.

At any speed greater than the max sync speed, the shutter is never fully open. So at 1/2000 sec, the first curtain starts to travel down, exposing the sensor at the very top. After a very short pause, the second curtain starts to follow the first curtain, with the gap between the two being the travelling slit that we mentioned earlier. If the flash fires at the opening of the first curtain, and the flash duration is 1/2000 sec, you still won't get a proper exposure, because the shape of the light pulse is almost triangular, with a very fast initial rise to maximum power, then a rapid fall-off of light that forms the "tail" of the light pulse. The total light pulse may be 1/2000 sec, but maybe 80-90% of the light is in the first 20-30% of the pulse. So your travelling slit will record a good exposure at the top of the sensor, and have almost no light at the bottom.

....ahhh,the slit.thats the part of the equation i was missing.Much thanks!!

 

[pixmedic]

The main reason for HSS is to be able to use a wide aperture when using fill flash.

Given that this scenario is always in bright sunlight I think it is much easier (and cheaper) to ditch the flash and use a reflector for fill light. No sync speed issues with a piece of white nylon Lol. HSS/Auto FP is definitely a gimmick in my book.

if price is your only concern..sure. a reflector is the way to go.
or, if you dont have a flash that supports HSS. reflector is your only choice.
easiest? not in the least. once you learn how to use a flash outside, it is just as easy as using reflector. you can control the power output with a flash. you have better DOF control when you are able to use a wide aperture and a fast shutter speed because you have HSS.

as for being a gimmick? why is it a gimmick? its just another photography tool.
same as auto exposure modes, rear curtain sync, multiple focus points....
a lot of people called auto-focus a "gimmick" when it was first introduced too.

 

[Braineack]

as for being a gimmick? why is it a gimmick? its just another photography tool.
same as auto exposure modes, rear curtain sync, multiple focus points....
a lot of people called auto-focus a "gimmick" when it was first introduced too.

No he's right, being able to shoot at a wide aperture in bright sunlight, and then using the shutter speed to control the ambient to perfectly expose both the bg, and with the flash, the subject, is a gimmick.

Hammy, congrats on the flash unit; it's a good one. You've acquired some really good glass/accessories lately.

 

[18.percent.gary]

as for being a gimmick? why is it a gimmick? its just another photography tool.
same as auto exposure modes, rear curtain sync, multiple focus points....
a lot of people called auto-focus a "gimmick" when it was first introduced too.

I said Auto FP is "a gimmick in my book". I personally use a SB800 and can count the number of times I've used Auto FP on one hand. I prefer a reflector. For me it's just as easy to achieve the desired lighting control with a reflector as a with a flash.

As for auto exposure modes, multiple focus points and auto focus... I use those 99% of the time when I'm shooting. They don't fall in the gimmick chapter of my book. The 0.0000005% of the time I use Auto FP does. YMMV.

I only mentioned Auto FP to Hamlet because it is not compatible with his camera (see thread title) and he seemed to be expecting results that would require Auto FP. Hopefully he's dropped out of this thread to go study up on the resources I linked for him earlier...