strobe at full power resulting in very dark image

dimgr

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Hello

with a godox ms300 strobe and even my speedlight when i set the flash power to 1/16 everything is fine but when going all the way to 1/1 full power the images are all dark
i usually shoot at 1/100-1/250
i can get the pictures to light up properly with shutter speeds of 3secs for example but this doesnt sound right to me , or i could be wrong ..
am i missing something here? is this the high speed sync speed that i am missing ?

camera is a sony rx100m7 and lights are a godox ms300ms and a yognuo speedlight both in S1/S2 modes
 
With some strobes and most speedlights, it takes seconds for the capacitor to fill when cranked to full power. If you shoot before it is full, you may not have the flash pop. It's one reason I shoot Einsteins. They are designed to pop at less than full power without waiting for the capacitor to fill. They will pop TEN TIMES A SECOND. at low power and about half power 6 pops a second. The advantage of multiple pops a second is capturing morphing expressions. Somewhere in those 4 or 5 images is the perfect expression. Adapting to the speedlight delayed filling, I first have the bride pump fake the toss and get that shot, then move towards those catching the bouquet while the strobe recycles, get focus and when I hear the beep, tell the bride to throw and I ALWAYS nail the bouquet inches from the outstretched hands.
 
Your OP did not specify the shooting specifics.
- Are you shooting a burst of X frames at Y frames per second?
- Or are you firing manually, but FAST?
- Or is this a single frame with at least 15 seconds between frames?

I agree with @mrca , it sounds like you are shooting before the flash has FULLY recycled and charged the capacitor.
Check the specs of your flash, the full charge recycle time "should be" listed.
If not, time it manually; set to full power, fire, time how long it takes before the ready light turns on.
Warning, the ready light on many flashes will turn on BEFORE the flash reaches FULLY charged. The actual FULL charge recycle time will be a bit longer.
For a shoe flash, the FULL power recycle time can range up to about 10 seconds. The actual time will depend on the specific flash (make and model) and power source.
 
AC, 15 seconds is all? When stuff is happening it seems like an eternity.
 
Hi
its single frame pictures and both flashes are recycled before the next shot

i tested this again just now with 2 different cameras and its the same issue with both
with 1/1 power and camera shutter speeds of 1/100 1/200 + images are dark and useless
with 1/16 power the images at the above shutter speeds are fine

with 1/1 power and shutter speeds of 10 seconds , images are ok

i tested these with an old nikon D3500 and a Sony RX100M7
 
Did you use the same triggers with both cameras? I had some triggers 20 years ago that weren't consistent at my max sync speed of 1/250th. 1/200 no problem. Do you need fresh batteries in the trigger/receiver? Is the flash popping when the images are dark or is it popping but not with enough power? My einsteins come with a cord from camera to strobe. If you have one try that and if the flashes fire properly, its the triggers.
 
theres no triggers , strobe and speedlight are in s2 slave mode triggered by the camera .
both the strobe and speedlight are popping very bright
 
Is camera in front or rear curtain sync? Might try changing that. Are you in manual mode? Is the trigger optical, ie by light, or radio?
 
i set the camera to rear sync and this did the trick so i shot at 1/1 power with 1/2000 shutter at f11 and everything turned out good

before i had it set to autoflash

Rear Sync.: The flash works right before the exposure is completed every time you trigger the shutter. Rear sync shooting allows you to shoot a natural image of the trail of a moving subject such as a moving car or a walking person.
 
Interesting problem. Glad it got solved. All of us can learn from it. Nothing is worse than have a client there and not be able to get the lights to work. Never let them see you sweat.
 
AC, 15 seconds is all? When stuff is happening it seems like an eternity.
yup, that is why I use a high voltage pack on ALL my flashes, ALL the time.
Once you start using a HV pack, and get the FAST recyle time, you get addicted to the speed.
 
It's why I refer to my speed lights as toys. My einsteins have 8 times the power, and even off the large battery will pop 6 times a second with flat line white balance. It's why I had to replace my jeep headliner, I load it to the roof.
 

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