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I am a new to photography, and just got a Nikon D3300. I would like to know if my camera supports high speed sync and if so, what are my options for radio sync systems? Do all speedlights cooperate with high speed hot shoes? I already have the TT560 and on the specifications it mentions flash duration from 1/300 ~ 1/20000 sec but getting it to work as the main flash on my camera's hotshoe, it fails after 1/320 sec to light the lowest part of the image.

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No, the D3300 does not support high-speed sync, (none of the D3x00 or D5x00 bodies do) so you're limited to 1/200s and below shutter speeds. Anything faster, and you will have black bars on the image. In addition, your (one assumes Neewer) TT-560 is a manual-only flash and cannot perform TTL or HSS, which is why it's so super-cheap. It only has the "sync/fire" pin on the foot. For full iTTL/HSS flash on a Nikon body (or radio triggers for that matter), you need a flash that speaks the Nikon hotshoe protocol, and has all four Nikon pins on the foot.

Flash duration is not about your shutter speed. It's how long the flash burst duration is when the flash fires. The range is because the flash can be set to different power levels. But the amount of energy delivered is being controlled by the duration of the pulse. So the TT550 at full power has a 1/300s burst, and at 1/128 it's 1/20000s long.

See also:

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Where can I find which Nikon cameras supports HSS? Thank you for your answer! \$\endgroup\$
    – Vagelism22678
    May 13, 2016 at 20:54
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Vagelism22678 Nikon classes their bodies as entry level, enthusiast, and professional. Anything that's above entry level (i.e., bodies other than the the D3x00 or D5x00 lines) has HSS capability. Search in the camera's specs/manual for "Auto FP". pre-D3000, the D40/D60 lines were the entry-level and D90 was enthusiast. You could also just grab a Canon body: the entry-level Canons can do HSS (but not with the pop-up)--not to mention they'll autofocus with any EF/EF-S lens USM focus motor or not. :D \$\endgroup\$
    – inkista
    May 13, 2016 at 23:22
  • \$\begingroup\$ Nitpick: power isn't a misnomer. You're right that energy delivery to the flash is controlled by the duration of the flash, rather than by peak intensity (i.e., voltage or current value). Power is work done (energy delivered) per unit time. While we don't have the ability to easily directly adjust a thing called "power", we can affect the gate duration of the IGBT firing the flash bulb, with the net effect that flash power is affected. I think we're saying the same thing, but truly, power (the time derivative of energy) delivery is controlled. \$\endgroup\$
    – scottbb ♦
    May 14, 2016 at 15:20
  • \$\begingroup\$ @scottbb I see what you're saying, and am suddenly had a flashback to freshman EE classes :). I'll remove the misnomer statement. \$\endgroup\$
    – inkista
    May 14, 2016 at 17:23
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    \$\begingroup\$ =) P = V*I = V^2/R = I^2*R = dE/dt = ... ahh, those were the days. \$\endgroup\$
    – scottbb ♦
    May 14, 2016 at 18:29
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High speed syinc in the case of your camera, is not limited by your camera, but by your flash.

So the answer is yes, your camera can do high speed sync (teoricly, any camera), but your flash don't.

A High speed sync flash makes a series of flashes to make a longer duration light. In this case the point is not to have a brief fast single output but a longer one.

I can not recomend any specific flash + combination, but you can google reviews on https://www.google.com/search?q=High+speed+sync+flash+review

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    \$\begingroup\$ The article you point to still requires a body that supports HSS, and the D3300 does not. \$\endgroup\$
    – Caleb
    May 15, 2016 at 4:38
  • \$\begingroup\$ If the flash is triggered by the camera, and you see the black bar on the bottom of the image yes, the camera can do high speed flash with a long enough flash duration. Does not matter the camera body. The flash is the one that makes that flash duration. \$\endgroup\$
    – Rafael
    May 15, 2016 at 17:05
  • \$\begingroup\$ "If the flash is triggered by the camera and you see the black bar..." is kind of the definition of a camera and/or flash that can't do HSS. \$\endgroup\$
    – inkista
    May 17, 2016 at 16:45

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