21
votes
Accepted
Why are flash pulses so short?
Why?
Fundamentally, it's because of the way flashes work. Flashtubes generate light by discharging a capacitor through a xenon-filled tube. The resulting electric arc produces bright white light. But ...
- 31.7k
21
votes
Why are flash pulses so short?
That is a true statement, but it misses the big point. (As the shutter would see it), it would simply become continuous light, like any incandescent light bulb (always On for the full shutter ...
- 12.9k
18
votes
Why are my pictures showing a dark band on one edge?
The shutter speed now is 250
From what I can tell from the Google, the Nikon D3100 has a flash sync speed of 1/200. So, you're setting your shutter speed too fast and the curtain is already starting ...
- 20.5k
12
votes
Accepted
Are there any electric flashes that will work at shutter speeds like ¹⁄₁₀₀₀th of a second?
That camera with 1/60 sync (and says ASA) must be at least 40 years old. :) More modern cameras commonly allow 1/200 second shutter with flash.
But this limitation (of not allowing flash with 1/...
- 12.9k
9
votes
Accepted
Why is flash sync speed much slower than flash duration?
Cameras that have a mechanical focal-plane shutter have two curtains, a front and a rear. For longer exposures, the front curtain opens and starts the exposure, then the rear curtain closes to end the ...
- 1,234
8
votes
Why are flash pulses so short?
Others have addressed the technical side of why strobe flashes are extremely fast.
There are alternative photo lighting technologies which do exactly what you say. This answer addresses the pros and ...
- 197
6
votes
Why are flash pulses so short?
If the flash were to light up before the shutter opens and turn off
after the shutter closes, there would never be flash sync problems.
There would also be lower efficiency as some of the light ...
- 176k
5
votes
What are the physical limits that determine a camera's flash sync speed?
Before electronic flash became the norm, we used flash bulbs. These were a one-time use bottle of sunlight. Typically they consisted of a glass envelope filled with oxygen. The bulb contained a ...
- 39.7k
5
votes
Are there any electric flashes that will work at shutter speeds like ¹⁄₁₀₀₀th of a second?
Is there an electronic flash that I can connect to my camera's FP sync port and be able to use at around any shutter speed?
The problem isn't the flash, it's the shutter. At exposure durations ...
- 31.7k
4
votes
Why are flash pulses so short?
Started out as a comment to Caleb's nice answer and accidentally turned into answer...
To start a (glowing) discharge high voltage is needed (called breakdown voltage). When the vacuum is broken down ...
- 1,808
4
votes
Accepted
Is the Flash Sync speed of the Polaroid 195 camera really only ¹⁄₃₀th of a second?
Your question seems to be based upon an assumption that your camera has a focal plane shutter.
The Polaroid 195 does not have a focal plane shutter. It has a leaf shutter in the lens. The ...
- 176k
4
votes
Accepted
What is Hi-Sync flash and how does it differ from HSS?
The article HS or HSS? What is the Difference? talks about the difference between High speed sync, HyperSync, and Hi-Sync, and explains the difference more clearly than I can here, so go read it. ...
- 31.7k
3
votes
What are the physical limits that determine a camera's flash sync speed?
What are the physical limits that determine a camera's flash sync speed?
The distance the shutter curtains must travel. This can be as far as 36mm for horizontal travel shutters, such as those found ...
- 176k
3
votes
Is there a technical reason for modern on-camera flashes' flash duration?
There could be a difference in which duration is being reported, T.1 vs T.5; T.1 is typically ~ 2-3x longer... typically T.5 time is reported. It's also likely that the differences are due to bulb/...
- 19.4k
3
votes
Accepted
Why can't HSS mode be automatically turned on for shutter speeds faster than the max speed sync?
Is this a conscious decision that manufacturers have made not to include such feature, so that photographers can be aware of the HSS flash power limitations?
In my opinion, yes, I think this is why ...
- 53k
2
votes
Accepted
Canon 5d mk iv - Problems setting the speed to faster than 1/200th when I have my speedlite attached
In short: don't go faster than 1/200
If your problem is a black band on your images (or overall darker images), you are reaching the sync speed of the 5D mark IV (see What is sync speed?). As 1/200 ...
- 4,223
2
votes
My DSLR takes photographs with black strip on top
It is a failing shutter.
If one of the curtains (or the mirror which blocks the light too) is moving badly you will get this problem (unless you are using flash of course which does not seem to be ...
- 5,553
2
votes
1/250 flash sync useful with a 180 mm lens?
...with 180mm macro lens, and I am hand-holding the camera... Some of my photos aren't razor sharp...
When you're shooting very close to your subject you're bound to have very shallow depth of field. ...
- 31.7k
2
votes
Will I overexpose using Auto mode on my Nikon film SLR when using an SB-15 flash?
The style for todays cameras is that they know to Not allow shutter speed faster than maximum sync speed if a flash is detected present. Since your FE has Auto, it should also know to limit shutter ...
- 12.9k
2
votes
Why is flash sync speed much slower than flash duration?
Flash sync speed has almost nothing to do with the duration of the flash.
Flash sync speed is mostly about the shortest shutter time that allows the flash to fire while both shutter curtains are ...
- 176k
2
votes
Accepted
What are the physical limits that determine a camera's flash sync speed?
You don't need a very short flash sync time for pictures that are mainly lit by the flash because the real exposure is the duration of the flash which is very short (for fill-in the problem is ...
- 22k
2
votes
Why can't HSS mode be automatically turned on for shutter speeds faster than the max speed sync?
Nikon does.
Nikon speedlights automatically switch into HSS, and Godox strobes do as well with the correct TTL radio trigger. You just have to set the flash sync to 1/250* (or 1/320*) in the camera's ...
- 19.4k
1
vote
Why can't HSS mode be automatically turned on for shutter speeds faster than the max speed sync?
A high-speed sync mode is in certain manner equivalent to using a neutral density filter.
Here's why.
If you use ND4 filter, you get one fourth of the light through the filter in front of the lens. ...
- 6,855
1
vote
Accepted
Shutter sync issue with Godox X2T-N and Nikon D5100
The Nikon D5100 doesn't have high-speed sync (HSS) capability (apparently Nikon is known to reserve this feature to higher end cameras, as opposed to other manufacturers), so this option is useless in ...
1
vote
What are the physical limits that determine a camera's flash sync speed?
Your intuition is correct in that a flash that only fires once must fire after the first shutter curtain is fully open and before the second curtain begins to close. Higher sync speeds are achieved by ...
- 381
1
vote
What is the best shutter speed to use with a speedlight on my camera?
What is the best shutter to use for general portraits in and out doors?
There isn't one. As with ambient-only exposure, it all depends on your lighting conditions and what effects you're trying to ...
- 53k
1
vote
Why is flash sync speed much slower than flash duration?
For focal plane shutters (most common on DSLR), the shutter is two curtains. The topic for you to research is "focal plane shutter". One curtain over the sensor moves to open the exposure, and then ...
- 12.9k
1
vote
Why are flash pulses so short?
There is a semi-historical reason.
Both pyrotechnical flashbulb and electronic flashes are, by their nature, devices that work on positive-feedback, "escalating" chemical/physical effects (not quite ...
- 7,252
1
vote
Nikon D610 flash sync: limited to 1/200 or 1/250 possible?
With the Cactus V5 "manual only" triggers you'll probably not be able to use the '1/250 s (Auto FP)' setting to sync at 1/250 s. You might even have trouble using 1/200 s with manual flash triggers ...
- 176k
1
vote
Accepted
Nikon D610 flash sync: limited to 1/200 or 1/250 possible?
HSS (High Speed Sync) is a radically different flash mode than regular speedlight flash. HSS flash units, in HSS mode, switch to becoming a continuous light, continuous for only the duration of the ...
- 12.9k
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