Shutter speed probs

[Photo Lovin]

Can someone help me? I was playing with my new lights and discovered that as I tried to get a little more "stop action", this blackness seemed to move over my pictures. It doesn't happen without the strobes, just with them.
Examples and exif :



Model: NIKON D200
ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/125 sec
Aperture: 5.6
Focal Length: 31mm



ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: 5.6
Focal Length: 31mm



ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: 6.3
Focal Length: 31mm



ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: 5.6
Focal Length: 31mm

Thanks in advance for any help

[Jim Bryant]

The main problem is that your model is wearing a Steeler's jersey. What the shutter/flash synch with the camera. Looks like the shutter is set too fast. Try 160th or what ever your manual suggests.

[Photo Lovin]

Okay, so our quarterback may have a little brain damage, but we still have 6 rings...your team?

Anyway, thanks for the info, but if I go any slower I get more blur like in the first shot. Are you suggesting keeping her still...a different lens...?

[Benji]

In the first image the shutter synched with the flash unit and the overall darkness was caused by underexposure and the shadow cast by the off camera flash. The fuzziness was caused by improper focus, or not using the flash at maximum power where it will freeze any motion. On the rest of them the shutter speed was above synch speed and the flash fired while the shutter was partially open. The ONLY time the entire sensor "window" is wide open at any one time is at 1/125 or below. Above that and the shutter is a mere slit (kinda like drapes across a window.) The entire sensor MUST be exposed to the flash when it fires otherwise you will get this effect. I never use any shutter speeed faster than 1/100 in the camera room (where I use flash exclusively.) My best guess is the synch speed of your camera is 1/1/25. The cure is never use a shutter speed faster than 1/125 when using off camera flash in or out of the camera room and use the flash at maximum power for best motion freezing capability.

Contrary to popular opinion you simply cannot use studio flash and shutter speeds faster than synch speed. You CAN use a shutter speed slower than synch.

Benji

[inkista]

Your only way to get around the max. synch speed issue is to use FP flash (high-speed synch) mode. Basically, the camera body and the flash communicate in a way that the flash can "pulse" in sync with the shutter gap sweeping across the sensor so the whole sensor is illuminated by the flash evenly. You rob yourself of a lot of power, but it's useful when you need a higher shutter speed.

On-camera, achieving FP mode is easy. Off-camera, it's tougher/more expensive. You'll either need a sync cord that can communicate all of the hotshoe pins/contacts (you'll notice that most radio triggers only have the middle firing pin), or a radio trigger system that can communicate the i/e-TTL signalling that allows for high speed sync. There are the PocketWizard TTL-capable units (Flex & Mini), which are about $200 each (so, $400 for one off-camera light), or the RadioPopper PX units which are $250 each (so, $500 for on Rx/Tx pair).

There are rumors of a cheapish eBay e/iTTL-capable triggering system, but none has yet arrived on the scene that have any amount of reliability.

Most folks just learn to stay below their max. sync speed.

[sk66]

Set your flash sync speed to 1/250 and make sure the flash shutter speed is set the same or slower... It looks to me like at higher shutter speeds the shutter is already closing when the flash fires.

BTW, I think 1/250 should be enough to freeze her in flight.

[Jim Bryant]

Hey...the Seahawks suck. But, how about those Vikings You could however read your camera flash manuals. Most synch at 250th of a second, however my MKII's features a vertical - travel mechanical, focal-plane shutter that allows me to use shutter speeds from 30th to 8000th of a second.

[sk66]

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

however my MKII's features a vertical - travel mechanical, focal-plane shutter that allows me to use shutter speeds from 30th to 8000th of a second.

So does the D200. But the images are in "portrait" orientation. In this case, I'm guessing it's due to camera orientation and not due to cropping. The "vertical travel" becomes horizontal.....

[Jim Bryant]

vertical is considered portrait format, horizontal is landscape format. Those settings are for using the EOS 550 EX flash system, but when using external studio strobes, I have to set at 125th to 250th. Who knows....
Guess that's why we have digital reviews on the back of your cameras, so we can adjust exposures by changing ISO's, f-stops and shutter speeds

[Photo Lovin]

Vikings Shmikings I'm tired of Favre AND the "pants on the ground"

Manual Shmanual, that's what DPS is for
Thanks to all for the input.