Flash sync help needed - 1Ds Mk II + 580EX

antonroland

antonroland

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Hello all

I cannot figure out the manual or the C fn menu to get the flash to sync at 1/200 or 1/250 or thereabouts...:bonk:

Any takers(y)
 
I don't think you need to do anything, Anton. Isn't that the standard sync speed for Canons?
 
I thought so but last night when I finally added flash I got the flash to fire no prob but the shutter stays open for long...1/5 to 1/10 sec thereabouts:shrug:
 
the shutter will stay open if you are in av mode and set it for a long shutter speed .... because the shutter is what sets the backround/ambient lighting. the flash controls the subject.

You can set the camera to use the sync speed of 1/250th or whatever yours is... or use P which automatically uses 1/60tht but your backgrounds iwll be dark.

Longer shutter speeds = more ambient light but with subjects exposed properlly by the flash.
 
You could switch to manual mode. You can then control both shutter speed and aperture.

The 580 will detect what aperture you've selected , so all you need to do is set the shutter speed
 
You can also push the high speed sync button and the flash will work at all speeds upto 1/8000 sec.
 
Janice said:
the shutter will stay open if you are in av mode and set it for a long shutter speed .... because the shutter is what sets the backround/ambient lighting. the flash controls the subject.

You can set the camera to use the sync speed of 1/250th or whatever yours is... or use P which automatically uses 1/60tht but your backgrounds iwll be dark.

Longer shutter speeds = more ambient light but with subjects exposed properlly by the flash.
Click to expand...

Thanks Janice

Prob is that I prefer to shoot in AV.

I know exactly where to find the C fn on the 20D and 5D to set a fixed flash sync at 1/250 I think.

I do not know where to set this on the 1D and I have really checked through all the C Fns and P Fns:shrug:
 
Anton, I think you're getting confused here.

The sync speed you can set on the camera is actually the *maximum* sync speed. But it has nothing to do with the shutter speed that is used for any shot.

In Av mode, the camera will set a shutter speed that is appropriate for the subject and the ambient lighting, regardless of whether you use flash. If you do then use flash, the metering system will add some flash as a fill-in, but the shutter speed is *not* changed by the use of flash. It will still be too slow.

If you want to use Av mode, tough. That's the way it works.

If you want to use the flash as the sole source of illumination, switch to M mode and dial in an exposure like 1/100th at f/8. Then the ambient light will contribute virtually nothing to the exposure and the flash will provide all the illumination.

Of course there are other possibilities too; for example in M mode you can set the exposure to be say 1-2 stops below what is required by the ambient lighting, so that the areas not reached by the flash (e.g. shadows!) aren't so dark. But the key to it all is to remember that - in Canon SLRs at least; I believe Nikons behave differently - the camera's meter does its job independently of whether or not you use flash.
 
StewartR said:
Anton, I think you're getting confused here.

The sync speed you can set on the camera is actually the *maximum* sync speed. But it has nothing to do with the shutter speed that is used for any shot.

In Av mode, the camera will set a shutter speed that is appropriate for the subject and the ambient lighting, regardless of whether you use flash. If you do then use flash, the metering system will add some flash as a fill-in, but the shutter speed is *not* changed by the use of flash. It will still be too slow.

If you want to use Av mode, tough. That's the way it works.

If you want to use the flash as the sole source of illumination, switch to M mode and dial in an exposure like 1/100th at f/8. Then the ambient light will contribute virtually nothing to the exposure and the flash will provide all the illumination.

Of course there are other possibilities too; for example in M mode you can set the exposure to be say 1-2 stops below what is required by the ambient lighting, so that the areas not reached by the flash (e.g. shadows!) aren't so dark. But the key to it all is to remember that - in Canon SLRs at least; I believe Nikons behave differently - the camera's meter does its job independently of whether or not you use flash.
Click to expand...

If you have access to a 20D manual, see p141 where C.Fn-03 is discussed.

Specifically option 1 inside C.Fn-03...
 
Anton

I have not got access to the manual of a 20D however StewartR's advice is spot on I would say.

If you are using flash as fill and want to maintain a high shutter speed then the technique many follow is to set the flash to manual at, say, 1/16th or 1/32nd, set the aperture for the flash to correctly illuminate subject. Changing the ISO will allow you to correctly expose the background (although you must recalculate your aperture setting).

I was firing off-camera flash yesterday at speeds up to 1/500th with no problems and when firing at 1/32nd the recycle times are split seconds.

It may sound complicated but once you have used it a couple of times it really is simple.

One of the best resources on the net currently is strobist.com whre all sorts of flash techniques are discussed.

HTH.

Gary.
 
Gary

I suppose I got spoiled with C.Fn 03 on the 5D and 20D as this - option 1 - sets the shutter sync speed to a fixed 1/250 when shooting in Av with flash.

I will try the HS flash sync settings as this setting (equivalent to C.Fn-03) does not live in the 1D...:sulk:



:D(y)
 
Anton Roland said:
If you have access to a 20D manual, see p141 where C.Fn-03 is discussed.

Specifically option 1 inside C.Fn-03...
Click to expand...
OK Anton, I do have access to all the Canon DSLR manuals, and I see now what you're getting at.

If I understand it correctly, CFn-03.1 forces the shutter speed to be 1/250th when you're using flash in Av mode. That would have exactly the same effect as the procedure I described, which is to set a fast shutter speed in M mode.

The advantage of using CFn-03.1 is that you don't have to bother putting the camera into M mode to take pictures which are fully illuminated by the flash. The disadvantage is that it makes using fill-in flash more difficult, because to do that you would then have to go into M mode. I guess the decision as to whether or not it's a more convenient default depends on your style of shooting. I find I use fill-flash much more than full-flash, so CFn-03.1 would not be particularly helpful to me. Your situation might be the other way round.

Sorry for any confusion I might have caused. And thanks for reminding me about CFn-03; I'm sure I knew about it once, but I'd forgotten about it since I don't use it.
 
Anton, if you put the camera on Av, it was combine ambient light and flash. So the shutter will still stay open for the same length of time as with out the flash. You really need to put the camera on manual, set the aperture at whatever you want, shutter speed at 1/250 1/200. The flash will make the exposure, rather then the combination of shutter speed and aperture.

Unlike the 20D the 1D doesn't have CFn-03. (well my 1D mk11n doesn't)
 
StewartR said:
OK Anton, I do have access to all the Canon DSLR manuals, and I see now what you're getting at.

If I understand it correctly, CFn-03.1 forces the shutter speed to be 1/250th when you're using flash in Av mode. That would have exactly the same effect as the procedure I described, which is to set a fast shutter speed in M mode.

The advantage of using CFn-03.1 is that you don't have to bother putting the camera into M mode to take pictures which are fully illuminated by the flash. The disadvantage is that it makes using fill-in flash more difficult, because to do that you would then have to go into M mode. I guess the decision as to whether or not it's a more convenient default depends on your style of shooting. I find I use fill-flash much more than full-flash, so CFn-03.1 would not be particularly helpful to me. Your situation might be the other way round.

Sorry for any confusion I might have caused. And thanks for reminding me about CFn-03; I'm sure I knew about it once, but I'd forgotten about it since I don't use it.
Click to expand...

natjag said:
Anton, if you put the camera on Av, it was combine ambient light and flash. So the shutter will still stay open for the same length of time as with out the flash. You really need to put the camera on manual, set the aperture at whatever you want, shutter speed at 1/250 1/200. The flash will make the exposure, rather then the combination of shutter speed and aperture.

Unlike the 20D the 1D doesn't have CFn-03. (well my 1D mk11n doesn't)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the responses, guys.

I suppose I got spoiled then, but I expected to have a similar "cheat mode" if you will, on the 1Ds II.

As said already, I prefer to shoot in AV as (1) in wedding and similar work nothing constantly moves fast enough to require Tv...(2) I am not brave enough for full all-Manual everything as I personally want to be sure of DOF as I go and I am happy for the camera to make some of the other decisions.

There are IMHO quite enough other decisions I need to make on-the-fly so I don't want to tell the camera absolutely everything...BUT, that is my style + way of thinking:bonk:

When I use flash, I will either use very light fill or diffused bounce. Either way I dial in the required value in the flash's compensation system.

So the bottom line, I guess, is back to the drawing board and learn some new techniques:thinking::thinking::thinking::thinking:


Cheers(y)
 
PapaLazarou said:
You can also push the high speed sync button and the flash will work at all speeds upto 1/8000 sec.
Click to expand...

Hello PL:wave:

Just to clarify something quickly - and I must confess to not having tried it in practice...

Do I understand correctly...

I am of the opinion that what you suggest would work well in good bright ambient light or in Manual because in low light (in Av at least) the shutter would stay open for longer anyway, based on an aperture of say, f/11 maybe:shrug:

With a focal length of , say, 200mm at ISO XXX and f/8 or f/11 the shutter might stay open for 1/5 or 1/10 sec even though the flash fires perfectly.

The result of this is a good exposure with lots of blur...

Where am I missing the boat?

(y)
 
If you put the flash on ETTL rather than manual, that flash unit will work out the exposure for you. the flash is the exposure. You just need to dial in exposure compensation in the same way as before, for bright objects that would otherwise be underexposed, of dark objects that ETTL would over expose.

The only thing is bright sunlight, where you wouldn't need flash, but only as fill, thats slightly different, but get the other right first then work from there.
 
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