Beginner Nikon D90 & high speed flash sync

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My latest purchase a few weeks ago was a Nikon SB600 speed light second hand, which supports Auto FP Nikon speak for High speed sync.
But I’m unsure whether my camera (Nikon D90)is compatible? On YouTube all the videos on Nikon HSS show in the menu higher sync shutter speeds of 1/250 & 1/350 with the words Auto FP next to these values.
My max is only 1/60 & no indication of Auto FP.
So I’m just not sure.
Thanks.
 
Which exposure mode are you in? From memory it’ll only sync at 1/60 if you’re in aperture priority. If you’re in shutter priority or manual you should be able to push it over the sync speed.
 
Ah! Just found in the custom menu, bracketing/ flash e5 Auto FP on or off. Switched it on so I’ll check if it works tomorrow
 
(y) thats the feller
must admit they must have dumped the on/off bit LOL
 
Which exposure mode are you in? From memory it’ll only sync at 1/60 if you’re in aperture priority. If you’re in shutter priority or manual you should be able to push it over the sync speed.

Yes I found that out, I did some water drop shots with off cam flash in M & the highest I could push the shutter was 1/200,. Bit new to all this but I guess that’s the max ( without Auto FP on) & 1/60 is the max in other settings? with Auto FP switched on I’ll see if I can push it further, watch this space.
Thanks all for your input.
 
Yes I found that out, I did some water drop shots with off cam flash in M & the highest I could push the shutter was 1/200,. Bit new to all this but I guess that’s the max ( without Auto FP on) & 1/60 is the max in other settings? with Auto FP switched on I’ll see if I can push it further, watch this space.
Thanks all for your input.

Excuse me if I’m teaching granny to suck eggs...

There shouldn’t be a need for FP sync for water droplets, just ensure the ambient light level is low. Auto FP actually lengthens the flash duration, and to do something like splash shots, the flash duration is your ‘effective’ shutter speed.

Background...
you’re in a pitch black room, you have your flash on 1/4 power, you can have a shutter speed of 1 sec and you’ll get effectively a very short exposure, with a full power flash, your ‘exposure’ is 4x as long, with a shutter speed of 1/1000 your effective SS will be just over 1/1000sec (much slower than 1/4 power on bulb)
At a quarter power your flash duration is 1/2150
 
Excuse me if I’m teaching granny to suck eggs...

There shouldn’t be a need for FP sync for water droplets, just ensure the ambient light level is low. Auto FP actually lengthens the flash duration, and to do something like splash shots, the flash duration is your ‘effective’ shutter speed.

Background...
you’re in a pitch black room, you have your flash on 1/4 power, you can have a shutter speed of 1 sec and you’ll get effectively a very short exposure, with a full power flash, your ‘exposure’ is 4x as long, with a shutter speed of 1/1000 your effective SS will be just over 1/1000sec (much slower than 1/4 power on bulb)
At a quarter power your flash duration is 1/2150

Thank you, As a beginner I think I understand what you are telling me, & I really appreciate your experience. Just to be clear I didnt use Auto FP for my water drops/ splash, & as a novice was experimenting in not a pitch black room, actually a conservatory during the day so used the max flash shutter speed to under expose the ambient light & let the flash do the business here is a result, as usual comments welcome. But could I do better in a pitch black room?
9CA9BDE0-3B3F-47FE-B077-415BB106D4BA by Marc Freullet, on Flickr
 
Nice work :)

But could I do better in a pitch black room?

You don’t need a pitch black room, I was using that as an illustration. But when using speedlights it helps to not be fighting too much ambient as they don’t really have the power to make it easy.
 
Nice work :)

You don’t need a pitch black room, I was using that as an illustration. But when using speedlights it helps to not be fighting too much ambient as they don’t really have the power to make it easy.

As Phil says, you don't necessarily need total darkness, just dark enough for the ambient daylight exposure not to interfere with the flash image. Simple test - take a test shot with the flash turned off. The image should be black.

In your attached image, I can't see any ambient daylight contamination (y)
 
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