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You're at your max sync speed for your poverty wizards and camera and you need to darken the ambient light whilst keeping the flash exposure? Do I need to adjust my flash power? Move the flash?
What Do You Do when...
- Thread starter The23rdman
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Increase the shutter speed 
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Increase the shutter speed
no, because you're already at max sync speed.
You either need to move the flash closer to the subject (half the distance = 1 stop more light) or increase the power of the flash. Sometimes you even need to add another flash or several...
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Buy a camera with a faster sync speed. That's where the likes of the old Nikon D70 comes into it's own, you can sync right down to 1/8000 of a second, if you feel so inclined :nuts:
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Oh yes.. I should read these things properly :bang::bang:
Drop the ISO and increase flash power.
OP
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Thanks guys. Buying a new camera is on my list of things to do, but I think most consumer Canons are pretty lame sync speed wise.
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Drop the ISO?
Or shut down the aperture further & raise the flash power to compensate for your subject exposure?
Depending on the situation, moving closer to the subject or increasing the distance between the subject and the background might help? Failing that, can you turn some lights off in the room?!
Or shut down the aperture further & raise the flash power to compensate for your subject exposure?
Depending on the situation, moving closer to the subject or increasing the distance between the subject and the background might help? Failing that, can you turn some lights off in the room?!
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The best current Canons are the G10/G11. The G10 can (so I assume the G11 will too) sync to around 1/2000. Almost every other camera on the market is limited to around 1/200-1/250
OP
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I guess it's more strobes then. 
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You need to increase the brightness of the flash relative to the ambient light. The options to do this are to increase shutter speed as you have tried, increase the flash output power, or move the flash closer (and then adjust f/number and/or ISO to match). Just changing ISO or f/number by themselves will alter the whole exposure, not the flash/ambient ratio.
Erm... 1/500sec max.
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on camera with TTL capable flash, 1/500th second, using a remote trigger, or pc sync cord, full sync up to 1/800th of a second
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on camera with TTL capable flash, 1/500th second, using a remote trigger, or pc sync cord, full sync up to 1/800th of a second
Hmm...
That's not the whole story though is it. Even if you still happen to be using an ancient low res D70 
In reality, every time you raise the shutter speed above 1/500sec, you lose a stop of flash light for every stop of speed gained, so in a situation like the OP's you're going nowhere. And you lose auto-TTL exposure control.
In this respect, the effect is similar to using high-speed-sync flash which is a feature of all top end guns, and can be used with pretty much all cameras, including in auto-TTL mode.
more flash power (or move it closer) then adjust the exposure as necessary. So there will be some cases when the flash exposure simply cannot overpower ambient with small strobes which especially sucks when trying to freeze action.
this for example 1/250 f/18 ISO200
wouldn't be possible without a lot of flash power.
this for example 1/250 f/18 ISO200
wouldn't be possible without a lot of flash power.
OP
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Thanks for all the replies, people.
I've just had a flash go off in my head, if you'll pardon the pun. I've been reading the strobist blog trying to get my head around control of both flash and ambient exposure. Once I properly understood the idea that the flash exposure happens in about 1/1000 of a second and is almost a separate entity to the ambient exposure I started to be able to play around with position, flash power and apurture to get the effects I was looking for.
The understanding that moving the flash twice as close or far away equals a stop and the closer you are to your subject the lower amount of fall off you have has made a massive difference. I feel I can now more or less control my light.
Going to practice this weekend.
Another related question. Where do you start iso wise? Is it wise to have it set at 200-400 to begin with so you have a little more wiggle room and deal with any niose in PP?
I've just had a flash go off in my head, if you'll pardon the pun. I've been reading the strobist blog trying to get my head around control of both flash and ambient exposure. Once I properly understood the idea that the flash exposure happens in about 1/1000 of a second and is almost a separate entity to the ambient exposure I started to be able to play around with position, flash power and apurture to get the effects I was looking for.
The understanding that moving the flash twice as close or far away equals a stop and the closer you are to your subject the lower amount of fall off you have has made a massive difference. I feel I can now more or less control my light.
Going to practice this weekend.
Another related question. Where do you start iso wise? Is it wise to have it set at 200-400 to begin with so you have a little more wiggle room and deal with any niose in PP?
If you halve the distance between the flash and subject, the flash exposure will increase by 2 stops.
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on camera with TTL capable flash, 1/500th second, using a remote trigger, or pc sync cord, full sync up to 1/800th of a second
Got it. Thank you.
