The flash imitates constant light by flashing multiple times, rather than flashing once and resulting in an unevenly lit image.
This will make the flash evenly expose the image sensor. This allows the flash output to illuminate your subject at a specific time. Creating an unflattering dark line/band across your image.įlash sync is a computer-controlled system that synchronizes your flash and shutter release. If you shoot at a high shutter speed but only use a flash that only fires once, the shutter will block a bit of it. This only allows a fraction of the image sensor to be revealed at any moment. This simultaneous movement of both of these blades will create a small opening/slit that looks similar to the light when scanning documents. Instead of the shutter blades going across the sensor one by one, they instead “chase” each other. However, the system changes if you are shooting at a fast shutter speed. The short blast of flash can only affect the camera sensor if it’s fully opened during this brief moment. Since both of these blades go across the camera’s film, it will prevent your flash from fully affecting the camera’s sensor. Most modern cameras will have two separate shutter blades that go across your camera’s sensor, effectively exposing it against the light. It’s how fast your sync speed can match your flash, especially when using cameras with a focal plane shutter. The flash sync is the fastest shutter speed that you can use along with the flash. How Do You Sync Flash with Shutter Speed?.What Happens When You Use a Shutter Speed Faster Than Sync Speed?.The simple solution for complex electronic flash work is to use the same brand, and preferably the same model for every unit in the setup, so everything works together seamlessly. However, it’s worth mentioning that it might not work if you use third-party flash triggers, or if you try to mix different electronic brands or models for more complex multi-flash work. High speed flash mode works wirelessly as well, as it does with an external electronic flash accessory that is placed on the hot shoe.
PLASH SPEED ISO
Generally, I’d keep the ISO to 800 or maybe ISO 1600 – image quality at higher ISO settings depends a lot on the size of the sensor and the design of the camera. You can only answer this question by testing your camera to see how it handles increased ISO and its associated noise.
This effectively makes the sensor more sensitive to light and therefore you need less power from the electronic flash to get the same brightness level result at a lower ISO. One way to help preserve battery power would be to increase the ISO sensitivity. Because it has to fire a burst of flashes to achieve enough illumination for a single frame, you will see the battery reserve running out much faster than regular, non-high speed flash use. High speed flash (or FP flash mode) actually has few drawbacks other than the use of more power. And, don’t be concerned when you see, and hear, the multiple flashes – that’s normal.
Hundreds of individual flashes are strung together to look like one longer flash burst. By firing off multiple flashes in almost instant succession – starting from the time the first curtain moves to the time when the second curtain closes – the entire frame is exposed to flash. When you press the shutter button, the first shutter curtain opens, closely followed by the second curtain, forming the slit that travels across the entire frame in a very short period of time.
How does this special high speed flash mode work? On the Nikon Speedlight line of electronic flash units (different brand, different spelling) it’s called FP (focal plane) mode.Ĭheck the specifications of your flash unit for the exact description. On the Canon Speedlite line of electronic flash units (note the spelling) it’s called High Speed Flash. The only way to synchronize flash with the fastest of shutter speeds is to use the feature called High Speed Flash – thankfully most Speedlights have this feature as a standard. You’d get a thin, perfectly exposed sliver across the frame, while the rest of the shot showed disastrous underexposure – even total black. The frame of the photo was only partly illuminated by the flash. If you used your electronic flash on a shutter speed setting faster than the sync speed, the resulting image was weird. Fifteen years ago technology wasn’t as advanced as it is today, so there was no automatic restriction on the flash sync shutter speed.