Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hello team, I hope you are doing well.

I am a Nikon user with a D800/D300.
I have 1 Einstein head (Best flash I ever purchased)
I have 2 AB800.

I will shortly need to shoot different type of pictures with lots of action.
I have done some research and discussed with many Nikon users that if I wanted to shoot with a Studio Strobe with a speed higher than 1/250. I would need to buy the following:

1- Pocket Wizard Flex TT5 for Nikon
2- PocketWizard MC2 for the Einstein

Shooting at 1/1000 would then be possible but in no way I could ever use my 2 AB800 no matter which radio trigger I would use.
Can it be confirmed?
If I were to buy the PCB radio trigger, could I use all my flashes at 1/1000 ?

Or I will definitively need to sale my AB800 and get additional Einstein?

Thank you all in advance and have an excellent day!

I would first recommend reading the following links, in the order posted. For the forum posts, at least the first post in the thread, though there is good information throughout.
http://www.paulcbuff.com/sfe-flashduration.php
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=66
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=67

With that said, if Einstein would work, it would only work at full power, as that is its longest flash duration setting. The B800's would work better at lower powers (with the resulting decrease in power), as the durations get longer as you power them down.

If the action you are shooting is in low light, you will not need the higher shutter speeds, as the Einstein's flash duration will do the heavy lifting in action stopping. The B800's may or may not have a sufficiently fast flash duration, depending on power settings and speed of the action.

As for how well the PocketWizard system will work, especially with a given camera, you will need to contact LPA (the makers of PocketWizard) for specifics. HyperSync is a feature created and marketed by them. We have had no participation in the testing, so we cannot make any firm claims on performance.

They can be reached at 802-658-0038 x572 or at http://www.pocketwizard.com/contact/inquiry/

Thank you.

Yes I read that article before when a few years back I wanted to learned more about flash duration. Very good by the way but the shoots I am preparing is not in low light, it will be outside with people moving a bit fast. (Taekwondo) so I need to shoot at maybe 1/1000sec f/8 or more so I will need power to overcome the sun and higher speed to freeze the moment.

I've shot ballon explosion in dark area and it worked well with AB800 but I don't think I will be able to use them in HyperSync like the Einstein.

Oh well, maybe one flash will be enough! (Einstein :) )

You'll have to run the Einstein at near full power.
The hypersync hack just uses a sliver of the flash pulse and you want the longest pulse possible...the Einstein is known for short pulses except for full power where it acts more like a B1600.
You might want to ask the PW folks if they can work w/ Speedotron pack/head systems...they have really long pulses so Hypersync should work fairly well. And 2400WS is more than enough to overpower anything in sunlight :-)

I ran test last night with my E640 and the newest firmware for the PowerMC2 and FlexTT5/MiniTT1. I only got an acceptable result at Full Power - 640WS. Any power level lower and at speeds above xsync, I got a progressing black bar, with the width determined by shutter speed. At full power, I got full frame, but of course much reduced power as evident by the need to compensate for exposure. Still a respectable power delivered though. I know my old Flashpoint 1200's work well because of their very long flash duration.

I guess I struggle in my mind for the need of hyper sync. I prefer to use ND filters to cut my ambient and use the Einstein to stop the action as the predominate light source. As your AD shows, at 40WS, it is 1/10,616 second, plenty power and speed...much more than a gang of Speedlights operating at 1/8000 FP mode. From a cost standpoint and for more power, get several E640's all synced together, same cost as Speedlights, but a lot more bang for the buck. There's no free lunch with either approach. Perhaps I'm missing something?

If you want to stop motion, i recommend that you try eliminating all ambient light in the venue before shooting with the einstein. You can freeze motion with 1/200 with your strobes as long as no ambient light is lighting the subject creating the ghost effect.

You can freeze motion in a 10 second exposure so long as there is no ambient light on the subject.

What it seems you are trying to accomplish is to catch the tail light of strobes with lower t5 speeds to freeze motion at 1/1000. Your option would probably be to find some older lights to pull that off. I believe older calumet travellites have a pretty long flash duration.

Only use I can see is in bright sunlight. You use hypersync to both control ambient and use your camera's shutter to stop movement. If it's bright out, your ND filter can't shut all ambient off AFAIK...

I certainly can cut out all ambient with an ND filter. Using a 9 stop ND filter will kill ambient (brightest day is f/16 at 1/100 and 100 ISO) and using a studio strobe, make that the predominate light source. I use my ND8 and ND4, (sometimes together) to get below xsync speed outside in daylight to balance ambient, flash and use large apertures.

People overcome the sun all the time, all it takes is power. Using an ND filter cuts my flash power the same amount, but I can jack the flash power up to get the balance I want and usually keep the light at the distance away from subject that I need. I cannot do this with a Speedlight in FP/HSS mode, usually I have to get it too close to my subject.

Okay, how about using multiple Speedlights. I'd rather work with with one 640WS source instead of 76WS or ganging a bunch of Speedlights; that's cost prohibited. (9 SB-910's to one E640). And if you are talking about multiple Speedlights using FP/HSS versus one E640 using Hypersync, there is no comparison.

Using Hypersync, the E640 is at least 10 times more powerful than the Speedlight in FP/HSS mode.

As far as stopping motion with your shutter speed, agree to some extent. It all depends on the speed of the object you are trying to stop. Even at 1/8000 shutter you can see FP artifacts with certain objects in motion and it certainly is not stopped. This is not the case using a fast strobe like an Einstein or Speedlight. But, for most outside assignments, yes, you can stop motion with the shutter.

IMO, FP/HSS was developed to cater to the casual photographer using fill flash outside (not to frustrate them) and for the experienced photographer that understands it's limitations and uses it appropriately. Hypersync is all about adapting studio lighting to Speedlight applications. With the latest firmware release of PW, Hypersync is improved and usable up to 1/8000 with the Einstein.

This week, I want to document power levels and color balance of Nikon Speedlights in FP mode versus my Einstein in Hypersync mode. I plan to take some sample shots using FP/Hypersync versus ND filters and regular flash for stopping action outside in bright daylight. I will post my findings.

Regards,
Craig