Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I know this topic has been discussed before and I know the Einstein currently does not supports any form of 'high speed sync' (or what Nikon calls FP sync) where the flash unit is pulsed very fast to create a quasi continuous light with a duration long enough to cover the entire travel time of the shutter.

I just want to bring it up again because I think there is not only a demand out there, but it's also a potential where you guys could have a unique product.

I need to use FP (=high speed syncing) for a lot of shots. I shoot dancers in daylight and need short shutter speeds and controlled fill (flash) light. I think it's something every sports or action photographer is facing. When you work outside you really need high speed sync. To show you how ridiculous it is, here is the setup I currently use to make this work.

4 SB-800/900
SU-800 remote transmitter
Radiopopper transmitter/receiver
custom cables to control all 4 flashes
custom rig to hold 4 flashes
4x the batteries
extra & different batteries for all the different devices

The whole setup costs approx $3000, is cumbersome to use, runs out of battery power quickly and doesn't even give me the flexibility in terms of output I wish to have. I can't use any light modifiers as well.

The reason I have to combine 4 flashes is because once in FP sync mode the output power is reduced by 3 stops. To get enough light when shooting in direct sunlight I found combining 4 flashes is the bare minimum. Most of the time I run them at full power which results in a recycle time of 2-4 seconds. The whole things is really limited and painful to use.

If you guys had a special version of the Einstein that allows high speed syncing, I think you would get a lot of sports and action photographers to buy these.

I will never say never. But, the task is more than just building/programming a light to pulse at a reasonably level power for a given time. Each camera type would require different programming than the next. A DX camera with an x-sync of 1/200 vs. an FX camera with an x-sync of 1/250 would have to spread the light over different periods of time. Each shutter speed for each camera would require different programming, as would each power setting of the flash. Then you have the issue of triggering at the correct time. Again, each camera and each shutter speed will differ, and it is impossible to do with a basic trigger.

In order to make all of this programming (and continue to support the product), we would need to purchase one of each camera (at least Canon and Nikon) and probably in multiples for a good sampling. Then add to that each time new cameras come out.

The option to use a 3rd party for triggering is possible, however, that only solves part of the problem, and requires us to rely on a 3rd party for the success of our product.

So, while it may be possible, it is very very difficult.

And therein l lies the opinion that it's an ugly hack by some of us :D
Why do you think you need HSS outdoors? The "studio strobe" way of doing this is to put an ND filter on your camera and run your strobe at nearly full power to compensate for the filter, assuming you're trying to do shallow DOF shots or controlling ambient w/ HSS.

If you're insisting on HSS, look into trading your RP for PW's TT setup. They have Einstein/AB/WL triggers that will do their hack called Hypersync. The AB/WL works better w/ that hack though...

Thanks. I understand that it's not a trivial task. True you guys would have to support a lot of different cameras and dealing with all the possible variables that multiply it's probably not practical.

As an alternative I was thinking of combining three (ore more) Einstein and triggering them with a very short delay of each other to create a longer burn time. Unit one is triggered just before the curtain opens, unit two is triggered when the first unit has reached t.5 and unit three is triggered when the second unit has reached t.5. So basically the flashes would be triggered in such short succession that it creates something that resembles a longer flash duration. There will be some brightness variation as the rise is quicker than the dropoff, but I think a 1 stop variation across frame would be acceptable. Of course this method requires multiple strobes and a trigger system that is very accurate in timing. So in the end it's probably also not very practical.

@Kenyee

I need the fast shutter speed because I shoot fast motion. I want to use the natural light and add in flash to get a nice balance. The alternative would be continuous daylight lights (expensive and need lots of power) or large reflectors which are impractical because of the wind we have. Reflectors also make people squint, flash doesn't.

I have experimented with 'hypersync'. It kind of works, but with my camera (Nikon D3) the light fall off across the frame was obvious.

Just as a by the way.

Recently, I had a pleasant surprise that I could consistently sync at 1/400 without a black band using the CST on a Nikon D7000.

Using a focussed 22rlr, an einstein/vagabond mini combo on a paint pole with a kacey adapter I was able to use 1/400 at about 45Ws and freeze action at about 30' or so at an outdoor event.
Lights were adjusted by the CC on the fly, whilst keeping on the histagram. The einstein kept up with 6 fps too. (Short bursts is all I shot, though.)


The camera had on a polariser, 70-200mm @ f2.8, ISO 100. The ambient light wasn't super bright, but it wasn't fully overcast either.

My point being that I took the 1/250 listed sync speed as a given, but I can shave a large part of a stop off the ambient in reality.
So actually investigate the actual sync speed of your camera.

I think we need more info on what your "typical" shoot is like.
What are you shooting?
Distance from lights to whatever you're shooting?
How many lights you have set up?
What modifiers you have?

For freezing fast motion, you normally use strobes to freeze them because the strobe effect is a lot faster than your shutter. And yes, this means you don't balance ambient, you replace it...

To truely see what your sync speed is, you will need to test in a low/no ambient light environment. All else being the same, a shot without flash should be completely black.

I suspect (though I am not sure, as I have not seen the photo(s) mentioned) that what you are seeing is instead of a harsh deep black line, the area which would normally be black is somewhat exposed from the ambient, as the shutter would only sheild flash light.

I know many Nikons can do 1/320, so 1/400 would not surprise me. Regardless of any one camera's rated or actual X-sync, the strategic placement of the "black bar" area can be useful in outdoor photography.

See this link for a video. http://strobist.blogspot.com/2008/10/gr ... -sync.html

To TS,

I tried 1/500 and the black bar was very definite, so I'm confident that the whole sensor was exposed to flash at 1/400.
You are quite correct, at 1/500 it would be usable if the composition took a crop into consideration.


Regards
Phil

I know i always have the option to replace the ambient light with powerful, short duration strobe light to freeze action. I do that in a studio all the time. But my goal is not to create my own lighting, rather I want to shoot in a natural environment using natural light and just add some light. Sometimes it's a fill, sometimes it's an edge light to enhance the lines.

here is an example: http://db.tt/RXq7MjfE

The dancers are moving fast during their leaps and I need a minimum of 1/1000 and ideally 1/2000 to get sharp enough shots. 1/250 or 1/400 is way too long. Hands and feet will be blurred. I do not want to overpower the natural light, the point is to have them in a natural environment.

This shot was done with 4 SB-800 flashes combined in FP mode triggered remotely with Radiopoppers.

I don't see any other way to do this at the moment with flashes. Unfortunately.

That example helps a lot :)

For that amount of ambient and those shutter speed requirements (similar to sports to freeze action), I'd just use a big reflector for fill. You're using the sun for rim and speedlights for fill.

Hypersync AFAIK (PW or RP versions) won't get up to 1/2000...