I have a D40, and I am sort of depressed that I can only take a photo at a shutter speed of 1/500s or less with the flash. If I purchase the SB-400, will I be able to take pictures at faster shutter speeds with flash, or will it always be 1/500s is the max?
-
Welcome to the new forums! Please read this first. For known issues we are working to resolve, click here.
D40 Flash Sync Speed
- Thread starter JMayle7
- Start date
Ron LHeureux
Senior Member
1/500 is considered fast. The D40x and D80 only go up to 1/200 sec. I don't understand the problem. What could you possibly a faster flash sync for?
--
Ron
D40, 18-55II, 70-300VR, 50mm f1.8 & SB400
Canon A550
--
Ron
D40, 18-55II, 70-300VR, 50mm f1.8 & SB400
Canon A550
sillyconguru
Veteran Member
Depressed? Think yourself lucky that you aren't using a 1960's 35mm camera that had a max sync of 1/60.
For most use 1/500 is plenty fast enough, a flash pulse can be as fast as (say) 1/30000 but it can also be as slow as 1/1000 at full power (this is more true for studio strobes but some on-camera flashguns are like this). FP-flash (available with some cameras) can allow flash sync at any speed but this is done by pulsing the flash many times in quick succession, this reduces the effective output of the flash and doesn't stop motion as well as a single flash burst will.
If you use a 'dumb' flash on your D40 (or a D50, D70 or D70s) then you can sync with flash up to the maximum shutter speed of the camera (1/4000 in the case of the D40). However, at 1/4000 with the flash at (or near) full power not all of the light will illuminate the scene because the CCD's electronic shutter will activate/deactivate faster than the flash burst.
P
Patco
Guest
Minolta DiMAGE A1 will sync up to top shutter speed - 1/16,000 second ;-)
--
Patco
A photograph is more than a bunch of pixels
Ron LHeureux
Senior Member
Have you subjects swing a little more slowly since it for a photo. If this is for tournaments, you may need a pro camera.
--
Ron
D40, 18-55II, 70-300VR, 50mm f1.8 & SB400
Canon A550
--
Ron
D40, 18-55II, 70-300VR, 50mm f1.8 & SB400
Canon A550
sillyconguru
Veteran Member
Just get them to hold the club as if they were swinging it, no need for a fast shutter speed then.
victor beato
Senior Member
your d40 can sync up to 1/4000. just tape the two rear contacts of sb600/800. d40 on manual mode, start at f5.6. f2.8 if prime lens.
David Lal
Forum Pro
I would not have thought this to be a problem at all. I routinely use flash to photograph flying birds - so that I can freeze the wing motion which I am certain is much faster than a human swinging a golf club.
What you need to do is minimise the contribution of the natural daylight to the exposure: so, low ISO, small aperture (large F number, e.g. F16), fastest shutter speed possible (1/500s) then ensure that the flashgun is NOT doing BL fill flash. The effective shutter speed then is the duration of the flash. If you set the flashgun to reduced power and the subject is not too far away flash durations can be in the order of 1/5000s or even faster.
Only on an extremely bright sunny day would a sync speed of 1/500s be a problem because then it is harder to eliminate daylight - even then you can use ND filters.
Sample:
Flying cockatoo
David
What you need to do is minimise the contribution of the natural daylight to the exposure: so, low ISO, small aperture (large F number, e.g. F16), fastest shutter speed possible (1/500s) then ensure that the flashgun is NOT doing BL fill flash. The effective shutter speed then is the duration of the flash. If you set the flashgun to reduced power and the subject is not too far away flash durations can be in the order of 1/5000s or even faster.
Only on an extremely bright sunny day would a sync speed of 1/500s be a problem because then it is harder to eliminate daylight - even then you can use ND filters.
Sample:
Flying cockatoo
David
See this thread
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1034&message=8243461
The D40 has an electronic shuttered CCD similar to the D70. This may work for your D40.
Steve
P
Patco
Guest
Regardless of the flash used, the flash sync of the D40x is 1/200 second.
Patco
A photograph is more than a bunch of pixels
--
Patco
A photograph is more than a bunch of pixels
As Patco said the D40x is limited to 1/200s flash sync. It relies on a mechanical shutter curtain whereas the D40 has an electronic shutter.
I could be wrong but I don't believe the D40x nor SB-400 support FP sync. FP sync, if it were supported, permits flash at faster shutter speeds for many mechanical shutter cameras.
Steve
I could be wrong but I don't believe the D40x nor SB-400 support FP sync. FP sync, if it were supported, permits flash at faster shutter speeds for many mechanical shutter cameras.
Steve
Dennis Jones
Leading Member
Are you trying to just get a good image during a swing, or are you trying to capture the swing sequence for analysis? I use my D80 to capture a swing, but my CP8800 does something like 30fps in a lower quality, but still exceptional for use doing swing analysis.
DJ
--
CP8800, D80, 18-135, 70-300VR, SB-600
WSSA #83
Everything that goes around comes around.
DJ
--
CP8800, D80, 18-135, 70-300VR, SB-600
WSSA #83
Everything that goes around comes around.
P
Patco
Guest
The D40x sync is 1/200 and does not support FP, but you could try what Victor said earlier in this thread:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1034&message=25012590
I've never tried this, so I can't vouch for it working on a D40x.
1/200 isn't so bad... my old film cameras were 1/60 up to a blazing 1/125 ;-)
Patco
A photograph is more than a bunch of pixels
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1034&message=25012590
I've never tried this, so I can't vouch for it working on a D40x.
1/200 isn't so bad... my old film cameras were 1/60 up to a blazing 1/125 ;-)
--
Patco
A photograph is more than a bunch of pixels
I don't think there are any good options since the D40x does not support FP flash.
If you force the shutter above 1/200s part of the frame will be blocked by the shutter.
See:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1039&message=25081613
I suspect for speeds just above 1/200s you may be able to frame the shot to account for the anticipated blockage.
Steve
larsbc
Forum Pro
Do you know for a fact that you NEED to raise the flash sync? I assume you'll be standing fairly close to your subject. This means the flash should have more than enough power to let you shoot at an aperture of f/16 at ISO 200. Since you're shooting in dark or "hazy" conditions, I think this will mean your ambient light exposure will be quite dark and shouldn't result in noticeable image ghosting, and your flash shot should be nice and sharp.
larsbc
Keyboard shortcuts
- f
- Forum