Shutter Speed stuck@200 with flash?

[divyasom]

I own a Nikon D3000 and whenever I use the on camera flash, my shutter speed is stuck @ 1/200. Why can't I go faster than that? I always shoot in Manual mode. Is there anyway I can go faster than that with flash.

Also I want to know what does the 'Flash Compensation' do to my camera. Does it vary the power of flash or does it change the sensitivity of sensor towards light.

Thanks.

 

[baloo_buc]

It depends on which camera you have. With some cameras you can go faster only with some cameras and flash. A dumb fully manual flash has no idea ablut the flash sync (in your case is 1/200 s) and it goes at the full speed (1/4000 s or 1/8000 s).
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[chuxter]

I own a Nikon D3000 and whenever I use the on camera flash, my shutter speed is stuck @ 1/200. Why can't I go faster than that? I always shoot in Manual mode. Is there anyway I can go faster than that with flash.

No. To understand why, you'll have to understand how a modern "focal plane shutter" works...I'll try a short description, but to fully understand this, read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal-plane_shutter

Modern dSLRs have a "vertical, dual-curtain, segmented" shutter that is only fully open with slower exposure times. If you exceed the "sync speed" of any camera, only a portion of the sensor is open when the flash goes off, so you get a bright band and a dim band. The D3000, knowing this limitation, keeps you from using exposure times faster than it's "sync speed".

Also I want to know what does the 'Flash Compensation' do to my camera. Does it vary the power of flash or does it change the sensitivity of sensor towards light.

The "power" of an electronic flash unit is controlled by varying the flash duration. FC simply tells the algorithm in the camera to change the duration from the nominal value.

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D50, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info

"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin."
-Samuel Adams, 1776

 

[Larry1dsII]

There are a whole host of questions here... but let's stick to some basics...

Is the flash recommended for the camera ?

If the flash is compatible with the camera, it will regulate it's output based on the f-stop you are using.. The shutter speed is irrelevant as long as it is at or slower than the camera flash sync speed - in your case, 1/200.

If it is a non-compatible flash, then you need to know it's guide number or use a chart to calculate the proper f-stop.. but you still must have a shutter speed at or slower than 1/200

If your camera has High Speed Sync ?, and the flash is compatible, then you can use a higher shutter speed...

Perhaps you could explain your shooting conditions where you feel that you need to use a higher shutter speed and we could help out more..

 

[chuxter]

There are a whole host of questions here... but let's stick to some basics...

Is the flash recommended for the camera ?

Oh, Larry...you should read his OP and slow down...one-word-at-a-time might help?

" ...whenever I use the on camera flash , my shutter speed is stuck @ 1/200. "

I added the underlining, just for you. ;-) I think that can be reasonably interpreted as the " pop-up flash " that came from the factory with his D3000...

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D50, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info

"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin."
-Samuel Adams, 1776

 

[John_A_G]

It should be noted, that the technical limitation can be overcome in some instances with an external flash set to High Speed Synch mode. The flash operates differently in HSS allowing for faster shutter speeds. HOWEVER, it also greatly reduces flash output, limiting the range of the flash.

HSS is great for portrait work outdoors where you may not be able to get slow shutter speeds at lowest ISO with the aperture value you want. It's probably the best use of HSS - for fill flash. Usually distances are short so it's not an issue that flash output is greatly reduced.

I don't know of a camera that includes HSS with the built-in flash though, so using the feature would require the use of an external speedlight.

If, however, you're wanting faster shutter speeds just to stop action - they're not needed. We can go into that more if that's your need.

 

[divyasom]

Thanks everyone especially chuxter.

John it was hard for me to understand what HSS is. So if you can elaborate on that please.

 

[John_A_G]

I did a quick google, and here's an interesting write-up:
http://speedliting.com/how-to/dimming-the-sun-with-high-speed-sync-2/

In general, instead of a single burst, HSS uses a series of bursts of light. Here's another write-up on all that:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=208520

 

[chuxter]

It should be noted, that the technical limitation can be overcome in some instances with an external flash set to High Speed Synch mode. The flash operates differently in HSS allowing for faster shutter speeds. HOWEVER, it also greatly reduces flash output, limiting the range of the flash.

HSS is great for portrait work outdoors where you may not be able to get slow shutter speeds at lowest ISO with the aperture value you want. It's probably the best use of HSS - for fill flash. Usually distances are short so it's not an issue that flash output is greatly reduced.

I don't know of a camera that includes HSS with the built-in flash though, so using the feature would require the use of an external speedlight.

I just checked and the D300 does have a limited extension of sync speed by using what Nikon calls "Auto FP"...from 1/250 sec to 1/320 sec. To get flash to sync at any exposure time, you have to use an external flash unit, as you said. I suspect anything above the D300 will do this.

If, however, you're wanting faster shutter speeds just to stop action - they're not needed. We can go into that more if that's your need.

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D50, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info

"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin."
-Samuel Adams, 1776

 

[Tom_N]

Thanks everyone especially chuxter.

John it was hard for me to understand what HSS is. So if you can elaborate on that please.

You can't change the mechanical limitations of the shutter. So instead of trying, high-speed sync ("auto FP") works around them. It fires a LOT of low-power flash pulses over the entire exposure. Each pulse only exposes part of the sensor, but when you add them all up, they will have exposed the whole sensor (something a single bright pulse would have been unable to do).

 

[Port Royal Dad]

Learn the in's and out's of High Speed Sync, and your outdoor flash photography will take on a life of it's on.

My 2 cents of contribution...HSS is great as fill flash especially when it's sunny, and you want to push out the shadows that are on your subject.

Enabling HSS via your attached speedlight will allow your camera's shutter speed to be higher than 1/200.

High Speed Sync for Flash at Any Shutter Speed
http://www.rpphoto.com/howto/view.asp?articleID=1026

Here's my elementary example. When HSS is off my shutter speed will not go over 1/250. With HSS on my speedlight enabled , I am able to dial in a much higher shutter speed (in this case 1/2000) allowing me to better balance the back ground ambient light with the foreground lighting (fill flash) provided from the speedlight.

The aperture and the ISO are the same in both shots....it's the shutter speed that changes, and that affects the exposure.



Regards, Mike

--
B.R.A.S.S. (Breathe, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze)

 

[Larry1dsII]

...... ... Thanks .... I should spend more time over here ......

My thought was "on camera flash",,, well, of course that would be the one I put on it since most of my cameras don't have a pop-up flash.....

Well, if nobody paid attention, it's a good thing, and if they did........ disregard...

There are a whole host of questions here... but let's stick to some basics...

Is the flash recommended for the camera ?

Oh, Larry...you should read his OP and slow down...one-word-at-a-time might help?

" ...whenever I use the on camera flash , my shutter speed is stuck @ 1/200. "

I added the underlining, just for you. ;-) I think that can be reasonably interpreted as the " pop-up flash " that came from the factory with his D3000...

--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D50, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info

"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin."
-Samuel Adams, 1776

 

[chuxter]

PRD, that's a great example!
--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D50, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info

"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin."
-Samuel Adams, 1776

 

[divyasom]

Thanks everyone! dpreview forums are certainly a great place to learn.

 

[Port Royal Dad]

Man-O-Man, was I struggling with this same thing several years ago, and it was someone here too who posted a similar example, and it was suddenly like a Blinding Flash of the Obvious for me.

My Canon 30D doesn't have any menu driven HSS features (associated with the built-in pop-up flash), and I was always going nuts with outdoor photography and flash, because everything typically was over exposed. Then some very knowledge person posted a topic mentioning to enable the HSS feature via an attached speedlight, either for Nikon or Canon, and how to balance the ambient light with the light provided from the flash.

Hell, that’s when I looked on the back of my 580EX-II flash and said "Oh, that's what that little Lighting Bolt button does. Yippie…even though I gotta be the dumbest person on the planet, I’ve just discovered I got HSS, Yippie.”

And that’s when I said, Hasta la vista… baby to a fixed shutter speed of 1/250.

Best Regards, Mike

PRD, that's a great example!
--
Charlie Davis
Nikon 5700, Sony R1, Nikon D50, Nikon D300
HomePage: http://www.1derful.info

"If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin."
-Samuel Adams, 1776

--
B.R.A.S.S. (Breathe, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze)