High speed photography.

[StonerStuart]

Hey guys /gals

I recently bought a flash for my Nikon D90, the flash is an SB-400 speedligh.

I was hoping that it would enable me to get speeds of at least 1/1000 but it is at 1/200 and cannot go faster.

I want to catch water droplets and dust and all sorts, but at 1/200 it looks just - OK -

Is there anything you guys recommend other than buying a new camera?

Are the other flashes, the higher level ones capable of 1/1000th?

It really bummed me out when i tried to scroll faster than 1/200 but it just stuck ther.


Please any recommendations are awesome.

I do not have money to set up a studio so that is out of the question.

 

[koffiejunkie]

Check if your flash has a "high speed sync" mode. I think Nikon calls it FP or Auto FP. If it doesn't, see if you can take it back and get a higher end model.

 

[name_less]

This should teach you how to take high speed pictures,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x43yftnFBBw&feature=plcp

 

[fvdbergh]

Hey guys /gals

I recently bought a flash for my Nikon D90, the flash is an SB-400 speedligh.

I was hoping that it would enable me to get speeds of at least 1/1000 but it is at 1/200 and cannot go faster.

I want to catch water droplets and dust and all sorts, but at 1/200 it looks just - OK -

Is there anything you guys recommend other than buying a new camera?

Are the other flashes, the higher level ones capable of 1/1000th?

It really bummed me out when i tried to scroll faster than 1/200 but it just stuck ther.


Please any recommendations are awesome.

I do not have money to set up a studio so that is out of the question.

Short answer: Your flash will provide light for only a very brief duration, i.e., about 1/20000 s, if it is not firing at full power. What you want to do is select dark scene and a slow shutter, so that the flash provides the only illumination of your subject. Since the scene is dark, no light will be captured by the camera until the flash fires, which lasts only for 1/20000 s, which gives you the equivalent of a shutter speed of 1/20000 s (or faster, depending on flash power).

Auto FP is used for providing fill light outside in bright light with a large aperture lens.

 

[StonerStuart]

Short answer: Your flash will provide light for only a very brief duration, i.e., about 1/20000 s, if it is not firing at full power. What you want to do is select dark scene and a slow shutter, so that the flash provides the only illumination of your subject. Since the scene is dark, no light will be captured by the camera until the flash fires, which lasts only for 1/20000 s, which gives you the equivalent of a shutter speed of 1/20000 s (or faster, depending on flash power).

Auto FP is used for providing fill light outside in bright light with a large aperture lens.

Thank you, I am going to give that a shot.
focusing on whatever it is can be really tricky, although i can use a torch for that.

 

[koffiejunkie]

Thank you, I am going to give that a shot.
focusing on whatever it is can be really tricky, although i can use a torch for that.

I hadn't thought of that, thanks fvdbergh.

 

[StonerStuart]

I built a flash extension cable last nigh, every thing is correct, measures up but the camera reports r06 on the screen.
No idea why.

Does anyone know of a flash holder one i can clip my sb400 into and put it where i want it or fire it when i want to?

Some of the triggers and equi are so very pricey.

Any home DIY tips?

 

[GarethC]

Don't know how well it will work, but you can try detaching the Flash from the camera, opening the shutter for a few seconds and firing the flash manually by hand, by pushing the 'pilot' button, or whatever the nikon equivalent is.

 

[fvdbergh]

I built a flash extension cable last nigh, every thing is correct, measures up but the camera reports r06 on the screen.
No idea why.

Does anyone know of a flash holder one i can clip my sb400 into and put it where i want it or fire it when i want to?

Some of the triggers and equi are so very pricey.

Any home DIY tips?

Maybe sell the sb400 and buy a second hand sb600? At least include this as an option in your cost/benefit analysis.
The sb600 can be triggered remotely from the built-in flash on the D90 (I think. DPreview lists it as option e2 in the settings menu, "commander mode"), and it comes with a (passive) foot that can be tripod mounted.
The sb600 can also rotate in one more axis (compared to sb400), which makes bounce flash in portrait orientation much more flexible.

Obviously this is a more pricey route to go, but you get much more functionality than you would by buying a remote trigger.

 

[StonerStuart]

Maybe sell the sb400 and buy a second hand sb600? At least include this as an option in your cost/benefit analysis.
The sb600 can be triggered remotely from the built-in flash on the D90 (I think. DPreview lists it as option e2 in the settings menu, "commander mode"), and it comes with a (passive) foot that can be tripod mounted.
The sb600 can also rotate in one more axis (compared to sb400), which makes bounce flash in portrait orientation much more flexible.

Obviously this is a more pricey route to go, but you get much more functionality than you would by buying a remote trigger.

Do you own the sb600?
If so, whats the fastest shutter speed you can take a picture at using that flash?

I am considering a new flash, but if all of them are limited to 1/200th then I will rather look at a different option.

 

[fvdbergh]

Do you own the sb600?
If so, whats the fastest shutter speed you can take a picture at using that flash?

I am considering a new flash, but if all of them are limited to 1/200th then I will rather look at a different option.

On a D7000, max shutter sync speed is 1/250 s (or 1/320 s??). On my D40, max shutter sync speed is 1/500 s. No Nikon body will go above 1/500 s, and most are actually stuck at 1/250 s. This is because of the mechanical difficulty of ensuring that the shutter is open while the flash fires, so it is not the flash's fault alone.

The Auto FP mode circumvents this problem by firing the flash at high power (full power?), which is a duration of 1/900 s on the SB600. Because the flash is on for longer, it becomes possible to open and close the shutter while the flash is still on. This is not suitable for high-speed flash photography because your effective shutter speed is determined by the camera, not the flash. For the D7000, this means 1/8000 s, and on the D40, 1/4000 s, which is still too slow for whatever you probably have in mind.

The method I described above (keeping the shutter open longer, keeping the scene dark, and firing the flash at reduced power) is the correct method for achieving faster effective shutter speeds. The effective shutter speeds achievable with the SB600 are (from the manual, p88):

1/6600 sec. at M1/8 output
1/11100 sec. at M1/16 output
1/20000 sec. at M1/32 output
1/25000 sec. at M1/64 output

I did not check the sb400 manual, but it would probably have similar (if not identical) specs in this regard. The suggestion above to use the flash's "pilot" button (called "test" on the SB600) is actually a great idea, since this test flash appears to be at rather low power levels (judging by the duration of the recharging sound afterwards) --- but I do not know if the sb400 has such a button. Edit: doesn't appear to have one according to manual.

The real problem is to synchronize the firing of the flash with the action you are trying to freeze, which typically requires that you build your own flash trigger circuit, or you could buy one.

 

[StonerStuart]

@fvdbergh - that's a lot of info. Thanks.
What do you think about continuous lighting?
I found a light that may be sufficient for around the same price as a mid level flash.

 

[fvdbergh]

@fvdbergh - that's a lot of info. Thanks.
What do you think about continuous lighting?
I found a light that may be sufficient for around the same price as a mid level flash.

I do not think that I fully understand what you are trying to do. You need a high shutter speed for something, but you do not have enough ambient light? Or is this a different problem from your original question?

What shutter speed do you need?

As for your continuous LED lighting, I would strongly advise against buying a light without seeing it in real life first. You might have some unpleasant surprises with light uniformity, effective angle, color temperature, or even actual light output.

 

[StonerStuart]

I do not think that I fully understand what you are trying to do. You need a high shutter speed for something, but you do not have enough ambient light? Or is this a different problem from your original question?

What shutter speed do you need?

As for your continuous LED lighting, I would strongly advise against buying a light without seeing it in real life first. You might have some unpleasant surprises with light uniformity, effective angle, color temperature, or even actual light output.

It is the same question, I am trying to find a solution.
I want to be able to take photos at high speeds, 1/1000 and faster, I can get those sorts of shutter speeds outside in the sunlight but the sun is not always that strong nor at the right angles. I do not want to spend tens of thousands on pro lighting for a hobby and I do not want to have to work around the sun.

I bought a mercury vapor light that was supposidly strong which it was but the frequency was crazy, you could see the difference in each photo.

I am not sure how much sense I am making, I do not know the correct terminology or methods.

 

[fvdbergh]

It is the same question, I am trying to find a solution.
I want to be able to take photos at high speeds, 1/1000 and faster, I can get those sorts of shutter speeds outside in the sunlight but the sun is not always that strong nor at the right angles. I do not want to spend tens of thousands on pro lighting for a hobby and I do not want to have to work around the sun.

I bought a mercury vapor light that was supposidly strong which it was but the frequency was crazy, you could see the difference in each photo.

I am not sure how much sense I am making, I do not know the correct terminology or methods.

Sorry, my mistake --- I thought you were trying to freeze motion, i.e., obtain effective shutter speeds faster than the maximum of your camera.

I have used Auto FP mode on the D7000 with the SB600 to select a shutter speed of up to 1/8000, and it does work. The main disadvantage to Auto FP is reduced power and reduced range. I read up a bit more on Auto FP, and my explanation above is inaccurate. Essentially, Auto FP emulates continuous light by flashing repeatedly, which means it must fire at reduced power (not full power as I stated above) -- I think you lose about 3 stops of light at 1/1000 s in FP mode.

Unfortunately, the SB400 does not support FP mode.

If you find that Auto FP does not have sufficient flash range, then you can revert to the dark-room-slow-shutter technique described above, which will give you a shutter speed of 1/900 at full flash power, or more speed at reduced flash power. Somewhere in there you might find a good trade-off. You should be able to use this method with the SB400, but then you still have to solve your problems with the remote cord.

 

[Edduck]

It is the same question, I am trying to find a solution.
I want to be able to take photos at high speeds, 1/1000 and faster, I can get those sorts of shutter speeds outside in the sunlight but the sun is not always that strong nor at the right angles. I do not want to spend tens of thousands on pro lighting for a hobby and I do not want to have to work around the sun.

I bought a mercury vapor light that was supposidly strong which it was but the frequency was crazy, you could see the difference in each photo.

I am not sure how much sense I am making, I do not know the correct terminology or methods.

Could you perhaps elaborated on what your subject matter is? Have you looked into an air gap flash? http://www.diyphotography.net/high-speed-air-gap-flash-will-freeze-a-bullet-in-mid-air

I think you are going to have a hard time finding a bight light for use indoors that is bright enough AND won't overheat or even melt your subject matter....