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As an adjunct to the Tangents blog, the intention with this forum is to answer any questions, and allow a diverse discussion of topics related photography. With that, see it as an open invitation to just climb in and start threads and to respond to any threads.
Leaving High Speed Sync on all the times even when not needed?
Since when shooting at high speed sync we lose a lot of flash power, what happens if I shoot at the camera's max sync speed but yet leaving High-Speed Sync selected? The Canon 580 EXII says the High Speed icon will not be displayed. Does the flash keep its original full power as if High speed sync was not selected? It would make send to keep High Speed sync selected all the times and try not to exceed that...in other words let it go the high speed way only when needed but yet keeping High speed selected all the times.
Comments
http://www.pocketwizard.com/inspirations/tutorials/pocketwizard_controltl_optimiz/
Will my Canon 580EXII flash lose power when set at High Sync speed, BUT used at speed enough low enough to be within the camera's maximum speed sync?
I concur with Zenon
Also I find it very useful to have HSS on all the time.
Some times if I follow a couple out side a Dark Church into Bright Sunlight , I'll use Aperture Priority Mode. indoors Might be F4 @ 1/60 , Out doors F4@ 1/500 If I have HSS on the camera will sync and you will still be able to get a shot when they emerge.
Or Some times in the heat of the moment Forget to change the Sutter Speed.
Having HSS on saved my Kiester on more then one occasion.
Lou
Which body do you have?
So with the 5D and (I think) the 1D mk3, there is a distinct difference whether you keep your flash with HSS enabled or not, at max sync speed.
Lightning bolt - flash ready
Flashing lightning bolt - subject out of range
No lightning bolt - flash not ready (or switched off)
Asterisk - Flash Exposure Lock
'H' - High Speed Sync in use
No 'H' - High Speed Sync not in use (whether activated or not)
And if you don't want to check yourself, here's an easy link:
http://neilvn.com/tangents/2010/08/02/high-speed-flash-sync/
Niel's link explains there is a quirk at maximum sync speed. One exposure looked fine while the next one looked underexposed. However it states that this happens when the HSS is on or off. So there is this quirk at 1/200 with Canon bodies. That I believe as it has been tested.
I'm not an engineer but I'm still trying to figure this out from engineering standpoint. If I leave HSS on and shoot at 1/160 why there would be a power drop. The sensor is completely revealed as both curtains are fully opened so the flash only has to fire once.
Well I'm probably getting myself into trouble here. I read the link a few times and I must have missed something and will read it again and do some more searching. I'm just finding this very interesting and I need to understand these things.