Fast Sync Speed

[david_a._wong]

Hello all,

 

This summer I tried cathing frozen images of the hummingbirds in my

back patio. As my patio is almost always in the shade, it was

pretty tough. But then I thought about my studio lights.

 

I've got a Canon 10D and a set of Multi-Blitz 600s. Is it possible

to get a sync speed fast enough to freeze fast action like a

hummingbird? If so, how?

 

Thanks!

 

David.

[shootme]

The light reaching the sensor from the amount of time the shutter is open is so small that most of the times it has no efect on the shot, what counts here is the speed of the burst of light coming from the strobes. I don?t think studio strobes are fast enough for this.

However if you use electronic flash you will get the job done, as far as I know electronic flash speed is about 1/10 000 to 1/30 000 Seconds.

[ellis_vener_photography]

The t/0.1 flash duration (this the length of the flash duration thta actuall yreflects the real stopping power of the flash) of your Multiblitz units is likely around 1/300th to 1/800th of a second. Small units like the Canon 550 Speedlight have flash durations from 1,000th to 1/25,000 of a second, depend on the poer setting.

[frank_skomial]

Multi-Blitz 600 flash duration is 1/750 sec. so, as it was already stated, the flash is not suitable. 10D is not the best for that either, with max X-sync of 1/200 sec, and I assume you would like to isolate the bird from the background ?.

 

Then, when you place your flash on a light stand, you loose mobility to go after the bird. Also you are limited by the length of the AC cord(?) so chasing after the bird perhaps is not possible.

 

However, if you have time and patience, and a way to lure the bird to come to you, ... why not? Just do not be disapointed with your results. Some artistic quality pictures can be taken. If you do not expect to count number of feathers on the bird? ... do not give up that easily. Use a long telephoto lens, as the camera mirror flapping noise will spook the bird before you fire the flash.

[david_goldfarb]

High sync speed is not that important to isolate the bird from the background, really, since you'll be using a long lens, and probably extension tubes, and will want all the DOF you can get, so the 10D should be suitable for this.

 

The sharpest hummer shots are usually made with two or three small flash units set at low power for minimum flash duration, and a camera with a remote trigger set up near a feeder or flowers that regularly attract hummers. So you'll want to observe where the hummers hang out, and instead of the Multi-Blitz's try a few Vivitar 283's or something of that nature set on 1/16 power.

[vincedistefano]

How about using a reflector? I've found that with enough natural or reflected light, I can get pretty good "frozen" shots of a hummer with a soft background using no flash at all, just a tripod. Check my gallery for an example. I've seen a lot of people go through complicated an elaborate flash set-ups all in trying to get the perfect hummingbird shot, and most of the time their stuff does not come out any better than mine. I'd rather focus on catching that right moment and keep things simple.