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Wed Mar 24, 2010 3:00 pm

Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2010 6:41 pm
Posts: 26

purdyd wrote:
please elaborate on the technique referenced here, as i am not aware of it. As well, is this doable for most cameras?

I know it works for Nikon cameras and from reading on the internet, Canon. Can't speak for other brands.

Here is a nice discussion:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/d ... 362003933/


Hey,

I tested this with my gear and it worked great! It also worked with a SB-900 on camera (just to get the system into FP) and a CST in the PC camera connector triggering another SB-900 off camera!

That's freaking awesome! It opens up a whole new range of shooting opertunities during daylight.

Thanks for sharing this.

Cheers, Greg




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Wed Mar 24, 2010 3:46 pm

Site Admin
Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 10:43 am
Posts: 5266

Incidentally, i tried it as well with my Sony, and a special adapter i happened upon, and got the same effect, thanks for the heads up!

In case it has not been mentioned, if you connect to an SB800 (and presumably SB900), if the voltage in the CST drops too low (2.85V-ish) plugging the CST into the speedlite can lock up the flash. The CST will continue to work if connected by other means.




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Thu Jun 10, 2010 6:59 am

Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2010 6:48 am
Posts: 7

dmward wrote:
Until Luap gets around to designing a QFlash sized Einstein. (I hope, I hope :)

Maybe a Q sized Zeus ? :mrgreen:

Paul




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Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:39 pm

Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2010 6:48 am
Posts: 7

I've been playing around with trying to get psuedo HSS with my B1600. I find that it works all the way up to 1/8000sec, but the sweet spot seems to be about 1/3200sec. The exposure looks pretty even. When you compare the flash spec's & T5 times, it seems that having a shutter speed faster than the T5 time gets you a good exposure...

Image
(click on image to see full size, download & read exif)

This is straight out of camera. Canon EOS 1D Mk III. I used Metz 58MZd to trigger the B1600 (via the built-in optical slave) on full power. f/5.6 ~ 1/3200sec ~ ISO 100...

Paul




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Sun Jul 04, 2010 1:28 pm

Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2009 12:54 pm
Posts: 10

Luap wrote:
I could do an elaborate portable flash with really effective HSS, but the amount of engineering and trying to meet the criteria of ever evolving cameras would out weigh the engineering expense VS the market place and I would lose money, and be diverted from the type of products I do best.

HSS really requires the camera and the flash to be integrated by design . . . hey Canon/Nikon I have a red phone like Glenn Beck . . . call me!

What really ought to happen is Canon or Nikon ought to address this with their budget and engineering staff and make a modern CMOS camera act like a D40 . . . they could do it a lot easier than I could kludge a light that works around their limitations and ever changing technology and lack of real-use vision.


Paul, this is exactly what I have been clamoring for in my previous programs at WPPI and in all of my written works, and local/state/private seminars.

Even though Mr. Wiesniewsky is a very sharp guy when it comes to picking apart camera performance and sensor technology, if the camera makers got rid of mechanical shutters altogether and had evolved "snap shutter" technology, we wouldn't have to deal with all this kludgey claptrap sort of stuff requiring expensive dedicated flash systems coupled with 3rd party "piggyback" solutions.........are real PITA. All we want to do is bring the ambient to flash ratio down into the workable aperture range of f/2 to f/8 which can maintain our selective focus optically on one end, and avoid the dreaded aperture diffraction at the other.




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Sun Jul 04, 2010 1:33 pm

Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2009 12:54 pm
Posts: 10

Luap wrote:
Actually, I do have an orange phone exactly like Beck's red one. Found it in Santa Fe and had to have it. Same color as orange bees, replete with rotary dial . . . plus it works better than the modern phones.


Everything in audio today should be incredible with cheap DVD audio and 96 Khz sampling with 24 bit DACs.......but NO, we need to compress dynamics to make everything loud and lossy compress the data to crank those 99 cent downloads as fast as possible.

Us guys with all large format horn systems are still seeking good music with good recording techniques that make full use of the storage/playback medium (like a $39 dvd player)




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Thu Dec 16, 2010 12:47 am

Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 5:56 pm
Posts: 14

ClaudeJ1 wrote:
This is the type of thing that would be on MY wish list from the camera makers. Mr. Wiesniewski pointed out the requirements of "snap shutter" sensors with some greater noise, etc. but it would be worth it to me to have a lower ISO sensor (full frame 35mm for shallower DOF) to do sunlight/flash photographs at f/2 to f/11, thereby avoiding the dreaded diffraction issues.


Not that I don't agree that faster shutter speeds are incredibly useful, I thought I'd point out that if your only goal is to get a wider aperture while still keeping the ambient in check, you could use ND filters instead of increasing the shutter speed. Obviously that's not always terribly convenient, but it is something that is completely doable today with any flash on any camera.

I'm absolutely interested in getting higher shutter speeds for the ability to stop motion while balancing ambient with flash. I really can't see any alternative to increasing shutter speed or living with significant motion blur with fast motion in situations where you want (or must) include significant ambient light in the exposure. To me this is the time where various "hacks" become much more acceptable and quite honestly, much more likely than the camera manufacturers suddenly solving the issues with either their sensors or shutters. . .

I just posted another thread before I remembered this one was here asking about how fast an Einstein could be triggered in succession if for instance someone were to build a small timer-based trigger. Obviously you're not going to get fantastic results this way (flash duration is simply too long), but you may be able to get 10-20 pops or more which possibly may have some slim chance of providing evenish coverage. Okay, it'd probably look like crap, but it's worth a try and wouldn't take but a few seconds to test out. I'd try it right now if I had an FP capable flash so I could trick my camera into pretriggering. Kinda pointless if I can't capture any test images though;->

-Daniel




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Sun May 15, 2011 9:12 pm

Joined: Sat Apr 23, 2011 5:35 pm
Posts: 119

purdyd wrote:
what the market really needs is a no frills, off camera purpose built, rugged, AA powered, small flash

the alien bee equivalent of a SB900 or 580EX in power and size and powered by AA batteries


See if the Lumopro LP160 fits the bill:

http://www.lumopro.com/product.php?id=25




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Sun May 15, 2011 11:26 pm

Site Admin
Joined: Tue Dec 08, 2009 11:49 am
Posts: 1432

dath1974 wrote:
ClaudeJ1 wrote:
This is the type of thing that would be on MY wish list from the camera makers. Mr. Wiesniewski pointed out the requirements of "snap shutter" sensors with some greater noise, etc. but it would be worth it to me to have a lower ISO sensor (full frame 35mm for shallower DOF) to do sunlight/flash photographs at f/2 to f/11, thereby avoiding the dreaded diffraction issues.


Not that I don't agree that faster shutter speeds are incredibly useful, I thought I'd point out that if your only goal is to get a wider aperture while still keeping the ambient in check, you could use ND filters instead of increasing the shutter speed. Obviously that's not always terribly convenient, but it is something that is completely doable today with any flash on any camera.

I'm absolutely interested in getting higher shutter speeds for the ability to stop motion while balancing ambient with flash. I really can't see any alternative to increasing shutter speed or living with significant motion blur with fast motion in situations where you want (or must) include significant ambient light in the exposure. To me this is the time where various "hacks" become much more acceptable and quite honestly, much more likely than the camera manufacturers suddenly solving the issues with either their sensors or shutters. . .

I just posted another thread before I remembered this one was here asking about how fast an Einstein could be triggered in succession if for instance someone were to build a small timer-based trigger. Obviously you're not going to get fantastic results this way (flash duration is simply too long), but you may be able to get 10-20 pops or more which possibly may have some slim chance of providing evenish coverage. Okay, it'd probably look like crap, but it's worth a try and wouldn't take but a few seconds to test out. I'd try it right now if I had an FP capable flash so I could trick my camera into pretriggering. Kinda pointless if I can't capture any test images though;->

-Daniel

I assume the comment about multiple pops means you want more power. At full power 10 pops will take 18 seconds to complete. Use a silver PLM. At 10' and full power you'll get close to f45 ISO100 at 1/250 second using CyberSync. A 4f ND will bring that down to around f11 and bring the sun down by 4 stops.

If you want to freeze action better, drop the E640 down to 320WS and use a 3f ND.




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Mon May 16, 2011 9:38 am

Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 5:56 pm
Posts: 14

Luap wrote:
I assume the comment about multiple pops means you want more power. At full power 10 pops will take 18 seconds to complete. Use a silver PLM. At 10' and full power you'll get close to f45 ISO100 at 1/250 second using CyberSync. A 4f ND will bring that down to around f11 and bring the sun down by 4 stops.

If you want to freeze action better, drop the E640 down to 320WS and use a 3f ND.


I really just was referring to a possible HSS hack, but as you already responded to my other thread about that, I don't think it's really possible to do as a hack to an E640. It'd have to be a feature specifically added by y'all.

There are some situations where your exposure must include a large percentage of ambient light because it is needed to attain the desired result (not underexposing a distant background for example). Strong backlit or sidelit situations with fast action would be a good example where you need to keep the ambient. In particular, surfing comes to mind. Consider a situation where the front side of the surfer is in shadow, and there is a strong side/back lit situation. You still want that ambient, but it'd be awesome if you could fill in the front side of the subject as well. Without high shutter speeds (probably around 1/1000th), you'd end up with a blurry subject, which may look cool with rear curtain sync, but still wouldn't be the same shot as a completely frozen subject.

Thinking "outloud" again, so please forgive me;->

Kind Regards,
-Daniel




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