Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I just got my Einsteins and CC. I noticed on the CC that the shutter sync speeds go from 125 to 250. I have a Canon and the fastest shutter sync speed is 200. What speed should I use on the CC for metering purposes?

Hey Rick,
Check the final post by Luap in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=673&p=4223&hilit=commander+shutter+canon#p4223

Basically you are stuck with 1/250 for now but there may be a firmware upgrade in the future to support 1/200.

If you are lighting the scene totally with flash (no ambient) then it won't matter as the exposure is dictated by aperture and ISO and shutter speed won't play a role. If you have ambient mixed ambient and flash then your ambient will be off but not too much. I shoot a 5d mkII and I'm stuck at 1/160 so I just shoot, chimp, and adjust to taste. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply. Now another question. To get proper metering outdoors when using the CC and the Einstein as fill flash, would it be best to use 1/125 shutter speed so that the metering is exact?

Using 1/125 is certainly a reasonable approach. For me personally though, I tend to just meter at whatever is closest to the shutter speed that I want to use and take that as a starting point. Then I adjust from there and chimp a lot... but I'm also coming from using small flash and no light meter at all. Both approaches have their merits and it really depends on what suits you best.