Elinchrom has announced a new Skyport wireless flash trigger, dubbed the EL-Skyport Transmitter Plus HS (or Skyport Plus HS for short) that will allow you to sync EL-Skyport compatible Elinchrom strobes at up to 1/8000s. [Read more…]
Watch Joe McNally Explain TTL Flash
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF0V19TBs60&w=700&rel=0]
In these videos, Joe McNally walks through the basics of TTL flash, including lighting ratios and high-speed sync. He’s specifically talking about Profoto’s Air TTL system; however, these principles apply to smaller speedlights from Canon, Nikon and other manufacturers. [Read more…]
What’s Different When You’re Freezing Movement with High-Speed Sync?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NngJDLEfPz4&w=700&showinfo=0&rel=0]
In this short video, Jared Platt shows how to freeze motion using high-speed sync with the Profoto B1 and B2 heads, which work with TTL flash systems on Canon and Nikon DSLRs.
While he demos the Profoto kit, the same rules apply to smaller speedlight kits and other TTL monolights and flash heads. With purely manual flash communication, however, you are limited to the sync speed of your camera (often around 1/200s) and won’t be able to freeze that motion.
Learn the Benefits of High-Speed Sync in Daylight
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXS_NleLDq8&w=700&showinfo=0&rel=0]
This short video from Profoto shows how shooting with high-speed sync flashes in daylight can help bring back details in the sky. The advantage of high-speed sync is that you can shoot at much higher shutter speeds than the x-sync rating of your camera. Most systems allow you to go up to 1/8000s, which means you can bring ambient light down without needing a ton of light from your flash.
In this case, they used a single B2 head in a softbox to balance the flash and ambient light. While the Profoto kits can be very expensive, the same effect can be achieved using smaller and more affordable speedlights. If name brand speedlight kits are still too expensive, third-party speedlights are available with the high-speed sync feature for less than $100.