The last two Tech Thursdays I have posted about the leaf shutter lens built into the FujiFilm X100s, Sony Cybershot DSC-RX1, and some medium format camera systems. They have some special abilities over dSLR cameras when it comes to syncing with flash units. Allowing for a faster sync speed, you create outdoor photos in bright sun while retaining shallow depth of field.
Most hobbyists and professionals use dSLRs for making images. However, they are limited in terms of what shutter speed they can use with flash. Look through the manual that came with your camera to see what the sync speed is with your particular model. Some cameras sync at 1/160th of a second, but the fastest shutter speed I have seen with them is 1/200th of a second.
Feature Comparison
If we were to take outdoor photos as these shutter speeds, we would have to close down the aperture to not let in too much light and overexpose the photo. What would happen if you were to set your camera to a higher shutter speed? These were taken with a Nikon D4, and the flash was a moonlight connected by a PC-Sync cable to the camera. This photo is set at f/5.0 at 1/200th of a second, the flash sync speed of the camera:
This at f/5.0 at 1/320th of a second:
This at f/5.0 1/500th of a second:
The shutter is not open long enough for the flash to cover the entire frame. Eventually the entire frame will be black when the shutter speed is too high like at 1/1000th of a second:
The leaf shutter camera can still do just fine set at f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second:
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