I am looking to buy a studio strobe light. I never had one, I have been always using my speedlights.

With my D300 + Speedlights I can only sync up to 1/250 which sometimes is never enough to kill the ambient light.

I am looking into something really cheap just to experiment and once I am happy and confident with it, I can further invest. I have found this one:

Godox 300W

Checking out the specs I can see that Flash duration is 1/2000-1/800s.

Does this mean that I can use it of up to those shutter speeds?!

please let me know...

thanks,
George

"Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down"

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Nikon D300 | Manfrotto 055XPROB Pro Tripod Legs Black with 804RC2 Pan Tilt Head | Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8D AF | Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF | Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF VR | Nikon 70-300mm VR f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED | Nikon SB-600 Speedlight | Merkury Optics 0.45X Wide Angle & Macro Filter | Tokina 3X Zoom Filter | Tamrac 5374 Adventure 74 Digital Photo Backpack | ThinkTank Digital Holster 20 | Cactus V5 Tranceivers | Adorama Digital Remote Release

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I haven't heard of the strobe you've mentioned but go here: http://www.paulcbuff.com/packages.php Best bang for the buck in my opinion. I own 1 Einstein strobe and 3 Alien Bees 800s alone with some accessories. Very happy with them and they have excellent customer service!

Nikonian in Upper Marlboro, MD

ADCole
www.adcoleweddingphotoimages.com

Thanks for the suggestion. I have been keeping an eye on AlienBees for long time now. It's just the price .. (unfortunately shipping to Cyprus may cost an additional $200 or more!)

I will keep searching though..!

thanks

"Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down"

My Gear
Nikon D300 | Manfrotto 055XPROB Pro Tripod Legs Black with 804RC2 Pan Tilt Head | Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8D AF | Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF | Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF VR | Nikon 70-300mm VR f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED | Nikon SB-600 Speedlight | Merkury Optics 0.45X Wide Angle & Macro Filter | Tokina 3X Zoom Filter | Tamrac 5374 Adventure 74 Digital Photo Backpack | ThinkTank Digital Holster 20 | Cactus V5 Tranceivers | Adorama Digital Remote Release

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Checking out the specs I can see that Flash duration is 1/2000-1/800s.

Does this mean that I can use it of up to those shutter
speeds?!

Unfortunately, no. The sync speed of your camera is the fastest speed at which the entire frame is exposed at the same time. It provides a "window" in which the flash can fire and illuminate the frame. As long as the flash duration is shorter than the shutter speed and the shutter speed is equal to the sync speed or longer you'll get full benefit from the flash.

If you use any speed faster than the sync speed, only part of the frame will be illumanted by the flash.

I do not recommend buying inexpensive strobes like these even as a throwaway item. You are better off either renting or buying a mid-grade unit and then selling it if you lose interest.

One of the biggest mistakes a photographer can make is to look at the real world and cling to the vain hope that next time his film will somehow bear a closer resemblance to it. - Galen Rowell

I understand. I am reading that D300 can sync up to 1/320. Any idea on how to enable this? And why is it disabled by default? I guess there is a good reason for this, right?

Thanks,
George

"Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down"

My Gear
Nikon D300 | Manfrotto 055XPROB Pro Tripod Legs Black with 804RC2 Pan Tilt Head | Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8D AF | Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF | Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF VR | Nikon 70-300mm VR f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED | Nikon SB-600 Speedlight | Merkury Optics 0.45X Wide Angle & Macro Filter | Tokina 3X Zoom Filter | Tamrac 5374 Adventure 74 Digital Photo Backpack | ThinkTank Digital Holster 20 | Cactus V5 Tranceivers | Adorama Digital Remote Release

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Hi George,

>I understand. I am reading that D300 can sync up to 1/320.
>Any idea on how to enable this?

Custom Settings Menu: e1.

>And why is it disabled by default?

FP High Speed Sync mode only works with certain Speedlights (SB-: 600, 700, 800, 900, 910, and a few third party models).

> I guess there is a good reason for this, right?

1/250 sec. Is the fastest shutter speed that the front curtain is fully open before the rear curtain starts closing. At shutter speeds faster than the maximum sync speed the front and rear curtains form a moving slit across the sensor plane.
Good Luck and Enjoy your Nikons!

Best Regards,
Marty

Actually according to page 289 of the D300 manual, it's possible to use 1/320th of a second with the built-in flash or "optional flash units" without using "Auto FP" mode. The manual notes that flash range will drop but still be greater than that obtained at the same speeds without Auto FP.

Since Nikon only grudgingly acknowledges that their cameras can be used with non-Nikon strobes, what isn't clear is if 1/320th of a second will work with a non-iTTL, "dumb" unit like a monolight. Since you are effectively asking the strobe to "fit" inside a very small time window, it may depend on the individual flash model and triggering mechanism. So this may be a question best answered by experimentation.

My own approach when using a Nikon SLR with monolights is to relax, don't worry, set the camera manual mode at 1/200th of a second. So far, any time I've needed to mix flash with continuous or natural lighting, I've used an SB-800 instead of a monolight.

Hi George,

>With my D300 + Speedlights I can only sync up to 1/250 which
>sometimes is never enough to kill the ambient light.

Your SB-600 can be used in FP High Speed Sync mode when it is attached to your D300's hotshoe: directly or via an SC-17, SC-28, or SC-29 TTL Extension cord.

In the D300 Custom Settings Menu> e1 Flash Sync Speed > set 1/250 s (Auto FP) or 1/320 s (Auto FP). You can then use any shutter speed up to 1/8000th sec. with your SB-600 providing fill light. The drawback is When using FP High Speed Sync mode, flash range is reduced significantly (3 - 4 feet 1 or about 1 meter or so).

>I am looking into something really cheap just to experiment
>and once I am happy and confident with it, I can further
>invest. I have found this one:

Buy cheap, get cheap! I would not recommend getting a cheap strobe even if you consider it disposable. They typically lack fine control and are usually not very consistant.

>Checking out the specs I can see that Flash duration is
>1/2000-1/800s.
>
>Does this mean that I can use it of up to those shutter
>speeds?!

No!
Your Maximum shutter speed is the Maximum Sync Speed of the Camera (1/250 sec.) .
If you use a faster shutter speed, the first and second shutter curtains form a moving slit which will result in part of the frame being black. The faster the shutter speed, the larger the black area will be.

The Pocket Wizard Mini TT1 and Flex TT5 have a HyperSync mode that will allow using shutter speeds faster than the sync speed. The maximum speed possible depends on the camera body and the particular strob being used.
Good Luck and Enjoy your Nikons!

Best Regards,
Marty

thanks for your suggestion !!

I guess, yes, the best way is to experiment and see the results, with both my SB600 and the rest, third party flash units.

The outcome will be interesting

thanks,
George

"Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down"

My Gear
Nikon D300 | Manfrotto 055XPROB Pro Tripod Legs Black with 804RC2 Pan Tilt Head | Nikon 35-70mm f/2.8D AF | Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF | Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF VR | Nikon 70-300mm VR f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED | Nikon SB-600 Speedlight | Merkury Optics 0.45X Wide Angle & Macro Filter | Tokina 3X Zoom Filter | Tamrac 5374 Adventure 74 Digital Photo Backpack | ThinkTank Digital Holster 20 | Cactus V5 Tranceivers | Adorama Digital Remote Release

My Galleries
My Nikonians Gallery | My Flickr Gallery