YN-465 at less than 1/200?

You need a flash with high speed sync function or they will be limited to 1/200th.
 
Having re-checked the specs it would seem that the problem is indeed a lack of high speed sync function :(

Does anyone have any recommendation of a model I could get in a fairly tight budget that does?
 
Try an older 430 EX :)
 
High Speed Sync is the answer, but it uses a lot of power so flash range is reduced. Most decent flash guns have HSS. The YN is great value but very modest spec.

Have a google on focal plane shutter operation and x-sync to see what's going on.
 
you could stick it on manual and depending what you were shooting and what camera you use you would get a dark band at the top or bottom of the pic which gets bigger as you increase the s/speed, but its ok if you just need to light someone's upper torso etc, so might be worth a try in manual and seeing what you can get away with as its not always that obvious for all situations. hope that makes sense
 
bomberman said:
you could stick it on manual and depending what you were shooting and what camera you use you would get a dark band at the top or bottom of the pic which gets bigger as you increase the s/speed, but its ok if you just need to light someone's upper torso etc, so might be worth a try in manual and seeing what you can get away with as its not always that obvious for all situations. hope that makes sense
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The OP wants to use 1/1000sec so he'd only get about 20% of the frame lit by flash at the top. And unless there is ambient light to fill the rest of the image, that would be black. All providing the camera is held horizontally, otherwise the exposed strip runs up the side.

TBH it's one of those strobist bodges that isn't much practical use. Sorry.
 
It might sync better/faster with a (neutered) TTL cable. Not sure what the 500D shutter can do though and if it works with a Canon. Have a read of the linked article.
 
Cistron said:
It might sync better/faster with a (neutered) TTL cable. Not sure what the 500D shutter can do though and if it works with a Canon. Have a read of the linked article.
Click to expand...

That's another strobist trick that doesn't really work.

It only works on cameras that use electronic CCD sensor switching for higher shutter speeds, notably the Nikon D70 and a couple of others. All current DSLRs use CMOS sensors and fully mechanical shutters so it's no help at all for most people.

What it does is disable the shutter speed cap at 1/500sec that Nikon imposed on the D70. But they put it there for a good reason, as beyond that you get uneven flash illumination over the frame, and colour shifts also.

The only way of actually increasing the x-sync speed without any loss is with the Hypersync feature on Pocket Wizards, which customises the sync timing very precisely to make the absolute max of the x-sync timing window. But the increase there is only marginal, like increasing 1/200sec to maybe 1/350sec - useful though.

High Speed Sync is by far the best option, and works really well at any shutter speed. There is an unavoidable loss of range, but if you can live within that, it's excellent and fully auto-TTL compatible. Speaking of Pocket Wizard, they can also tweak the HSS feature to get a little bit more out of that too.
 
pellepiano said:
If the OP's goal is to get a more shallow depth of field you can always use a ND filter on the lens.
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Yes that's very true! :thumbs:

And not necessarily just for shallow depth of field, although that's the usual reason.

Fitting an ND8 would reduce the light by three stops, reducing 1/1000sec to 1/125sec, which is well under the x-sync speed ceiling.
 
Thanks for all the input :thumbs:

I possibly should've mentioned in the op that my aim is to try and capture some insects in flight and 1/200 doesn't seem to be cutting it when it comes to be freezing the wings. My train of thought was therefore that I needed something that let me take the shutter speed up quite a bit further. If anyone has any further input on this I'd be really interested to hear :)
 
Will H said:
Thanks for all the input :thumbs:

I possibly should've mentioned in the op that my aim is to try and capture some insects in flight and 1/200 doesn't seem to be cutting it when it comes to be freezing the wings.
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The flash duration of a YN465 is between 1/800S - 1/20000S, that should be fast enough, surely? It's the flash that will freeze the motion, not the shutter speed....
 
Flash In The Pan said:
The flash duration of a YN465 is between 1/800S - 1/20000S, that should be fast enough, surely? It's the flash that will freeze the motion, not the shutter speed....
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Yes, just close up the aperature until the natural light proportion is negligible.
 
Will H said:
Thanks for all the input :thumbs:

I possibly should've mentioned in the op that my aim is to try and capture some insects in flight and 1/200 doesn't seem to be cutting it when it comes to be freezing the wings. My train of thought was therefore that I needed something that let me take the shutter speed up quite a bit further. If anyone has any further input on this I'd be really interested to hear :)
Click to expand...

Ooops - crossed posts!

Technically, that's easy. But actually doing it well is a different thing altogether. Stephen Dalton is the master - check this out http://www.stephendalton.co.uk/gallery_87323.html

If you switch almost any hot-shoe flash to manual, you get very short flash durations, down to about 1/50,000sec. Around 1/16th power you'll get roughly 1/16,000sec with something like a Canon 580 which should be enough to freeze larger insect's wings.

And because you're shooting very close, there's still enough power :thumbs:

You have to shoot in darkness to get around the x-sync problem, and light the whole scene with flash. Lots of difficult timing and focus issues, using laser and IR trips etc, but that's how it's done.

Have a go with 'open flash' technique and you'll get something. Work forward from that, but don't expect an easy ride ;)

Edit: you don't need to go open-flash to get a feel for the issues invloved. Set the flash on manual with a lowish power setting, shutter speed 1/200sec, adjust the exposure with f/number and ISO, and make sure the subject is against a dark background. Keep the ambient light level low.

You'll still get some ghosting and ambient blur but the flash will freeze the movement and that will show up clearly enough against a dark background.
 
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