Gear

Canon 600EX-RT with Canon 40D & Canon 5DMark2

Though Canon says you will need a camera body made in 2011 for High Shutter Speed Sync, my tests show older camera bodies will work in this mode.
Though Canon says you will need a camera body made in 2011 for High Shutter Speed Sync, my tests show older camera bodies will work in this mode. Above is the display of the ST-E3-RT that is attached to the hotshoe.  I set shutter speed to 1/8000 sec and shot off a frame. The resulting frame looked under exposed but was in sync meaning the entire frame was exposed. I suspect in that mode, I will have to go into my E-TTL setting and add more light selecting “+2” or even “+3” to compensate for the light loss or else switch to Manual mode and increase the power ratio.

High shutter speed sync is the mode that many photographers using Speedlites rave about but in practice its applications even with the latest greatest Canon bodies is limited.

It’s a very pricey feature because you have to buy the top-of-the-line Speedlite.

Background

Every camera body has a maximum flash sync speed for normal operation usually 1/200 sec but sometimes you can get away with using 1/320 sec.

With the fancier Speedlites which cost a lot more, you can flip on a feature on the Speedlite which allows you to shoot your flash at higher shutter speeds so you can use your flash at higher shutter speeds presumably so you can shoot at wider apertures.

In bright sunlight, the typical exposure is in the neighborhood of ISO 100 1/250@ f11.

©www.peter phun.com/blog
No flash–totally available light, sun already set at twilight. Canon 5DM2 with 50mm 1/10 sec @f4
©www.peter phun.com/blog
High Shutter Sync mode–Here’s the same scene as above except I turned on HSS and increased the shutter speed to 1/000 sec and left the aperture at f4. A pity I didn’t have time to get a person. So I had to borrow my wife’s roses from Valentine’s Day.

Even with a telephoto lens, f11 is way too much depth-of-field especially for a portrait situation.

Those instances when we need it most, when it’s super bright outside, we have to be realistic that a dinky  4-AA-battery-powered-flash will never be able to overpower the sun.

No flash--totally available light, sun already set at twilight. Canon 5DM2 with 50mm 1/10 sec @f4
Here’s the same picture again but shot at the same exposure as the very first image 1/10 sec @f4 with a 50mm.
While I was downtown at this year's Lunar Festival, I encountered a lot of busy backgrounds so I used my fader filter and dialed in the amount of darkness or neutral density to allow me to shoot wide open with my 50mm then I used E-TTL to light my subjects.
While I was downtown at this year’s Lunar Festival, I encountered a lot of busy backgrounds so I used my fader filter and dialed in the amount of darkness or neutral density to allow me to shoot wide open with my 50mm then I used E-TTL to light my subjects. 1/250 sec @F1.4 ISO 100. Canon 40D.

You might stand a chance if you double up or even and use 3 Speedlites together and you’re only lighting one subject and their placement is almost on top of your subject.

If nothing else, combining more than one  will allow your Speedlites to recycle faster.

I got an email from Brad (who didn’t leave a last name or any other details) asking if E-TTL and High Shutter Speed Sync works with older camera bodies.

I  can confirm both modes work on the new Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT with my two bodies: the Canon 5DMark2 and Canon 40D.

When shooting in bright sunlight, the best workaround to control the depth-of-field when using flash in those situations is still slapping on a neutral density filter which you can fine tune by rotating the filter much like a polarizing filter.

They are pricey and they are called a fader filter.

©www.peter phun.com/blog
For the this trio, I placed my 600EX-RT Speedlite on a nearby trashcan off to the right. I also used a 1/4 CTO gel and a Lumiquest Softbox. 1/50 sec @f1.4 ISO 100 Canon 40D with 50mm lens. I focused on the girl on the left to emphasize her over the other two.

Peter Phun Photography

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