PDA

View Full Version : SB-28 Manual Multi Flash mode for faster than sync?



birdie
09-07-2010, 11:50pm
I was just mucking around with my Nikon SB-28's (which I have 3 of) which i use Cactus V4 for triggering them... and I just noticed they have a multi flash mode, where you can set the frequency, number of flashes and the power (like normal manual mode), so i was wondering if it would work to use the multi flash mode to have it fire multiple flashes for a faster than sync speed shot?

To clarify what I'm talking about, my Canon 40D has a sync speed (as with most of the Canon prosumer and higher DSLR's), now that is the shutter speed at which the shutter is completely open, so the flash can fire and illuminate the whole sensor, above the sync speed the shutter never completely open showing the whole sensor, so you get a black strip (the faster the shutter speed the larger the strip)... now what i was thinking that, maybe i could use the strobe mode of the flashes, to have it fire a couple of times and then i could have my shutter speed higher, and the result would be that the flash fires a few times and exposes the whole sensor.... Does that make sense? would it work? if not why?

Basically I'm wanting to emulate what auto hss does with a manual mode on a flash that doesn't support hss (because my triggers aren't TTL and I have Nikon flashes with a Canon body). Would it work?

MarkChap
10-07-2010, 8:06am
Short answer to that one is NO

Multi Flash is also referred to as Stroboscopic mode, mainly used for those stop motion images where your target moves across the scene and your flash fires intermittently and you get multiple images in the one frame
image - no image- image - no image - image

Won't help for High Speed Sync

birdie
10-07-2010, 9:34am
Yeah i know what its meant to be used for but i'm wondering if I have discovered another use for it... lol

The reason I think it may work is, High speed sync (HSS) uses multiple fires of the flash to expose each section of the sensor as the slit between the curtains crosses the sensor (because at faster than sync speed the curtains are never fully open). So that's why I think Strobe mode may work if I can work out the correct settings for frequency and number of strobes... maybe....