HSS questions

The_Meridian

Senior Member
Hello everyone! New to HSS and I suspect I may have problems out of the gate.

The gear in question: D750
SB 910
SB 900
Photixx Strato ii Phottix Strato II Multi 5-in-1 Wireless Trigger Trigger/Recievers



First experiment: Go into D750 and set HSS to highest (250) setting. Put 910 on camera and give it a shot. Easy! HSS works. However, I notice I've got terrible lag now between shots. Is that normal or is there a way to eliminate that lag?

Now, put 910 on reciever and put trigger on camera: HSS is gone. Here's what I don't get:

The camera's highest HSS setting says 250 (which to my mind is what normal Sync is supposed to be) but this is the setting for HSS, so there's a confusion there.

Shrugging it off and rolling with it, my Transmitter/Receiver units claim to do Sync of 250. Considering this is what the camera is set to, should be good to go, right?

No, HSS is gone and I have to set my shutter to 250.

So, either I've done something wrong or the T/R is incompatible with HSS.

What are my options, here? Should I get another speedlight and use it as a commander? I hate to have something that huge on top of the camera.

Should I get a new trigger/receiver system?

Should I connect to my 910 off-camera via cable and use *it* as a commander for the 900? Does the 900 even do HSS? (I can check that myself, I suppose)

Thanks for reading and any advice/clarification.
 

pforsell

Senior Member
I took a quick glance to the web page of the triggers you use. There is no mention of HSS capability. You camera can do 1/250s without needing HSS and the trigger should be good for that. But if you need HSS, then cables or Nikon CLS can do that at all shutter speeds. Please note, that using HSS cuts the flash power very much, and you might need to use velcro staps to tie 2 or 4 remote flashes together to offset the lost power.
 

The_Meridian

Senior Member
I see that the D750 has a commander mode built-in, but it's infrared, so problems in daylight, which is where I need speedlights the most, typically.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Did you read this article by Nikon? It explains how HSS works. The flash fires several pulses of light as the shutter opens and closes rather than firing one burst of light. HSS uses a lot of your flash power so it takes longer for the flash to recycle.

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-a...e-to-add-a-pro-touch-to-your-photographs.html

In the article, it states that, On the LCD on the back of your Speedlight you'll see the letters FP; that's your confirmation that the camera and flash are in high speed sync mode. Do you see that confirmation? Sorry have no idea about the triggers.
 

The_Meridian

Senior Member
Did you read this article by Nikon? It explains how HSS works. The flash fires several pulses of light as the shutter opens and closes rather than firing one burst of light. HSS uses a lot of your flash power so it takes longer for the flash to recycle.

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-a...e-to-add-a-pro-touch-to-your-photographs.html

In the article, it states that, On the LCD on the back of your Speedlight you'll see the letters FP; that's your confirmation that the camera and flash are in high speed sync mode. Do you see that confirmation? Sorry have no idea about the triggers.

Yep, all up to speed on that. The lag happens from the first time, I guess it takes that long to flash that many times.
 

nickt

Senior Member
The camera's highest HSS setting says 250 (which to my mind is what normal Sync is supposed to be) but this is the setting for HSS, so there's a confusion there.

Shrugging it off and rolling with it, my Transmitter/Receiver units claim to do Sync of 250. Considering this is what the camera is set to, should be good to go, right?
I don't have anything to offer on your lag problem problem other than make note if your flash is charging back up during the lag. HSS pulses themselves should not cause a lag because they happen during the shutter cycle. I have not found hss to be flash-draining. Its just that you get limited power to illuminate because it is spit out there in pulses during the faster shutter cycle. Disclaimer: I am FAR from being a flash expert.

I can explain the menu a little.
Your flash menu probably looks like this:

1/250 (Auto FP)
1/250
1/200
1/160, etc


If you choose the plain old 1/250, your shutter speed will be capped at 1/250 when a recognized flash is attached. You simply can not set a faster shutter speed. If you select "1/250 (Auto FP)", then your shutter will not be capped and you are free to select any shutter speed. So if you select 1/250 or slower, you will get the normal single flash. If you select anything faster than 1/250, then you will be in hss mode and subject to lower power. Your flash or trigger will need to support hhs or you will be capped at 1/250 even though you are set at 1/250 (Auto FP).
 

WayneF

Senior Member
The camera's highest HSS setting says 250 (which to my mind is what normal Sync is supposed to be) but this is the setting for HSS, so there's a confusion there.

Shrugging it off and rolling with it, my Transmitter/Receiver units claim to do Sync of 250.

Auto FP 1/250 means that the camera only does HSS when the shutter speed is FASTER than 1/250.
If 1/250 or less, the HSS flash does regular speedlight mode, NOT HSS.

Your trigger spec of 1/250 says it does not sync faster than 1/250.
Even if it did sync faster, it still has to be able to pass the HSS camera commands, and it would have to have specs describing that it could do that, and was compatible with HSS.

You could do HSS using the camera commander, but bright sun and distance can be a problem for it (and distance is always a problem for HSS anywhere). To use HSS, you must disable the camera commander group for the internal flash (disable by setting group mode "- -"), because the camera internal flash cannot do HSS... but it can be commander for remote HSS.

Forget HSS, and just do regular speedlight flash mode (at up to 1/250 second), and you will have no problem.

HSS really only has one virtue. It can allow fast shutter speeds, which in turn allows wide f/stops (like f/2.8) outdoors in bright sun. Indoors, this is absolutely no issue at all, and frankly, HSS has to be the worst possible choice indoors.

For any other use, and especially for indoor flash, regular speedlight mode runs circles around HSS, in speed, power, and range. And Auto FP defaults to regular speedlight mode until the shutter speed is faster than 1/250 sync speed.

HSS is NOT fast flash, it is the slowest possible flash, totally incapable of stopping any motion. HSS is merely fast flash sync, allowing fast shutter speed, but regular speedlight mode can be faster than any shutter speed (called speed lights).

https://www.scantips.com/lights/flashbasics2b.html describes HSS, what it actually does.

EDIT: I see now that you have mentioned sunlight is your use. ISO 100 allows 1/250 at f/11 in brightest sun with speedlights, which ought to do the job. Shade would make it even easier (wider aperture).
 
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