D5100 + SB-600 = shutter sync issues?

Villain

New member
So, I started playing around with my SB-600 on my 5100 and I'm running into an issue. I notice that as my shutter gets below 1/160, there appears to be a dark shadow at the bottom of the image. The shadow is straight across, indicating that the shutter is closing before the light is hitting it. As I go up in speed (e.g. 1/200, 1/320, etc.), the shadow moves up until it finally covers the whole image.

Is there a reason the two are so far out of sync? I can use the same SB-600 on my D40 and run it at 1/500 without any issues.

At first I thought it was a lens issue, so I tried my 50mm f/1.8 and slowly upped the shutter speed. Once again, starting at 1/160 of a second, the black line crept up into the image. Has anyone else noticed a sync issue with this pair? Is there a way to re-sync the two so that I won't have this problem in the future?
 

Villain

New member
I'm guessing no-one else has seen this issue?

Would anyone recommend a better speedlight to use with the D5100 than an SB-600?
 

fotojack

Senior Member
I had the SB-600 and didn't much care for it, so I got the SB-700. Without sounding like this is personal (which it's not!), I like to call this speedlight idiot proof. :) Sell your 600 and really.......get the 700. You will LOVE it!
 

Berkerk

Senior Member
That shadow is the shutter curtain being captured, if it's happening at 1/160th then you have an issue (I believe the D5100 has a maximum sync speed of 1/200th or if not then it's certainly higher - check your manual).

There is a setting where you can change the curtain order (front/rear or rear/front) but that is more useful in capturing motion.

I picked this all up from a YouTube video that explained it in detail but I just did a quick search and got about 20 different ones, so haven't posted a link.
 
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