Flash pack technology

[swmcl]

Hi all,

Can someone explain why the newer flash packs are trying for faster flash exposures. The actual flash times are getting shorter. I can understand a shorter recycling time but for studio work, why would it make such a difference to have a 1/1500th of a second vs 1/5000th of a second? The digital aficionados supposedly want the shorter flash durations??

How does that affect me a LF / 35mm photog running film? I want to buy a pack or two secondhand so I'm trying to understand where the technology is going and how it might change my buying decisions.

Rgds,

Steve

[Archphoto]

The diference between a flash-time of 1/1500 and 1/5000 is that the existing light in the studio or outside plays a lesser role in your exposure, at 1/5000 you will see the flash only and hardly or non existing light, if the shutterspeed of your camera/lens has 1/5000...........

Having a flash with a 1/5000 flash is nice for freezing movement though.....
For "pack-shots" it is useless though....

As far as sync-speeds is concerned: DSLR's have a sync speed between 1/180 and 1/250, LF has upto 1/500 with leaf shutters (when they are in perfect working order).

That's the technical side of it.......

Peter

[swmcl]

Thanks for the reply!

It's all about freezing movement then ...

So its quite irrelevant for 'traditional' portraiture. Especially given the fact that I'm shooting f22, f32 to get a depth of field large enough ...

Fashion photography ain't on my radar.

Cheers,

[jp]

Sports is what mega powerful flashes of super short duration are good for. Ever watch a basketball game on TV and see the whole place light up with flash when a good photographic moment is happening?

[swmcl]

I just had a look at a Broncolor Scoro A4S brochure ...

I'm not sure whether bees have knees but I'd reckon that stuff is the bees knees!!

Blimey.

[erie patsellis]

The newer Broncolor equipment is fantastic, but my old 304 packs are energizer bunnies, they just keep going and going (and they're available for next to nothing as well)

erie

[ki6mf]

Its not that its Irrelevant for portraiture its that the camera shutter speed of 1/30, 1/200 or 1/5000 means very little because most flashes fire between 1/10,000 and 1/12,000 of a second. Aperture tends to become more important because you cant do that much with the shutter due to the flash "beating" the speed of the shutter.