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Author Topic: Sync hasselblad or leaf shutter in general  (Read 3340 times)

orc73

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Sync hasselblad or leaf shutter in general
« on: April 21, 2014, 11:24:55 am »

How do you guys sync your leafshutter lenses with flash systems?
Seems most methods will not sync faster then with 1/500 without loosing a lot of light.
Do you see any differences between equipment?
Any way to reach the 1/800 of Hasselblad?

I have elinchrom quadra(a-heads and ringflash) as well as 500bxri compact system with elinchrom speed transmitter and a older normal transmitter, and of course sync cable.

What is your experience and at what power level? Are faster flash durations better then slow ones?or the opposite? Are there transmitters that are faster?
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JoeKitchen

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Re: Sync hasselblad or leaf shutter in general
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2014, 01:30:48 pm »

I have found through testing that with anything but the very high end Profoto and Broncolor packs, 1/250s is as fast as you can go with out loosing light at high power.  (BTW, I use a tech camera with Copal shutters.)  The reason for this is because the flash duration at the high powers for most strobes is slower than 1/500s.  The main burst of power does happen within that initial 1/500s, but the flash tube still emits light afterwards as it drains out the power.  (The tube goes from dark to as bright as it can get super fast, but dims down more gradually.)  By 1/250s, all of the light is emitted (at least for the Pro Acute packs.)

For me, this does not matter since I always shoot things that do not move.  I tested this more to see if I ever shot products in a studio with windows, could I shoot fast enough so the sun had no effect.  

However, for my girlfriend, who shoots food and drink, the Acutes are just not enough for splash shots.  For this, the Pro 8as or the high end Broncolor are the way to go to get flash durations shorter than 1/500s.  But, even with these, you are cutting it close.  I believe at full power, the 2400 ws Pro 8 has a flash duration that is only very slightly shorter than 1/500s.  You really need to decrease power to get flash durations less than 1/1000s. 

Insofar as transmitters, I have found that Pocket Wizards works with 1/500s.  
« Last Edit: April 21, 2014, 01:42:27 pm by JoeKitchen »
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mironovd

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Re: Sync hasselblad or leaf shutter in general
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2014, 04:25:52 pm »

In my recent experience with Elinchrom D-lite one I've found, that if I set shutter on my HC lens to 1/800 it is at least one stop (may be two, but I did not do rigorous testing) darker than with 1/250 (syncro in Speed mode). That was somewhat disappointing...
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MarkoRepse

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Re: Sync hasselblad or leaf shutter in general
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2014, 02:05:04 am »

I use Elinchroms with A heads and skyport speed transmitters in speed mode. A cable is still the most efficient way of triggering the lights but the skyports work surprisingly well actually. How efficient it is depends on a number of factors, including the camera, but Elinchrom lights have the shortest flash duration at max power (unlike Bron and Profoto) and skyports tend to be most efficient there. At low power you are cutting the flash duration anyway so even using a cable loses light. As an example, a Quadra with an A head and at full power on the B port it can sync at 1/1600 without *any* light loss using the speed transmitters in speed mode vs the cable. Another thing to keep in mind is that published T0.5 flash speeds mean nothing if trying to sync. T0.1 are much better, since they represent a "best case" scenario, if you can find them. The only real way of knowing is testing.
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orc73

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Re: Sync hasselblad or leaf shutter in general
« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2014, 11:35:11 am »

Thanks for your replys guys!
My reason for faster sync times is to darken the background without having to stop down.
I did some testing, though as descripted it depends on so many things, so there os often a surprise coming when you change something. I would need to test it on all output settings, ports, transmitters, cables, speed, maybe even lenses.

I usually shoot on location with the range quadra a-heads or ringflash. The testings with the a-heads were good with the hasselblad at 1/800, with the rx1 I was able to sync at 1/1250 with about 1 stop loss of light.
I did not try all power settings though. Last shooting I used the brxi500 and was surprised to loose a lot of light at 1/800, the flash was positioned a bit further away then usual too.

Now the specifications of the ringflash (elinchrom eco) are a bit vague, certainly much worse then the other light spources. Maybe a reason to upgrade it to the better ringflash. Looks like instead of using the a port and loosing 1-2 stops of light, it might be cleverer to use the b port(which at 33% power would be able to deliver 1.3 stops less light). So having the same or more amount of light, and saving a lot on power and recycling time.
Is my calculation on the b port power output correct?

Anyway as soon I have time I will do more specific tests.
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bpepz

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Re: Sync hasselblad or leaf shutter in general
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2014, 12:52:17 pm »

I used the phottix stratos II. I can sync at 1/800th without losing any light provided the strobes flash duration is at least as fast. I have a friend who uses the stratos on his fuji x100s and they work fine even at 1/100th with no loss of light.
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orc73

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orc73

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Re: Sync hasselblad or leaf shutter in general
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2014, 06:12:53 am »

Just to avoid confusion and to make sure we are on the same page: no lightloss for you means tested at 1/250 1/500 and 1/800 always with same amount of light getting in?
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douglevy

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Re: Sync hasselblad or leaf shutter in general
« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2014, 07:08:44 am »

I use both the quadras (A head) and rangers (A head) with the skyports, and have no issues getting 1/800. I don't get much more than 1/500 with my wizards, and haven't tried the profotos.

bpepz

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