a little clarification I think I need

[johnc24]

Ok so I am indoors just playing with the camera and i want to take a 1/4000 sec of a shot for no particular reason i know i could slow it down but what i dont get is why at 1/4000 and the aperture wide at f4.5 i am getting black shots!

it takes the shot and sometimes it completely black and others it gets say the top third in and the rest is black.

is it because the shutter speed is too fast or what?

thanks to all who contribute

John

[gjtoth]

Ok so I am indoors just playing with the camera and i want to take a 1/4000 sec of a shot for no particular reason i know i could slow it down but what i dont get is why at 1/4000 and the aperture wide at f4.5 i am getting black shots!

it takes the shot and sometimes it completely black and others it gets say the top third in and the rest is black.

is it because the shutter speed is too fast or what?



John, this link may help explain the "triangle" (ISO, shutter speed and aperture) and why you're getting what you're getting.

http://dryreading.com/camera/index.html

[daltoned]

Hi Gary, just looked at the link you put up for "triangle" (ISO, shutter speed and aperture). Very interesting and informative , Thanks for that.
Ps I've put some images up on the new member thread in response to your earlier request. Kind Regards
EddieD

[Snappers]

Ah the Gem comes out of the cupboard again. It really is a great site that one Gary and very informative, Has this answered your question John?

[admin]

Ok so I am indoors just playing with the camera and i want to take a 1/4000 sec of a shot for no particular reason i know i could slow it down but what i dont get is why at 1/4000 and the aperture wide at f4.5 i am getting black shots!

it takes the shot and sometimes it completely black and others it gets say the top third in and the rest is black.

is it because the shutter speed is too fast or what?

thanks to all who contribute

John

Hi John, to me it sounds like failing shutter. If your camera is still under warranty, get it checked.

[johnc24]

hey guys

thanks for the comments

Gary thanks very much for the link -

Yeah I kinda get it.

basically I think anything over 1/1000 of a sec is gonna require a LOT of light to capture it...right? EG : full bright clear sunny day??

hope im right! lol

Thanks again all

edit : I have been studying it in greater detail now that I have time to concentrate on it - a very good quality link gary, thanks again

[gjtoth]

hey guys

thanks for the comments

Gary thanks very much for the link -

Yeah I kinda get it.

basically I think anything over 1/1000 of a sec is gonna require a LOT of light to capture it...right? EG : full bright clear sunny day??

hope im right! lol

Thanks again all

edit : I have been studying it in greater detail now that I have time to concentrate on it - a very good quality link gary, thanks again

You're more than welcome! We're here to help ourselves and one another.

[jonrayner]

Ok so I am indoors just playing with the camera and i want to take a 1/4000 sec of a shot for no particular reason i know i could slow it down but what i dont get is why at 1/4000 and the aperture wide at f4.5 i am getting black shots!

it takes the shot and sometimes it completely black and others it gets say the top third in and the rest is black.

is it because the shutter speed is too fast or what?

thanks to all who contribute

John

I would have said that the shutter speed was too fast, I was outside at midday with a shutter speed of 1/4000 and the picture is basically black, so I would assume it would be even blacker indoors. However the bottom two thirds being black and the top third not, doesn't sound right!

[johnc24]

I would have said that the shutter speed was too fast, I was outside at midday with a shutter speed of 1/4000 and the picture is basically black, so I would assume it would be even blacker indoors. However the bottom two thirds being black and the top third not, doesn't sound right!

I have managed to recreate it.

ok so the story is that I am using a Flashgun, however it is a flash my father owned from maybe the 70s. I was curious if it would work and it does until i try to do 1/4000 shots with the flash. heres what happens

1/4000 - Black
1/2000 - Top section visible rest black
1/1000 - Same as Above
1/500 - Bottom section black rest of image viewable
1/250 - shot takes perfectly with the flash.

so its obviously some kind of flash issue that I havent learned about yet!

I dont think the camera is broke - woohoo!

Thanks for all your help guys and girls!

[Snappers]

What happens if you take the same picture without the flash fitted to teh camera?

[admin]

John, I didn't know that you were trying this with the flash. You cannot use flash at such a high shutter speed. Depending on your camera model maximum sync speeds range from as low as 1/60 sec on entry level SLRs to 1/250s or even 1/500 sec on top-of-the-line models. There's no such flash that could be in sync with your shutter speed 1/4000s.

[johnc24]

John, I didn't know that you were trying this with the flash. You cannot use flash at such a high shutter speed. Depending on your camera model maximum sync speeds range from as low as 1/60 sec on entry level SLRs to 1/250s or even 1/500 sec on top-of-the-line models. There's no such flash that could be in sync with your shutter speed 1/4000s.

Hi all

thanks for all the input.

I realise now that it was that the flash is not capable of keeping up with 1/4000.

At least its not any problem.

Ok cheers all


*****TOPIC RESOLVED*****

[LensBaby]

I found some info for you I hope this helps a little! (This is when using studio flash)

The Dreaded Black Band
Perhaps the most frequently asked question from studio flash users is “Why is there a black band across part of my picture?” The answer to this lies in the camera itself. Nearly all shooters are using cameras with focal plane shutters. This is the cause of the black band.

Focal Plane Shutter Explained

A focal plane shutter exposes the image by moving two light-blocking curtains across the front of the image sensor. The first curtain slides open to begin the exposure, then the second curtain slide closed to terminate the exposure. In order to expose the picture from a flash, both curtains must be open at the time the flash is fired.

As you shorten the camera’s exposure time a point is reached where the first curtain is not completely open before the second curtain begins to close. The effect becomes a “moving slit” that slides in front of the sensor at this critical exposure time setting. Thus the camera maker specifies a maximum sync speed that assures both curtains will be completely open when the flash is fired. If the flash is fired at shutter speeds faster than the maximum flash sync speed part of the sensor will be blocked by one of the curtains and part of the shot will be blacked out.

The maximum flash sync speed varies from camera to camera, with most modern digital SLR cameras being rated between 1/125 and 1/250 second. In order to avoid the black bars, you must not exceed these speeds. You must also consider any delay that might be introduced by radio flash trippers since these can introduce a small delay between when the camera sends the fire command and when the flash unit actually receives it. It is therefore prudent to set the camera shutter speed somewhat below the published maximum flash sync speed. If your camera is rated at 1/200 second, shoot at 1/125 second to avoid problems.

[johnc24]

@lensbaby

thanks for the info quite informative.

John

[LensBaby]

Your welcome! I thought it was too!