Minimum equipment for 1/1600 sync

[travelboy]

Pedro, I have played around with that HyperSync crap and a leaf shutter for years and never got any usable results. Few people actually get it to work properly above 1/320 and if so, mind you, you don't gain any light because the leaf shutter will limit your flash just as much as it limits ambient. I'm so glad I switched to central shutter! Compared to my old 5D, my flashes now have 3 stops more light at the same ambient light (because I can sync at 1/1600 instead of 1/200 and open the aperture 3 stops wider).

About the focal length: you basically have two crop factors when coming from a DSLR: 1) that of medium format compared to 35mm and 2) that of the back compared to full 645 frame (most backs are smaller). Calculate the diagonal of the actual sensor area of the back you want to get and divide it by the diagonal of a 35mm frame and you get your crop factor.

About sync speeds: yes, the older backs have 1/800 native xsync with CS lenses while the newer ones have 1/1600. Ask your P1 dealer about the upgrade options... if you want to upgrade to a better back later, you can probably give back the old back for the full price when you get a better one.

You might like this article by David Hobby where he writes about the setup you're interested it (scroll down to "Ditching..."):
http://strobist.blogspot.de/2012/01/bai ... on-d4.html

[travelboy]

By the way, you don't need the VGrip. Some (but not all) triggers work just fine on the hotshoe. I'm using an Elinchrom Skyport trigger on the 645 DF+ hotshoe and it syncs perfectly at 1/1600. You should try that before your buy (demo a P1 camera and try different triggers). Another thing I have successfully done is to put a cheap speedlite on the 645 and trigger studio flashes as optical slaves. It syncs fine and you can overpower the speedlite's own light, but has the known disadvantages of optical triggering.

[Jon]

Correct, Basically all radio slaves will work to varying degrees. It all depends on how fast they can transmit a signal to the receiver.

We only make the one v-grip, but you can use a Profoto transceiver on its own on the hot shoe and get the same result.

Pocket Wizards also work but have speed limitations around 1/500s though it varies slightly between different models. In a few cases they can still work at or near 1/1600s but you will lose a lot of light output. The Profoto transceivers will not have this issue.

[NNN634963469339137151]

By the way, you don't need the VGrip. Some (but not all) triggers work just fine on the hotshoe. I'm using an Elinchrom Skyport trigger on the 645 DF+ hotshoe and it syncs perfectly at 1/1600. You should try that before your buy (demo a P1 camera and try different triggers). Another thing I have successfully done is to put a cheap speedlite on the 645 and trigger studio flashes as optical slaves. It syncs fine and you can overpower the speedlite's own light, but has the known disadvantages of optical triggering.

Just bought my IQ 160 with 645DF+ and Elinchrom Skyport speed and Elinchrom BXRI 500 (flash duration reported 1/1550). I can't sync faster than 1/400 without getting significant loss of light. How are you having success at 1/1600? Any tips would be great. Would a cord connection sync faster?

[NN634712364275741699UL]

I guess the Elinchrom monolights just don't work with such a fast sync Speed up to 1/1600s. It's not the skyport but the BXR light. The same applies to Bowens lights. I tried my Mamiya with profoto Air Syncs and the Bowens Explorer but was unable to sync faster than 1/250s though the battery pack had a very short flash duration. ...

What definately works is Profoto, at least the fast generators/accu packs: D1, pro battery packs, D4, Pro-7, pro-8. The Acute Generator is pretty slow on the other Hand and the worst choice.

(Nikon) Speedlights work best. These little beasts are so fast, that you don't even loose a bit of light/exposure up to 1/4 power Level (I tried it with SB900). If you dial up to 1/2 or full power you will loose a bit of exposure again since the flash duration of the speedlights become longer the more power you demand.

Using profoto lights you will loose a bit of exposure around 1/3 to 2/3 of a stop depending on the generator/battery pack. To counteract this loss you Need to dial up the power level accordingly.

there is another post about this topic here:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=13984

[NNN634963469339137151]

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate your help.

[NN634601351077521358UL]

Are the P40+ and the P65+ the only "plus" backs that support Extended LS functionality? Would like to have this with a P45+ Back.
Scott

[Drew]

Are the P40+ and the P65+ the only "plus" backs that support Extended LS functionality?

Yes.

The P45+ is, simply put, older hardware technology where this is not possible.

[Phil Ryan]

The Paul C Buff Cybersync works at 1/1600. I'm using them with Einsteins and Lumopro LP series flashes. DF+/P65+ system.