D200 vs D50 sync speed?

[arlon]

Can anyone tell me why my d50 will sync the flash (sunpak 383 manual) at 1/4000 sec just perfectly and the d200 will only sync it at 1/250 or below. The D50 has to remain my macro camera unless I'm missing a switch someplace to sync the flash at faster speeds. I hate to think my D50 can outperform the D200 handsdown in this role..

[bondarnes]

Originally Posted by arlon

Can anyone tell me why my d50 will sync the flash (sunpak 383 manual) at 1/4000 sec just perfectly and the d200 will only sync it at 1/250 or below. The D50 has to remain my macro camera unless I'm missing a switch someplace to sync the flash at faster speeds. I hate to think my D50 can outperform the D200 handsdown in this role..

I'm not that familiar with the Sunpack, but unless it has a high speed mode like the Nikon SB800 and SB600 it shouldn't sync at anything above your cameras published sync speed which if I remember correctly is 1/180th sec. The D70 is the only camera having a focal plane shutter that I know of that syncs faster than 1/250th sec.

[srwatters]

I believe that the D70 has a combined mechanical & electronic shutter allowing sync up to 1/500. The D200 is mechanical only up to 1/250. Any success beyond the published limits is most likely luck as the curtain crosses the sensor.

[arlon]

Well, I have hundresd of "lucky" shots taken with my D50 and various flash shots in the 1/2000-1/4000 sec. range. I don't think it's luck, there has to be something to the design of the D50 that's very different than the D200 allowing this sync to work. I can freeze motion like bee wings with the D50 with quite good regularity and it's totally impossible with the d200. Only "mode" a sunpak 383 has is off/on. It's as simple a manual flash as can be had (priced accordingly). It will also sync at 1/4000 with some $15 remote 110v IR triggered flashes I have. I do have a nikon sb-20 flash that will not sync at high speed on the d50. It will not allow shutter release above 1/250 even in manual mode. Does the D50 have an electronic shutter only? If so I'm getting another while I still can and sticking it away in the closet. Maybe the D50 is just a gussied up P&S with interchangeable lenses..

Some examples in here of fast shutters and sunpak 383 flash (more than dumb luck), see the exif info.. http://www.pbase.com/arlon/bugs

There are a lot of 1/4000sec flash shots in here too.. http://www.pbase.com/arlon/splashes_an_drops

another example: http://www.pbase.com/arlon/image/73682496
was shot at 1/4000 and used 3 flashes (one onboard and 2 remote IR triggered). You can see the remote flash reflections in the birds eye.. 2

I've been totally disappointed with the macro images I'm getting from the D200 and it took me awhile to realize it was the shutter speed. I shoot everything offhand and the faster shutter speeds I can use with the D50 are just giving me much sharper images than are possible with the D200.. I could spend the money for an sb-800 and get the sync speed up but I just don't want to sink more money into something I can already do with my D50 for a fraction of the cost. I thought maybe I was just missing some setting on the d200. Maybe the D200 has been engineered to force us to buy the sb800 to go with it?

[srwatters]

I did a little more reading and what it appears to me is that mechanical shutter of the D70 (and D50) only functions up to 1/250 of a second. Faster shutter speeds are done electronically by turning the CCD on and off at the desired rate. See this review by Thom Hogan for reference http://www.bythom.com/D70REVIEW.HTM#thebasics.

You have to understand that there is no way with a true mechanical shutter to 'sync' with speeds faster than the duration of the flash output. Most flash units will fire anywhere from 1/500 up to 1/50000 depending on design and output level. I found an article that might help you out on the D200. http://www.rpphoto.com/howto/view.asp?articleID=1026. The FP sync mode on the SB-600/800 will also allow the feature to work by pulsing the strobe many times during the shutter period.

Hope that helps.

[arlon]

Thanks for the article. It pretty well sums up a lot of the issues I've been having getting anything but "snap shots" out of the D200. Agree 100% on the value of the high speed sync. Too bad I have to go to an sb800 on the d200 to get it.

I also use the "beamer" on the sunpak and the D50 at 1/2000-1/4000 for bird shots. I've gotten some good ones with the d50 but none worth posting from the D200. When you use a beamer on a 600mm lens and are limited to 1/250 sec, it pulls negative vacume (when you've been using 1/2000 on your cheap camera). The sunpak is also WAY stronger of a flash than the sb-800. I hate to give up that power behind the beamer just to use the d200 at faster shutters. And when the sb800 goes into highspeed sync, you lose still MORE flash power..

Well, I guess that means my D50 has to be my macro camera, wildlife camera, sports camera, What's left for the D200? Maybe I can still use it for portraits (which I don't shoot) or natural light pictures. I wish I had this knowledge when I purchased a D200, I'd have saved a lot of money..

[bondarnes]

Originally Posted by arlon

I wish I had this knowledge when I purchased a D200, I'd have saved a lot of money..

Holler at me before you throw it out. I will be standing by tour trash bin. Seriously, there have been several sold on this forum for a fair price.

[srwatters]

Sorry Arlon, but you would have the same issue with a D2X or any Canon and your Sunpak strobe. You happened upon a 'feature' of the D70 and D50 bodies. Realize also that ANY film camera wouldn't be able to do what your 'high end P&S' Nikon does.

I guess that's what I meant about 'lucky'.

[arlon]

Scott, for my style of picture taking that's a huge feature. I guess that's why at this point of the game I still use my D50 way more than the D200. I need to try a d70 (I'd rather buy a D70 than a new flash for the D200) and if it does what the d50 does, the D200 will be on the secondhand market. It just doesn't make sense to me to go buy another $1000 lens (105 micro) and a $500 flash to be able to do what I do all day with a D50. And that's just for my macro world. I'm just glad I didn't sell my D50 to get the D200.