[maxfield_photo]

Given most flashes at full power deliver t1 figures in the 1/125 region then having a faster sync speed to kill sun is more myth than reality.

While I agree that at full power you're losing some of your light to the shutter curtains, ideally a higher sync speed would allow you to use a lower power setting on your flash and still get the same result. Flash durations decrease dramatically as the output drops.

Read up on the Nikon D70s, it's popular among Strobists because it features a hybrid shutter, part mechanical and part electronic. The way it works is the first curtain slides open, some time passes, the sensor begins recording, the flash fires, the sensor finishes recording, and the shutter slides closed. It's like a leaf shutter in that the sensor is always exposed even at its highest shutter speed.

So think about it, even at f/2, under sunny 16 conditions, you'd be able to shoot at 1/8000th of a second, at 1/32nd power, capture the entire flash, and still have a GN of about 7.5m (24ft). You could even freeze a hummingbird's wings at that speed. Recycle times would be nonexistent, and you would get more shots per battery. Lots of great things happen when you shoot at less than full power.

[Digitalis]

Read up on the Nikon D70s, it's popular among Strobists because it features a hybrid shutter, part mechanical and part electronic

but you can get artifacts when using the electronic shutter - and most D70(s) cameras these days have died from BGLOD.

[Dark_Mist]

Don't forget that there is SR on the sensor so it's a bit more then 15,6mm

1/180 is sadly a software fixed limit, i wonder if it can do 1/250 as well but there is no way of trying out...
I wonder if someone can hack the firmware, i already looked for it once without sucess

Anvh you can test if the shutter can synch at >250 quite easily.

Set the camera and external flash to manual and set the shutter speed to 250. Turn off SR if you think it has an effect. You will find a dark bar on one edge of your image because the second shutter curtain has started to move across the sensor before the flash fires. That is the only real limitation.

You will find that focal plane shutters that have flash synch speeds of 250 or more are more expensive to make. Eg those in the Nikon FM2 and F4 synch at 250 and were made of titanium while the Olympus OM3 and OM4TI. Had cloth shutter curtains and flash synch speeds of 90.

The only firmware limitations are in the auto exposure modes and are there to stop you accidentally doing the above.

[Anvh]

Anvh you can test if the shutter can synch at >250 quite easily.

Set the camera and external flash to manual and set the shutter speed to 250. Turn off SR if you think it has an effect. You will find a dark bar on one edge of your image because the second shutter curtain has started to move across the sensor before the flash fires. That is the only real limitation.

You will find that focal plane shutters that have flash synch speeds of 250 or more are more expensive to make. Eg those in the Nikon FM2 and F4 synch at 250 and were made of titanium while the Olympus OM3 and OM4TI. Had cloth shutter curtains and flash synch speeds of 90.

The only firmware limitations are in the auto exposure modes and are there to stop you accidentally doing the above.

Nope don't won't work...

Pentax disable the hotshoe above 1/180

As for the shutter they are from metal and they need to travel slightly more then NIkon APS-C camera's and Canon use smaller version APS-C so they need to travel even less.

[pentasonic49]

Nope don't won't work...

Pentax disable the hotshoe above 1/180

As for the shutter they are from metal and they need to travel slightly more then NIkon APS-C camera's and Canon use smaller version APS-C so they need to travel even less.

The sync cord socket also turns off above 1/180 sec.