Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
08-23-2010, 03:19 PM   #1
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
eccs19's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Lisle, Ontario
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,510
Using flash to "freeze" action.

A lot of us know that you can use your flash to freeze action in a situation where there is movement. My question is.... Will the freezing affect be degraded if the flash if filtered? By filtered, I'm referring to shooting through an umbrella, softbox, etc. I was doing some shooting using my umbrella, and the bee that was in the picture still had some blurring. Could be he was just out of the focus area, but I'm not 100% sure. Thoughts?

08-23-2010, 04:21 PM   #2
Administrator
Site Webmaster
Adam's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Arizona
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 51,584
The freezing effect stems from the fact that there's so little ambient light that regardless of the shutter speed, the only source of lighting in your photo is the short (yet strong) burst of the flash. I would therefore assume that if you diffuse the flash, you'd not only reduce the lighting on the subject itself, but also light up potentially-undesired areas of the photo. If any blur is introduce, however, I'd guess that it would be from reflections due to the diffuser.

Adam
PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide | Site Help | My Photography)



PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:
08-23-2010, 05:12 PM   #3
Veteran Member
noblepa's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Bay Village, Ohio USA
Posts: 1,142
QuoteOriginally posted by eccs19 Quote
A lot of us know that you can use your flash to freeze action in a situation where there is movement. My question is.... Will the freezing affect be degraded if the flash if filtered? By filtered, I'm referring to shooting through an umbrella, softbox, etc. I was doing some shooting using my umbrella, and the bee that was in the picture still had some blurring. Could be he was just out of the focus area, but I'm not 100% sure. Thoughts?
Was the flash on full-power or manual mode? Most flashes have a flash duration of around 1/1,000 second in full-power mode. That may not be enough to stop a bee. Those little suckers are fast. I'm sure it isn't fast enough to stop his wings.

I wouldn't think that the motion-freezing ability would be affected by an umbrella or softbox, other than the fact that you're probably shooting at the flash's longest duration of 1/1000 second. Umbrellas, softboxes or even colored gels won't affect the flash duration.

When used directly, you may be using the auto functions, which can reduce the flash duration to as little as 1/30,000, which, of course will be much more effective in stopping motion.

If you are using full-power, maybe stepping down to 1/2 or 1/4 power will help. Flash tubes can't really control the light output, so the flash unit controls the exposure by reducing the flash duration. So, if full power is 1/1000 second, half power should be 1/2000.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
camera, flash, pentax help, photography, umbrella
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Sports "Highside Exit" took 1st Place in DPReview "Missed It by THAT much, Part 1" Challenge MRRiley Post Your Photos! 27 02-21-2010 08:26 PM
"High speed" video of a K200 shutter in action ve2vfd General Talk 8 01-07-2009 05:11 AM
"Hunger for a DA*50-135?" or "The DA*50-135 as a bird lens!" or "Iron age birds?" Douglas_of_Sweden Post Your Photos! 4 08-13-2008 06:09 AM
Few B&W "action" portraits Duh_Vinci Post Your Photos! 5 08-17-2007 11:36 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 12:52 PM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top