[levelred]

I was wondering if pentax can ever update sync speed of the cameras or will it have to be a new flash...

I just want 1/250th

[SOldBear]

Yes, with a new camera model.....

[alohadave]

I just want 1/250th

It's only half a stop from 1/180th.

[Steinback]

High Speed Sync should already be an option to get beyond 1/180 if your body and flash support it.

For traditional flash sync the camera's shutter is a limiting factor and you would need either a new shutter design to increase the speed it can sync at, or an electronic shutter like the Nikon D40 and some P&S cameras that can use their sensor to cut light input.

[Lowell Goudge]

sync speed is a trade off with shutter life but with a new shutter design, there should be no reason to take it beyond 1/250.

Note that the PZ-1 and PZ-1p had a 1/8000 shutter with 1/250 sync and that shutter had to cover 50% more distance.so the blades were really moving a lot faster than even the K7D.

if you do want 1/250, get a PZ-1, and couple it with an AF500FTZ, they are a great combo (I still have mine for odd occasions)

[noblepa]

The max synch speed is a hardware limitation. Specifically, it is the maximum speed at which the entire sensor is exposed to light simultaneously. Faster than that, and the trailing shutter begins closing, before the leading shutter has fully opened, resulting in a moving slit across the sensor.

HSS causes the flash to fire several times during the exposure. This reduces the flash output and essentially, turns it into a continuous light. HSS also does not freeze motion as well as the conventional, non-HSS flash does.

There was a thread a while ago about this. Someone posted a series of examples he shot of an ordinary table fan. With conventional flash synch, at 1/180, the blades were frozen. Using HSS, at higher shutter speeds, the fan blades were a complete blur.

If you are shooting in an environment, in which ambient light is enough to give a recognizable exposure at 1/180, a higher synch speed, or HSS might be useful. Either one would reduce the ghosting or image blur due to subject motion. You just have to have about three stops between flash exposure and ambient exposure.

I don't have a flash that is capable of HSS. I realize that I might, someday find myself in a situation where 1/180 will cause ghost images or allow subjust motion blur. I'm having a little trouble, though, visualizing a situation where HSS would not cure that and only a higher synch speed would do. Its already been shown that HSS is not as good as, let alone better than, conventional flash, when it comes to stopping really fast subject motion.

Can someone please explain to me why that little-bitty half-stop difference between 1/180 and 1/250 is cause for so much wailing and gnashing of teeth? I realize that the almighty Nikon and Canon cameras have synch speeds of 1/250. I don't understand how this is going to cause the downfall of Pentax and the end of civilization as we know it. Is there a real reason, or is this just a symptom of the inferiority complex that some Pentax users seem to suffer from?

[jct us101]

I suppose if the circuitry could handle it someone like CDHK might be able to upgrade the sync speed, but I think there's a pretty good reason for that limit on most Pentax cameras. Of course if you buy the *ist D (abeit being old) you can get that (or is it 1/500th sec actually?).

[systemA]

1/2 stop really isn't that much, but sometimes that faster shutter can be the different between catching something in motion and getting a blurry subject. If you really need 1/250, get a HSS capable Pentax flash.

[unixrevolution]

1/2 stop really isn't that much, but sometimes that faster shutter can be the different between catching something in motion and getting a blurry subject. If you really need 1/250, get a HSS capable Pentax flash.

As I understand it, the flash duration is much, MUCH less than the actual shutter speed. If it wasn't, the sync speed would never be an issue when shooting with flash, as the light would be constant over the whole exposure.

If you're using the flash as your primary light for the exposure, you should be able to freeze really fast motion easily. If the flash is NOT your primary light source, you run into trouble.