Newbie question about external Flash

TheNorthBank

Hi all, I take a lot of high speed shots of Water Drops (like the one below) and use my Fuji Finepix S9500 for these because I can use really fast shutter speeds, 1/1600sec for example and can use the built in flash.
Here's the problem however, when I try to use my 400D the built in flash will not fire at speeds over 1/200sec. If I get an external flashgun, probably the Canon speedlite 430ex, can I get around that problem and shoot at faster shutter speeds, and if so, how does that work?

Thanks.

hmboards

Hi,

Great water drop shot

The 400D has a mechanical shutter, so there are limits as to how fast it can sync with a normal flash. The fuji has an electronic shutter so doesn't have this physical limitation.

If you use a flash with a High Speed Sync option like the 430EX/580EX it works around this limitation by firing the flash repeatedly over a longer period. It's explained better in this doc:
http://software.canon-europe.com/files/documents/FlashWork_EN.pdf

TheNorthBank

Thanks a million for the info hmboards, and a good Canon article too. The other half has been in a pickle over what to get me for christmas... Problem solved! A nice new Flashgun please!!!

Sleepy

Is the 450D any better in this regard?

City-Exile

Any camera would have difficulty using the built-in flash at shutter speeds above 1/250
I think you'd be better off using a constant light source, rather than a flash, in situations such as the OP described above.

ThOnda

450 would be better in the way of controls - easy manual exposure setting, manual focus and hot shoe for external flash. And possibility to use various lenses or combination of lenses.