Compact High Speed Flash Sync


megascriler

New Member
Jun 18, 2005
394
0
0
Hi, I've noticed that it is possible to use forced flash on compact cameras in bright daylight, even at very high shutter speeds. How is this possible on a compact camera when even DSLRs commonly top out at 1/250s?
 

Hi, I've noticed that it is possible to use forced flash on compact cameras in bright daylight, even at very high shutter speeds. How is this possible on a compact camera when even DSLRs commonly top out at 1/250s?

1/250 max sync speed is a limit due to mechanical shutter curtain...

compact cameras have no shutter.
 

Last edited:
(repeated post )
 

1/250 max sync speed is a limit due to mechanical shutter curtain...

compact cameras have no shutter.

It's not that compact cameras have no shutter. They run Leaf Shutters which are in line with the optics in their lenses. Leaf shutters have almost no limit to sync speeds, notice I say almost. The shutters in most if not all DSLR's are what are known as Focal Plane Shutters which have the theoretical limit of 1/250"s. HSS enables cameras can shoot up to 1/4000's.
 

It's not that compact cameras have no shutter. They run Leaf Shutters which are in line with the optics in their lenses. Leaf shutters have almost no limit to sync speeds, notice I say almost. The shutters in most if not all DSLR's are what are known as Focal Plane Shutters which have the theoretical limit of 1/250"s. HSS enables cameras can shoot up to 1/4000's.

My understanding is that some cameras employ sensor 'gating' to control the exposure time. And there are definitely quite a number of cameras that are using this instead of leaf shutters.
 

My understanding is that some cameras employ sensor 'gating' to control the exposure time. And there are definitely quite a number of cameras that are using this instead of leaf shutters.

Pray tell which models. As I understand, these are used currently in lower end models and I don't know if they allow forced flash with these lower end models. The Pana GH2 is currently to be released soon without a shutter but that is hardly low end though it is compact. I really don't know of any others that are shutterless.
 

From what I've read, compact camera uses electronic shutters (there's no moving parts).

Electronic shutter turns on the image sensor to begin recording the exposure and turns it off to end it.

That's how they can achieve high speed sync.
 

Pray tell which models. As I understand, these are used currently in lower end models and I don't know if they allow forced flash with these lower end models. The Pana GH2 is currently to be released soon without a shutter but that is hardly low end though it is compact. I really don't know of any others that are shutterless.

Handphone cameras for one.
 

Thank you all for your responses, it seems like the answer would be PnS cameras employing electronic shutters.