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02/26/2004 08:48:29 AM · #1 |
| I've always wondered what the use could be of being able to flash on the 2nd curtain, instead of the first. Today I tried to make a picture where this could have been useful, I think. I was trying to 'freeze' a movement with the flash, in combination with long exposure to visualize the movement. On my Sony F717, the flash fires at the beginning of the exposure, with the result that the movement seems 'backwards'. If I could flash at the end of the exposure, I would get my intended result. Am I correct to think that this would be possible with a camera that allows me to flash on the 2nd curtain? Which cameras have this feature? |
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02/26/2004 09:02:17 AM · #2 |
Originally posted by nicoledb:
I've always wondered what the use could be of being able to flash on the 2nd curtain, instead of the first. Today I tried to make a picture where this could have been useful, I think. I was trying to 'freeze' a movement with the flash, in combination with long exposure to visualize the movement. On my Sony F717, the flash fires at the beginning of the exposure, with the result that the movement seems 'backwards'. If I could flash at the end of the exposure, I would get my intended result. Am I correct to think that this would be possible with a camera that allows me to flash on the 2nd curtain? Which cameras have this feature? |
You are correct. In the past, 1st curtain flash was the norm and the 2nd curtain effect was more difficult to achieve. We did a shot of a car once where we wanted trails from the lights and simply had the driver back up. This was only possible because we were shooting close to the car and he was driving slow. You can also use a long exposure and fire the flash by hand, but that requires a flash that has manual power adjustment.
My G5 has 2nd curtain sync. I believe that the S50 does too, but I'm not sure.
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02/26/2004 10:04:51 AM · #3 |
You are right.
Where I got confused trying this last week is when you are panning a moving subject and using flash - it seems that first curtain can actually look better - depending on how fast you pan the camera and how fast the subject moves in relation to your camera moving.
It depends on what effect you are trying for - but for a stationary camera and a moving subject, with a slow shutter speed and flash, second curtain sync normally looks better. Certainly worth playing with in those situations.
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02/26/2004 10:55:07 AM · #4 |
Originally posted by Gordon:
You are right.
Where I got confused trying this last week is when you are panning a moving subject and using flash - it seems that first curtain can actually look better - depending on how fast you pan the camera and how fast the subject moves in relation to your camera moving.
It depends on what effect you are trying for - but for a stationary camera and a moving subject, with a slow shutter speed and flash, second curtain sync normally looks better. Certainly worth playing with in those situations. |
I can see how the panning would affect the effect :-). The problem is that the Sony F717 doesn't do 2nd curtain sync. Would this be solved by using an external flash, or do I need to set flash sync at the camera? I can't find anything on the Sony website about this... |
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02/26/2004 11:18:33 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
My G5 has 2nd curtain sync. I believe that the S50 does too, but I'm not sure. |
Yes, the Canon S50 does have this feature. It's my new camera, and I'm starting to get ideas...
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02/26/2004 12:51:51 PM · #6 |
I believe that my little Nikon does 2nd curtain too - but I'm not sure, never having used the flash.
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