E-PL1 - Shutter Speed & Flash Question

[Peter Guy]

I have the E-PL1 and have a question about shutter speed adjustment while using the force flash.

There are times when I'd like to have a faster shutter speed to blacken the background while using the flash to light the foreground. However, unless I'm doing something wrong, the camera won't let me have a shutter speed faster than 1/160th of a second when the flash is on. Is that correct? Or am I just doing something wrong.

I was involved in a photo workshop last week and the instructor wanted us to have a faster shutter speed to see how the image changed.

Ideas?

 

[CheddarChick]

Great Question......I have the Epl-2 and wondered the same thing....

 

[cardog]

That is odd. I can take my XZ-1 all the way up up 1/2000 while using the flash.

 

[chs8084]

I think it depends on the particular flash you are using.

 

[cardog]

I think it depends on the particular flash you are using.

The on board flash.

 

[Rooster59]

If your camera has a mechanical shutter, there should be a max speed where the shutter is completely open when the flash goes off. From reading the manual here http://www.olympusamerica.com/files/oima_cckb/E-PL1_Instruction_Manual_EN.pdf page 55- 1 / 160 sec is that speed with this camera. If you try a faster shutter you should get one or more edges darkening and going fuzzy. The duration of the flash is only about 1 /1000 sec if I remember, so your exposure is adjusted with aperature and the max shutter speed.

Getting old, so maybe this is a gibberish now.

 

[under water]

Peter,
1/160th is the fastest shutter sync speed with the E-PL1. To get darker backgrounds, you will need to adjust aperture and crank up the strobes or get closer to the subject.
Realistically the strobe should usually fire in much less than 1/160 sec, but a lot depends on the distance between the strobe and the subject.
Basically, if you want the black background, you will probably be best using manual exposure and adjust the ISO and aperture. Getting closer to the subject helps to get a good foreground exposure and a dark background exposure.
BTW, all cameras have this limitation. For some of the more expensive DSLRs , it goes up to 1/250th sec.

 

[pmenear]

The E-pl1 will sync 1/2000 but only when you set RC mode 'on' and use an external Olympus strobe that is compatible with RC mode.

I use the Olympus UFL-2 external strobe optical fibre link to the camera housing and slave a YS110a optical fibre linked to the UFL-2.The UFL-2 syncs at up to 1/2000th to the camera and the YS110a slaves to the UFL-2.

I would like 2x UFL-2 but the YS110a was half the price.

The surface strobes Olympus fl36 and fl50 will both work at 1/2000th but you would need underwater housings for them.

 

[nudibranco]

mmmm interesting!! I have both the UFL2 and the Sea and sea strobes (Ys01 and 110alpha) but I thought I could not synch to the faster speed with them in RC mode. How would you sync them to the UFL2 in slave mode? Do you use some optical Y connector attached to the UFL2 or will it detect the UFL2 without any connector?

BTW all compacts will easily synch up to the faster speeds! so as explained already you either must use the RC mode or the higher F-stops...!

 

[fdog]

Here's what you do with the E-PL2, with an Inon D2000. Not sure what strobe you have, but the camera should be similar:

• Shoot in P
• Flash up
• Force flash on (Fill, not Manual)
• D2000 strobe to mimic on board camera flash (STTL)
• Press the button at the 12:00 position that looks like a +/-
• Use L or R buttons to adjust exposure. This will brighten (+) or darken (-) the image as you view it.
• Shoot image. The strobe will expose the strobe-lit object correctly, the background will be as you adjusted it.
• Adjust D2000 strobe intensity using compensation dial on strobe to taste

...try this with the camera dry and out of the housing first to get a feel for it.

Yes, the camera in this mode limits shutter speed to 1/180th (E-PL2) or 1/160th (E-PL1). Also, the external strobe should be the type that uses true TTL feedback - this is to say, it watches the on-camera strobe, and fires and quenches exactly as the on-camera strobe does. If you have a strobe that uses an on-the-strobe photocell, it is triggered by the on-camera strobe, then, watches reflected light via the photocell built into the strobe; this method will only work with some flailing and adjusting strobe output over several test frames.

Using STTL on the strobe, and P with exposure compensation on the camera, will produce accecptable results on the first shot.


All the best, James