I’m deciding between two setups for off-camera flash: 1. Use one wireless trigger system with multiple receivers, including a receiver on the camera to trigger the shutter and others on the flashes. 2. Use a separate wireless shutter release for the camera, while the camera triggers the flashes through a different wireless flash system. Ignoring high-speed sync, is one option more accurate than the other for flash timing? I want to avoid the flash firing too early or too late relative to the exposure. I’m mainly asking about normal flash sync timing, not extra remote-control features.

Does using one wireless system for both shutter and flash affect flash timing?

Asked 3/17/2012

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I’m deciding between two setups for off-camera flash:

Use one wireless trigger system with multiple receivers, including a receiver on the camera to trigger the shutter and others on the flashes.
Use a separate wireless shutter release for the camera, while the camera triggers the flashes through a different wireless flash system.

Ignoring high-speed sync, is one option more accurate than the other for flash timing? I want to avoid the flash firing too early or too late relative to the exposure.

I’m mainly asking about normal flash sync timing, not extra remote-control features.

remote-shutter off-camera-flash flash-sync wireless-trigger

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

2 Answers

I'm confident that it doesn't matter. The sync max speed on your camera is when the shutter is completely open. A flash is typically 1/2000th or less. Delaying it a few milliseconds is not a problem.

None of this stuff is "exact" timing.

Many of the wireless trigger systems use two channels, one for the shutter and the second, a "relay" for the strobes, as their nomal operating procedure.

Originally by user8620. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user8620

14y ago

AI Answer

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For normal flash sync, it generally doesn’t matter. As long as you stay at or below your camera’s maximum sync speed, the shutter is fully open when the flash fires, so small trigger delays are usually insignificant.

Flash duration is extremely short, and wireless systems are not perfectly “exact” anyway, but the timing differences between using one system for both shutter and flash versus two separate systems are typically only tiny fractions of the available sync window.

Many wireless trigger systems are designed to handle this by using one channel for the shutter and another relay path for the flash, so this is a normal use case.

If you saw the flash fire before the shot during a self-portrait, that was likely caused by autofocus/release behavior rather than the wireless timing method itself. For consistency, prefocus or use manual focus when testing self-portraits with flash.

Does using one wireless system for both shutter and flash affect flash timing?

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