Why are high-speed sync flashes usually TTL, and can a manual flash support HSS?
Asked 1/8/2015
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I understand that above a camera’s sync speed, the shutter exposes the sensor through a moving slit, so the flash must provide light across the full curtain travel. If a flash can emit a long or pulsed burst, why are HSS features so often tied to TTL models? Is there a technical reason a purely manual flash can’t do HSS, or is it mainly about camera/flash communication and manufacturer protocols?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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The problem that is solved via high speed sync has nothing to do with the power of the flash and everything to do with the curtain transit time of the camera. Above a camera's sync speed the second curtain begins to close before the first curtain is completely open. Therefore very precisely timed multiple flashes must be emitted from the flash as the open slit between the two curtains moves across the film/sensor plane. Manual flashes are not capable of this precision because they are not capable of two way communication between the camera and flash. The are only capable of receiving a single command to fire.
HSS requires the pulses from the flash to be timed to the particular shutter speed selected and must also take the camera's shutter transit time into account. Transit times and sync speeds vary from one camera to the next. Even if the flash could be manually set to the shutter speed selected in the camera, how would a manual flash with only a fire communication capability know the precise shutter transit time and thus be able to calculate the timing of the pulses needed? Then there's even the issue that one camera's 1/500 second may actually be 1/478 second and another camera's may be 1/511 second.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
11y ago
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HSS is mainly a timing/communication problem, not simply a power problem.
Above normal sync speed, the sensor is never fully uncovered at once; a slit travels across it as the curtains move. To light the whole frame, the flash must emit a carefully timed series of pulses, or a long enough continuous burst, matched to that camera’s shutter timing and selected shutter speed.
A basic manual flash usually only receives one simple “fire now” signal through the center pin, so it can’t coordinate that precise HSS sequence by itself. HSS needs more information from the camera, typically through brand-specific flash communication protocols. That’s why HSS is often bundled with TTL-capable systems: once a flash and trigger already support the camera’s protocol, adding TTL makes sense.
That said, manual HSS does exist. Some systems offer HSS in manual power mode when used with the proper dedicated radio trigger. In those setups, the trigger handles the camera-specific communication and tells the flash when to run its HSS burst. So the limitation is not that manual power and HSS are incompatible—it’s that HSS requires protocol support and precise synchronization, which simple single-pin manual flashes lack.
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