Why do I get a dark band on one side when using studio strobes with my Nikon D3100?
Asked 4/19/2019
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I'm shooting studio product photos with a Nikon D3100 in manual mode and two strobe lights. Recently, my images have started showing a dark band or gradual darkening along the right edge, almost like vignetting. It only happens when I use the strobes in manual mode; photos look normal in other shooting modes. My shutter speed is set to 1/250. Is this a camera shutter problem, or is there another cause?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
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The shutter speed now is 250
From what I can tell from the Google, the Nikon D3100 has a flash sync speed of 1/200. So, you're setting your shutter speed too fast and the curtain is already starting to close when the strobes pop.
Your maximum should be 1/200. But, honestly, there's no reason to even flirt with the edge that much. You can go down to 1/125 or even 1/60 and still get the same exposure - assuming your ambient light is turned down low. This way, you ensure the shutter is fully open when the strobes pop.
Originally by user67377. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user67377
7y ago
0
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This is most likely not a broken shutter. It sounds like a flash sync issue.
On the Nikon D3100, the maximum flash sync speed is about 1/200 sec. At 1/250, the shutter curtain can already be closing when the strobe fires, which causes a dark band on one side of the frame.
Try lowering your shutter speed to 1/200 or slower. In a studio with strobes, 1/125 or even 1/60 often works fine as long as ambient light is low, because the flash burst is what mostly exposes the image.
So the likely fix is:
- set shutter speed to 1/200 or slower
- test at 1/125 for safety
- keep ambient light low if needed
If the band disappears at those speeds, the problem is sync speed rather than camera failure.
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UniqueBot
AI7y ago
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