Remote flash creates dark region in photos...sometimes

[SpecTech]

Hi yall-

I've been getting some dark spots in the top 1/3 of SOME OF my photos when shooting with a remote flash. I've attached an example here:



My equipment is as follows: Nikon D200, Tamron 17-50/f2.8, Sigma 10-20, 2x SB-800 speedlight, 3x Pocket Wizard Plus II

Please note, this is a random occurance. Multiple shots from the same angle result in some shots with this dark region and others without. It seems to happen at a certain flash speed, but I have not determined what this is as of yet. I have experienced this problem on and off for about six months. It seems to be completely random.

I have ruled out the following:

Flash position: (as stated, multiple shots from the same angle, sometimes it happens, other times not), I am not firing into the camera either, usually flashing from the side and away from camera
Lens: I have experienced this problem with two different lenses.
Multiple flashes: Sometimes this happens with both remote flashes, sometimes just with one

Any suggestions, ideas, or personal experience with this problem welcome! Sometimes I don't get a second chance for a shot, so I'm getting tired of this little issue.

Thanks! --Brad

[livin4lax09]

it's most likely your sync speed. There's a really good article i read on sync speed a little while ago, I'll see if I can dig it up. essentially, your flash is firing too quickly for the shutter to capture all of it because of how a shutter works. so part of your image is getting illuminated but part isn't. do a search of sync speed on strobist.com and it should help.

[JBPhoto]

What is your shutter speed? Not sure about the Nikon's but on Canon, this will happen if sync is higher than 250 when using PW's and remote flash. 250 is the max.

[jorgemonkey]

I'd have to agree, most likely your sync speed, which I believe for the D200 is 1/250th.

I actually figured I can get 1/320th with my D2h

[dhyravy]

I have to agree. What you're seeing is the shutter curtain in the top of the photo. That usually means you have a shutter speed set that is too fast for flash with that camera.

[SpecTech]

Thanks everyone for your feedback-

I'm still curious as to why this happens "sometimes". As someone commented, the sync speed is 1/250 and the camera's max shutter speed is 1/250 while using flash. Why then would they say that the sync speed is 1/250 if the shutter can't keep up?

Are the pocket wizards affected by the type of flash you choose on the camera? For example, will rear curtain sync work with pocket wizard's? Perhaps I need to try this out to answer my own question!

Thanks! --Brad

[JSPhoto]

What is your shutter speed? Not sure about the Nikon's but on Canon, this will happen if sync is higher than 250 when using PW's and remote flash. 250 is the max.

Depends on the camera, the 1D MKIIN you can sync at much higher speeds using the 580EX
JS

[SmartWombat]

The max shutter speed assumes the flash is triggered direct by the camera.
If there's any lag in the triggering, maybe caused by radio interference, then you'd see bands still.

Depends on the radio frequency that the PW uses, how prone to interference it is.
Were there other people using PWs ?
Or other kinds of radio strobes, or even other radio equipment ?