Metpin777 Loc: Fort Wayne, IN

Shooting motorcycles, Canon 80D, 1/250, 100 ISO , f5.6, 3 strobe lights, black background, How much camera shake will I get without tripod ? Will it be noticeable or is shutter speed fast enough ?current one is broken, Thank you!

(Download)

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

How much ambient light is there?
Looks like none.
If that is the case, your effective exposure time is the duration of the strobes, not your shutter setting.
Probably won’t see much shake at all.
Looking nice!

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

Yep, as stated, the strobes flash duration trumps shutter speed.

Metpin777 Loc: Fort Wayne, IN

Modeling lights only, thanks

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Honestly, I doubt if camera shake will be noticeable at 1/250 - with film I took pictures of moving trains using that shutter speed. If you do have strobe lights {I'm not sure what "modeling lights" means in your second post} then you definitely don't have a problem, because they flash at something like 1/1000.

Metpin777 Loc: Fort Wayne, IN

Cool thx, modeling lights are what I have learned is on a strobe is the light that stays on to adjust your light flow, shuts off when strobe activated, located in center of strobe, what does everyone else call it?

ken glanzer

rehess: 1/250 is certainly fast enough for a moving train which is at some distance close to the infinity setting on the lens. But if you move closer & closer to the moving train (not a convenient test) there will be movement on the picture that will start to show even at 1/250. Obviously the closer you are to a moving object the higher the shutter or flash speed needed. There is a distance where even the 1/1000 +/- speed of a fixed strobe will freeze it (up to a point). With the strobe the shutter speed is limited to 1/250 but not a factor with a strobe with ample flash reserve. This critical closer point where 1/250 (no strobe) starts to fail can be seen if you shoot a variable speed fan at difference distances at 1/250 with & without a strobe & blow it up in the computer 20X & camera movement will start to show. Do it with a Strobe also. If shooting with film, the higher the resolution of the film, it will start to show it sooner also.
Many years ago I read where a test was made to determine just how fast a strobe his was (or can be with TTL). He took a shot of a cars rotating wheel going past him at some speed & supposedly froze it (probably had to do it several times--timing very critical). The rotating wheel would be fairly close to the camera on a moving car going the other way. I'd expect the TTL action of a strobe would shorten the flash duration considerably & freeze even a rotating wheel going the other way (simpler than a moving train--rotating fan is even simpler for comparisons). I always wanted to try this moving test but never did. The quickness of TTL action to limit a strobe speed accurately for the distance is a very impressive electronic action for speed of flash control level that impresses me very much.
You can test the "Comparative Resolutions" of similar lenses at different F-Stops by shooting a newspaper at different distances at night with a flash on a tripod for convenience. The closer it is to the camera, the quicker the TTL flash but shouldn't be a factor at night. Many years ago I ran tests where I moved the camera at different horizontal sweep rates to see where the flash wasn't fast enough to freeze the variable size newspaper print. There was a sweep rate & distance where it started to show. A variable speed fan (really slow) with a tachometer (to record the fan speed) is very convenient. I may do this test over.
To fully illuminate the bottom of my ham radio antenna round elements (always in a high sun shadow during the day), I did a flash shot at night. I could see detail, nuts & bolts on the tower very clearly 55' away not that clear during the day. Daylight lens flare may have been a factor also.

Jim Bob

I don't mean to be crass, but that would depend on how adept you are at hand-holding. I doubt anyone on this forum can definitively answer that question.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

In my case I was at a distance such that I could photograph an entire car at once - no point in being closer - and with film no motion was evident on a Kodachrome slide.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

During normal shooting (no flash) 1/250sec. is more than enough high shutter speed if the focal length of the lens is below 200mm. When using flash, as has been already stated, flash speed is faster than 1/250sec. so no blur should take place.
Talking about the photograph you have just posted. It looks dark to me but that could be your preference. I would prefer more light on the motorcycle to enhance its details.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I've several strobes and I've always known them as modeling lights.
--Bob

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Modeling lights are lower output, continuous light within the strobe... used to focus and compose... then usually turned off to use the strobe itself to make the exposure.

While it's possible to use only the modeling lights alone, if concerned about camera shake or wanting to freeze subject movement, makes a lot more sense to use the strobes themselves. Those fire for a short duration that "acts like" a fast shutter speed.

HOWEVER, most camera and studio strobe combinations require setting the camera to a shutter speed SLOWER than the flash sync speed, because strobes fire more slowly than portable flash. My cameras with 1/250 flash sync need to be set to 1/200 or 1/180 when I'm using my strobes. You'll need to experiment with your particular camera and strobes to see what's the fastest shutter speed that fully illuminates the image.

But, again, the camera's shutter speed doesn't matter when it comes to camera shake or stopping subject movement. It's the duration of the strobe itself that acts like a shutter.

Most strobes have power levels that can be set as the user wishes: full, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, etc. Or some use 1/10 stop increments. If you use a strobe on full power, it's probably equivalent to approx. 1/500 shutter speed. But if you set a lower output, the duration decreases and may act more like 1/640, 1/720 or 1/1000 shutter. With some specialized, high-powered strobes it can be as brief as 1/10,000 or even shorter. Those can be used to freeze very fast action.

Setting strobes to lower power level can give an effect similar to the sample image.... AND, it will give the effect of a very short duration shutter to eliminate concerns about camera shake.... AND, the strobes will recycle a lot faster than when used at fuller power settings.

There are a lot of reasons you should try using the strobes themselves, instead of just the modeling lights.

EDIT: One other thing, the color temp of modeling lights and strobe are probably different too, requiring you to use different white balance. Often modeling lights are 3200K tungsten, while the strobe itself is 5000K or higher. No big deal, but easy to forget.

BebuLamar

I guess is that your motorcycle is not moving and you don't use long lens then 1/250 should be more than enough. However I am surprised that with the modeling lights alone you can get sufficient exposure with ISO 100, f/5.6 and 1/250 s. The light needed is only 1 and 2/3 stop less than full sun condition.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I wasn't aware they are notified when something goes into your "spam" folder. Is Yahoo the only ones who do that? - Outlook was putting email from my sister into my "Junk" folder, and it took us several days to figure out what was happening.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Yes you are right, they are called modeling lights! With only those, there is a chance you see some motion blur, it kind of depends also on what lens (focal length) you're shooting with! Find something else you can place your camera on to substitute for your broken tripod. Anything would be better than handheld in this situation! I guess you'll be shooting with a fairly small aperture for substantial DOF.