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The other comments have done a good job of explaining what leaf-shutters are and the differences between leaf shutters and focal plane shutters. Flash photogra

The other comments have done a good job of explaining what leaf-shutters are and the differences between leaf shutters and focal plane shutters. Flash photography is a balancing act between the light that comes from the flash strobes and the light of the environment. It's very popular these days to take portraits where the background is blurred, often significantly, but the subject is still in sharp focus. Background blurring is a product of the physical aperture of the lens and the distance to the subject. Opening the lens up to create more blur in the out-of-focus areas requires that the shutter speed be increased to compensate for the additional light entering the camera. A typical sunny day outdoor exposure might be f/2.8 at 1/3200s. This is far beyond the typical sync speed of a focal plane camera. One alternative method is to place neutral density filters (darkening filters) over the camera lens (limiting the light entering the lens, but not increasing the depth of focus). The disadvantage is this method requires more light be generated by the strobes, shortening battery life, and generating more heat, and possibly more discomfort for your subjects. As an aside, leaf shutters used to be quite commonplace until SLRs became popular (Leaf shutter SLRs were complicated and hard to repair). Even some of the most rudimentary leaf-shutter cameras from the 1950s could sync at higher speeds than the latest high-end SLRs.

stan_rogers 9y ago
To be completely fair here, so could most focal plane shutters of the era. Electronic flash hadn't really become a thing yet -- it was expensive, inefficient, fragile and finicky -- and focal plane flash bulbs would let you "sync" at practically any speed due to their long burn time.
- michrassena 9y ago
  Good to know. I think I need to try some of these on my speed graphic if they can still be had cheaply.
freetime2 9y ago
> Flash photography is a balancing act between the light that comes from the flash strobes and the light of the environment. It's very popular these days to take portraits where the background is blurred, often significantly, but the subject is still in sharp focus. Background blurring is a product of the physical aperture of the lens and the distance to the subject. Opening the lens up to create more blur in the out-of-focus areas requires that the shutter speed be increased to compensate for the additional light entering the camera. A typical sunny day outdoor exposure might be f/2.8 at 1/3200s. This is far beyond the typical sync speed of a focal plane camera. I found this to be a very helpful explanation of why I would want to use a leaf shutter. TFA explains it in terms of your flash "competing with ambient light", and shows a lot of sample pictures of a properly exposed subject over an underexposed background. While visually interesting, it's probably not an effect I would want to go for when taking pictures of my kids. Putting it in terms of being able to use the largest aperture possible in broad daylight makes more sense. There have been plenty of situations where I have been shooting in harsh daylight at f/1.7, and would have liked to use my pop-up flash to soften the light a bit, but the camera doesn't allow it due to max sync speed limitations. Unfortunately it doesn't sound like leaf-shutter lenses are the solution for me, as the $1800 minimum for a single leaf shutter lens is more than I am willing to pay for an entire camera + lens setup.
- michrassena 9y ago
  If you really wanted to use a leaf shutter lens on a digital SLR, the price point isn't quite so high. I've adapted a Mamiya 645 leaf shutter lens to Nikon full frame using a cheap third party adapter. A small selection of leaf shutter lenses were made for the 645 (standard lenses used the body's focal plane shutter with a sync of 1/60s). The 55 f2.8, 70 f2.8 and 150mm f3.8 were all made with an integrated shutter for full flash sync at up to 1/500s. I see the 70mm selling for around $115 these days. That said, they're a real pain the neck to actually use, since you have to compose and focus, cock the shutter on the lens, release the shutter on the camera body (bulb mode or a long exposure), then fire the shutter on the lens using a cable release, then after the body is finished, open up the lens again.

stan_rogers 9y ago

To be completely fair here, so could most focal plane shutters of the era. Electronic flash hadn't really become a thing yet -- it was expensive, inefficient, fragile and finicky -- and focal plane flash bulbs would let you "sync" at practically any speed due to their long burn time.

michrassena 9y ago
Good to know. I think I need to try some of these on my speed graphic if they can still be had cheaply.

freetime2 9y ago

> Flash photography is a balancing act between the light that comes from the flash strobes and the light of the environment. It's very popular these days to take portraits where the background is blurred, often significantly, but the subject is still in sharp focus. Background blurring is a product of the physical aperture of the lens and the distance to the subject. Opening the lens up to create more blur in the out-of-focus areas requires that the shutter speed be increased to compensate for the additional light entering the camera. A typical sunny day outdoor exposure might be f/2.8 at 1/3200s. This is far beyond the typical sync speed of a focal plane camera. I found this to be a very helpful explanation of why I would want to use a leaf shutter. TFA explains it in terms of your flash "competing with ambient light", and shows a lot of sample pictures of a properly exposed subject over an underexposed background. While visually interesting, it's probably not an effect I would want to go for when taking pictures of my kids. Putting it in terms of being able to use the largest aperture possible in broad daylight makes more sense. There have been plenty of situations where I have been shooting in harsh daylight at f/1.7, and would have liked to use my pop-up flash to soften the light a bit, but the camera doesn't allow it due to max sync speed limitations. Unfortunately it doesn't sound like leaf-shutter lenses are the solution for me, as the $1800 minimum for a single leaf shutter lens is more than I am willing to pay for an entire camera + lens setup.

michrassena 9y ago
If you really wanted to use a leaf shutter lens on a digital SLR, the price point isn't quite so high. I've adapted a Mamiya 645 leaf shutter lens to Nikon full frame using a cheap third party adapter. A small selection of leaf shutter lenses were made for the 645 (standard lenses used the body's focal plane shutter with a sync of 1/60s). The 55 f2.8, 70 f2.8 and 150mm f3.8 were all made with an integrated shutter for full flash sync at up to 1/500s. I see the 70mm selling for around $115 these days. That said, they're a real pain the neck to actually use, since you have to compose and focus, cock the shutter on the lens, release the shutter on the camera body (bulb mode or a long exposure), then fire the shutter on the lens using a cable release, then after the body is finished, open up the lens again.