The other day, I was speaking with a new(ish) photographer, and they mentioned that some basic terms, like TTL, are often used but rarely explained. I’m not going to tackle that in this article, but keep your eyes peeled for that article in the future. Today I want to talk about Freeze Mode, a flash mode that is becoming more common but remains misunderstood.
I’m hitting this subject first because Flashpont just announced the Flashpoint XPLOR 300 Pro II TTL R2. The previous edition of this flash is what we used a couple of years back in the series “Mentoring Marisa.” You can watch an episode below.
Flash Duration
Let’s roll back a minute and clear up some basic flash concepts. Flash duration, in a nutshell, is how long the flash fires during exposure. This duration is typically very short – usually somewhere between 1/200s and 1/1000s at full power, and even shorter at reduced power. What this means is that even if your camera is set at a slower shutter speed, assuming no exposure is made by the ambient light, the flash will do a darn good job at stopping motion. Of course, for very fast-moving subjects such as splashing water, even 1/1000 of a second may not stop the action completely. This may leave your images with motion blur.
A little note here, many cameras have an “x-sync” or “flash sync” speed of 1/200s, which is not the same as flash duration. Sync speed is the maximum shutter speed at which your flash can synchronize with your camera’s shutter.
Enter Freeze Mode
Freeze Mode is a setting available on some flash models, typically those aimed at professional use. However, I could see this mode becoming more standard as time goes on. Essentially, in Freeze Mode, the flash pulse is cut off early to produce extremely short durations. These durations can sometimes range from 1/10,000 to 1/80,000 of a second; this is some real stopping power!
All Good Things in Moderation
The obvious question is: Why not just always use Freeze Mode? Like any good thing, there are trade-offs to using this technology. Generally speaking, Freeze Mode can result in a loss of output; thus, to achieve the same Aperture, you may need to raise your ISO, which may increase noise levels. Either that or move the lights closer, which can affect the overall look of the image due to light fall-off. Additionally, you may notice shifts in color temperature when using Freeze Mode, so it is not ideal for color-sensitive work.
Final Verdict on Freeze Mode
If you shoot fast-moving subjects with flash, especially in darker/controlled light situations, Freeze Mode is an incredibly useful feature. If you are often shooting in bright light, something like High-Speed-Sync (HSS) might be a better option. The Flashpoint XPLOR 300 Pro II TTL R2 has both of these features, so take a look.
