topic Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

EOS 6D Unable to set shutter speed to 180 to match flash

Samhark — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 17:53:02 GMT

I know for a fact that my Canon 6D has a limitation to sync flash speed at 180 maximum, but when I try to adjust the shutter speed to match that the camera allows me to set it at 160 or 200 only!
Anyone knows how to set the shutter speed at 180?

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

7D5D — Fri, 31 May 2013 14:00:24 GMT

Hmm, I don't think you can. 1/180 is an in between shutterspeed. In 1/3 steps you go from 1/200 to 1/160. Does your Exif data report a TV of 1/180? I don't own a 6D so I really don't know, maybe in full auto or when using HSS, the 6D forces an odd ball shutterspeed of 1/180. Otherwise it's got to be a typo in the their specs.

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

ScottyP — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:40:39 GMT

Hi Samhark. I just played with mine and figured out your problem. I believe you have your HSS enabled like I did. (High speed sync).
Disable it and your camera will actually max out at 1/180th (when your flash is turned on.)

Does that fix it?

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

7D5D — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 02:33:08 GMT

ScottyP,

Just for my own curiosity (I don't own a 6D), does the LCD display 1/180 and can you dial in 1/180 when flash is enabled or is it just the exif data that reports it used a TV of 1/180?

Thanks

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

ScottyP — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 03:42:53 GMT

Hi, 7d5d,

You can dial in 1/180th when the flash is mounted and turned on as long as you don't have HSS enabled. As you try to dial up the shutter speed in Tv or M mode, it goes up to 1/180 and just stops going any higher.

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

7D5D — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 03:46:41 GMT

@ScottyP wrote:
Hi, 7d5d,

You can dial in 1/180th when the flash is mounted and turned on as long as you don't have HSS enabled. As you try to dial up the shutter speed in Tv or M mode, it goes up to 1/180 and just stops going any higher.

Gotcha, thank for the clarification.

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

ScottyP — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 06:33:03 GMT

I guess he sorted it out, or sold the camera?

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

hsbn — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 23:51:16 GMT

If your exposure increment setting is 1/2 stop (under custom function), then you can dial 1/125, 1/180, 1/250.
If your exposure increment setting is 1/3 stop, then you can only dial 1/125, 1/160, 1/200, and 1/250.
It has nothing to do with the flash, and all Canon camera if you use the 1/3 setting you cannot dial in 1/180 regardless. And if you mount the flash on, like Scotty said, it will stop at the highest speed sync.

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

7D5D — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 23:53:43 GMT

@hsbn wrote:
If your exposure increment setting is 1/2 stop (under custom function), then you can dial 1/125, 1/180, 1/250.
If your exposure increment setting is 1/3 stop, then you can only dial 1/125, 1/160, 1/200, and 1/250.
It has nothing to do with the flash, and all Canon camera if you use the 1/3 setting you cannot dial in 1/180 regardless.

Ahh, that makes sense. I've always used 1/3 steps.

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

ScottyP — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 02:38:49 GMT

But it won't stop at 1/180 on a 6d if you have HSS enabled, not even if the flash is in the shoe and turned on. It rolls on past that to faster shutter speeds and does not stop at 1/180. I think the OP question was about max sync speed cap on the 6d and why he wasn't hitting the ceiling.

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

DeaqonJames — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 18:48:36 GMT

Menu>scroll through to the last camera on the right just before the star and click that to get to C.Fn I:Exposure. You will see Exposure Level Incriments and change from 1/3 stop to 1/2 stop and that will let you get to 180.

I think it's jacked up that Canon did that and had to set the max strobe sync speed so slow. 😞

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

RobertTheFat — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 03:55:29 GMT

@DeaqonJames wrote:
Menu>scroll through to the last camera on the right just before the star and click that to get to C.Fn I:Exposure. You will see Exposure Level Incriments and change from 1/3 stop to 1/2 stop and that will let you get to 180.

I think it's jacked up that Canon did that and set the max sync speed so slow. 😞

Am I missing something here? The manufacturer doesn't "set" the maximum sync speed. It's an inevitable consequence of the maximum speed at which the shutter curtains are able to travel. You can say that Canon should have used a faster shutter on the 6D, but their response would probably be that doing so would have increased the price of the camera.

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

Bryston3bsst — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 20:06:17 GMT

Bob
Boston, Massachusetts USA

================================================================================================

Maybe I'm missing something. The shutter can travel up to 1/4000th on the 6D.

Faster synch speed raiding the price? Can't imagine. My 600D had a max flash synch of 1/200th.

Plus.....you guy sknow this thread is 2 years old?

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

RobertTheFat — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 21:55:12 GMT

@Bryston3bsst wrote:
Am I missing something here? The manufacturer doesn't "set" the maximum sync speed. It's an inevitable consequence of the maximum speed at which the shutter curtains are able to travel. You can say that Canon should have used a faster shutter on the 6D, but their response would probably be that doing so would have increased the price of the camera.
Bob
Boston, Massachusetts USA
================================================================================================

Maybe I'm missing something. The shutter can travel up to 1/4000th on the 6D.

Faster synch speed raiding the price? Can't imagine. My 600D had a max flash synch of 1/200th.

Plus.....you guy sknow this thread is 2 years old?

A focal plane shutter achieves its high speeds by having the second curtain start to close before the first curtain has finished opening. So for all the speeds above a certain value, what the sensor sees is a slit travelling across its surface. The higher the shutter speed, the narrower the slit. So for those speeds, there's no time at which the flash can fire and light all of what the sensor sees. The maximum sync speed is the maximum speed at which the second curtain doesn't start to close until after the flash has had time to fire with the first curtain fully open. On the 6D that speed is, I believe, 1/180 sec

Some high-end external flash units are able to fire a series of flashes in rapid succession while the slit travels across the sensor, thereby allowing flash to be used with some degree of efficacy at speeds above the maximum sync speed. But that's not what was being referred to in this thread.

My first film Nikon had, IIRC, a maximum sync speed of 1/30 sec. So obviously a lot of progress has been made, and I find it a bit hard to feel sorry for those complaining about the sync speed of the 6D.

And the probable reason that your 600D had a higher sync speed than the 6D is that it was a crop frame camera, so the shutter curtains didn't have as far to travel.

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

DeaqonJames — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 18:48:08 GMT

The thread was about the sync speed with strobes or am I mistaken? For the 6D the max sync speed with strobes is 180. The 5 series I believe is 200. I understood from a Canon rep that it had something to do with the size of the sensor???? I could have been mistaken as I had a Playboy Playmate in front of me at the moment. 🙂

While I came to the realization that the thread was 2 years old, I didn't see where the answer to the original question had actually been provided, then again I could be mistaken yet again.

My apology for any confusion.

Re: Canon 6D flash sync speed

ShopmanDave — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 02:59:59 GMT

Samhark

I know this is an old thread, but I just came across it. I have a 6D mkII, and when I change the White Balance to "Flash," it briefly shows the 180 speed. In manual mode, both the back and top screen read the set speed up to 4000, skipping "180." BUT, with a flash mounted and powered up, if your "set" speed is 200 or above, the screens will read 180 as soon as you half-press the shutter button. After a short time-out, it goes back to the set speed. All the info on the photos taken show the 180 shutter speed, even though I dialed in a 200 or above setting.

Dave