Verified answer

Your camera flash sync speed does not correlate to the studio strobes. You are simply using a shutter speed that is so fast that the light from the strobes does not have time to fully illuminate the scene before the shutter closes again, thus the partial black band in your photos. There is NO need for a speed as high as 1/200 with studio strobes. You do not need a fast shutter speed to stop motion, that is what the FLASH from the studio lights do. About all the shutter speed does is vary to some extent how much ambient light is admitted into the photo. Try setting your shutter speed to 1/60 or 1/100. Your main exposure tool with studio lighting is your aperture and power output on the lights. If you do not have a light meter, just experiment with these two factors until you get a satisfactory exposure. An aperture of around 5.6 to 8.0 will allow you to turn the power WAY down on your lights and give you more control over key and fill lighting ratios.

steve

That is not a problem with the flash but the camera (or rather your lack of understanding of the camera).

If your highest synch speed is 1/200 then using anything faster will cause the black band. it is the shutter which has not moved completely out of the way by the time the flash has gone off.

You can only use 1/200 or slower.

If you need a larger aperture then adjust the power of your lights accordingly. Alternatively move them away from the subject.

I would suggest you do two things.

1. read your camera manual properly

2. buy a book on studio lighting and learn how they work and how to adjust according to the exposure and lighting effect you want.

"My flash sync speed is 1/200, and when I go past it things don't work"

really? read the manual please.