Beginner Shutter speeds for hand held photos?

[ferg007]

I'm going into town tomorrow to try and capture some of the madness that is shopping the weekend before Xmas[emoji15]. I was thinking of using the 40mm but it's got no VR. What sort of shutter speeds would be the minimum do you think so I don't come home with a load of blur? Thanks!

 

[WattieTattie]

Generally twice the focal length..
So 50mm = 100, 500mm = 1000 etc etc

 

[Yv]

There is a rule of thumb that says shutter speed should always be faster than focal length, so in the case of your 40mm, shutter speeds should be faster than 1/40 sec.

However, that really is just a rule of thumb and will very much depend on subject, your ability to hold a camera steady, what apertures you are planning on using, etc etc [you need steady hands to hand hold at that kind of speed]... If it's daylight then you really shouldn't be needing such low shutter speeds anyway unless you are deliberately going for motion blur. If you are aiming for moving people then you probably want a minumum 1/250, probably faster if they are stomping along [adjust aperture and ISO to get correct exposures] If it's fairly static subjects, keep it to anything at 1/125 or faster. If you want to play it safe, keep shutter speeds high and balance with aperture/iso.

For fun, try going for deliberate motion blur too. Find your self a stationery subject in amongst moving people, get yourself propped aginst a wall, lampost, what ever, something to help steady yourself, then try some lower shutter speeds with the stationery subject as the focal point, so the moving people blur. Experiemnet with different speeds, 1/2 sec, 1/20, 1/50, 1/80 and so on, just see what you get

 

[Harlequin565]

Generally twice the focal length..
So 50mm = 100, 500mm = 1000 etc etc

I used to go with the reciprocal of the focal length but I still got blurred shots, so this might be worth a try. 1/80sec or 1/100 sec and see how you go.

 

[Alastair]

It depends on your hands, degree of tiredness, etc.

The reciprocal of the focal length is a good guide, but regardless of that figure even with a wide lens I generally find that the minimum shutter speed I can reliably handhold is 1/250 (or 1/125 on a good day). If it creeps up to 1/1000 I know my steady-hands meds need upping!

 

[Phil V]

Many of your subjects will be moving, so even with VR you'd have needed a faster shutter speed, 1/250 at a minimum I'd say.

It's easy to get wrapped up in the 1/focal length, but the reality is, that it's just the bottom end, your SS needs to match your subject and the desired effect.

 

[ferg007]

Thanks everyone! I had heard about the twice the length rule but that was in relation to big zoom lenses so wasn't sure if it applied generally - apparently so, so thanks for the info![emoji4]
I was thinking of about 1/250 but wondered if would be overkill and limit my options for exposure control so it's great to have a forum like this full of people that know stuff in the real world!

My hands are generally quite steady.... It's the rest of me that seems to sway around![emoji23]

 

[rob-nikon]

Like others have said the 1/focal length is a guide for the minimum shutter speed to stop lens/camera shake. The required shutter speed to freeze subject movement depends on how fast the subject is moving, think of the difference between a stand still person and a running person. You could of course drop shutter speed to around 1/30 sec to try some panning shoots to show the rushing around of shoppers and get panning blur to show the movement.

 

[KIPAX]

If someone is walking towards you.. you can get away with a slowewr shutter.. if someone is rushing accross your view you would need much faster than the examples given.... unless your panning which is good for the odd shot but not them all..

find the apature you want to use.... go to the highest ISO your happy with...... whats left is your shutter speed

 

[Blank_Canvas]

Thanks everyone! I had heard about the twice the length rule but that was in relation to big zoom lenses so wasn't sure if it applied generally - apparently so, so thanks for the info![emoji4]
I was thinking of about 1/250 but wondered if would be overkill and limit my options for exposure control so it's great to have a forum like this full of people that know stuff in the real world!

My hands are generally quite steady.... It's the rest of me that seems to sway around![emoji23]

I'll be shooting at 1/250 later today in Shutter Priority mode and also Auto ISO for a change - that will do the job !

 

[Neil B]

Generally twice the focal length..
So 50mm = 100, 500mm = 1000 etc etc

Um NO :meh: :indifferent:
The only requirement is how still you can hold the camera vs how fast the subject is moving. The end

 

[redhed17]

Um NO :meh: :indifferent:
The only requirement is how still you can hold the camera vs how fast the subject is moving. The end

The movement of the subject will determine the shutter speed depending on the desired effect, but what should your minimum shutter speed be if the subject is static?

The 1/focal length is a good place to start, but that was thought up for 35mm film, so if you have a full frame sensor is still the place to start. Most people have crop sensor cameras though, where a 50mm lens gives the same view as a 75mm lens (80mm on Canon) on a FF camera. So for crop sensor cameras maybe it should 1/focal length x1.5 (or x1.6 for Canon).

As with all these 'rule of thumb' guides you need to check whether you can hold the camera steady or not at speeds approaching this 'rule of thumb' guide speed. And lenses with IS/VR may enable holding at slower shutter speeds. Camera technique also comes into play of course, and hold the camera at arms length using the LCD and all bet are off. The only way to know though is to test you and your camera.

 

[Neil B]

The movement of the subject will determine the shutter speed depending on the desired effect, but what should your minimum shutter speed be if the subject is static?

The 1/focal length is a good place to start, but that was thought up for 35mm film, so if you have a full frame sensor is still the place to start. Most people have crop sensor cameras though, where a 50mm lens gives the same view as a 75mm lens (80mm on Canon) on a FF camera. So for crop sensor cameras maybe it should 1/focal length x1.5 (or x1.6 for Canon).

As with all these 'rule of thumb' guides you need to check whether you can hold the camera steady or not at speeds approaching this 'rule of thumb' guide speed. And lenses with IS/VR may enable holding at slower shutter speeds. Camera technique also comes into play of course, and hold the camera at arms length using the LCD and all bet are off. The only way to know though is to test you and your camera.

So IF i could hold my camera still as well as a tripod what would be the longest exposure possible be

 

[Blank_Canvas]

So IF i could hold my camera still as well as a tripod what would be the longest exposure possible be

Why would you even want to?

 

[Neil B]

Why would you even want to?

It's not want to, if i could, my point is focal length = shutter speed is not true.
I know many wildlife photographers that use a 500mm lens with 1.4 converters on 1.6 crop cameras that can shoot at 1/100th and slower if need be.
Being able to hold a camera correctly is one of the fundamentals of photography.

 

[Phil-D]

So IF i could hold my camera still as well as a tripod what would be the longest exposure possible be

30 seconds, unless you could work the remote, set to bulb, with your teeth

 

[Blank_Canvas]

It's not want to, if i could, my point is focal length = shutter speed is not true.
I know many wildlife photographers that use a 500mm lens with 1.4 converters on 1.6 crop cameras that can shoot at 1/100th and slower if need be.
Being able to hold a camera correctly is one of the fundamentals of photography.

I don't think that anybody has said focal length = shutter speed !

It's wildly accepted that for FF doubling the shutter speed of the focal length is a good maxim to avoid camera shake and that genuinely holds true. Its not written in stone, nobody's obliged to to do it. Like most rules on photography they are there to be broken.

Depending on age fitness, strength etc it certainly possible to get good handheld shots with long focal lengths and slow shutter speeds I don't think anybody is disputing that either.