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Hi All,

My question relates to the rule of thumb that states "The slowest shutter speed at which you can safely handhold a camera is one over the focal length of the lens in use."

I understand that this is a rule of thumb so is not 100% foolproof but it would be good to understand how this translates to the digital world.

Logic suggests the same rule applies in DSLR world as it does to film world. Is this right?

Empirically - is that also true?

thanks

Paul

apparently there are different rules for different thumbs:

the SLR rule:
shutterspeed < or = to 1/focal length,

the DSLR rule according to some:
shutterspeed < or = to 1/(focal length * 1.5)
1.5 being the factor of which the sensor size differs from 35mm

my DSLR rule: shutterspeed < or = to 1/(focal length * 1.5 * age)

or get a VR lens.


cheers
CD

Have a good glass of RED and it'll help you more stabilize or a shot of Jack Daniel.

I tend to think that the 1.5 rule is the way to go. The way I use this information, professionally, is as follows...if I have a 200mm lens then my shutter speed should be around1/300 second if I am hand holding the camera. Be aware that it is still possible to get blurry images if you don't hold the camera fairly still. If, because of a lack of light I have to use 1/125 second then I know that I am going to lose around 70% of my images to camera movement...so I will shoot a lot more images to compensate. If possible, I will change to a shorter focal length lens. It is possible to work with a 28mm lens and shoot and 1/15 second if your techniques is sound. That is providing your subject is reasonably still. Maybe with a VR lens you could use a shutter speed or two slower...but once at 1/15 second you are relying on good luck unless you are shooting through a 20mm or 24mm lens.

^^ What MattK said. On top of that, I think this shutterspeed guideline is more applicabel towards normal range of focal lengths, and goes further out the window with extremely wide or extremely long lenses.

Birddog's suggestion of alcohol is quite accurate too. It'll steady you up for most tasks. eg. I play pool/snooker alot better with a few in me than when I'm sober.

paul
cant help you with any of your questions .... but thanks for the new word ...Empirically... i need to look it up .... still learning

cheers rob

Birddog didn't mean to drink the alcohol! You rub it over the lens and as it vapourises it adds stability.

Nope - you are all wrong!!!

Birddog was referring to the brand new emergency Gitzo - the Jack Daniels bottle used for table top photography as a balance for the 200-400VR hehe



Chris

Chris,

You missed an important part of the emergency Gitzo procedure.

You need to have a full bottle on hand, for emergency use.

But in use, the bottle needs to be empty. Not so the user, however.

gstark wrote:Chris,

You missed an important part of the emergency Gitzo procedure.

You need to have a full bottle on hand, for emergency use.

But in use, the bottle needs to be empty. Not so the user, however.

Thanks Gary and now I know what you will doing at TuTuTango other than food!!!

Chris

Thanks for all the tips - particularly the reason for drinking early in the morning

paull wrote:Thanks for all the tips - particularly the reason for drinking early in the morning

Paull,
Instead of using the toothbrush & paste, early morning drinking is also help to keep your hands steady during the day

I find the D70 amazingly easy to hand hold at slow speeds, so much so, that I wondered if there might be an in-camera VR function. It's unreal. No doubt, I am aided by years of practice , plus I use anything I can lean against for increased steadiness.

If you have a table, rock, tree, or wall you can lean against, use it. Hold the camera against your face, cradle it in your hands, and as you exhale slowly, squeeze off the shot. You'll soon find that it is subject movement (or, in the D70, focus error) blurring your image more than camera movement.

Re the bottles of red, I used to say a Real Photojournalist could cover a riot without spilling his beer, but that was The Olde Days. However, in quest for sharper images, I "invented" a makeshift tripod you might still emulate.

I got rubber stoppers that fit the ubiquitous beer bottles (could be cabernet, or water, or soda...) with 1/4" (6mm) holes through the middle. Think chemistry class, or a cork and a drill. Get a 1/4"x20 bolt about 1/2" longer than the cork/stopper, and thread it through, from the thin end to the thick one. Thread a small ball tripod head onto the bolt. Stick the cork/stopper into a handy bottle. You now have a disposable, perhaps drinkable, tripod. If you drink the contents, you want to stop before you either start weaving or don't care whether the image is in focus, or can't tell. Yours to choose.

The nice thing is, the stopper/ball head assembly is so small, you won't notice it in your camera bag, but it can be a real help.
Peace,
Joe

Joe wrote:I find the D70 amazingly easy to hand hold at slow speeds, so much so, that I wondered if there might be an in-camera VR function. It's unreal. No doubt, I am aided by years of practice , plus I use anything I can lean against for increased steadiness.

If you have a table, rock, tree, or wall you can lean against, use it. Hold the camera against your face, cradle it in your hands, and as you exhale slowly, squeeze off the shot. You'll soon find that it is subject movement (or, in the D70, focus error) blurring your image more than camera movement.

Re the bottles of red, I used to say a Real Photojournalist could cover a riot without spilling his beer, but that was The Olde Days. However, in quest for sharper images, I "invented" a makeshift tripod you might still emulate.

I got rubber stoppers that fit the ubiquitous beer bottles (could be cabernet, or water, or soda...) with 1/4" (6mm) holes through the middle. Think chemistry class, or a cork and a drill. Get a 1/4"x20 bolt about 1/2" longer than the cork/stopper, and thread it through, from the thin end to the thick one. Thread a small ball tripod head onto the bolt. Stick the cork/stopper into a handy bottle. You now have a disposable, perhaps drinkable, tripod. If you drink the contents, you want to stop before you either start weaving or don't care whether the image is in focus, or can't tell. Yours to choose.

The nice thing is, the stopper/ball head assembly is so small, you won't notice it in your camera bag, but it can be a real help.
Peace,
Joe

Good tip Joe! use the RRS B25 and a Jack Daniel bottle!

Taking up the red wine thing to help hold the camera still. No problem with that. But even though the camera says it's focusing well it seems all my images appear blurry. Come to think of it so was the subject (hic)

Miraculously though, they came right the next day. For a while, at least.....

Matt's advice is right on the money IMHO. We should print it and laminate it for all our camera bags.