Handheld shutter speeds

1/focal length

1/focal length

Hello:

The rule of thumb for "hand holdability" is 1/focal length of the lens used. RFFers regularly claim longer times, often 1/15 or 1/8. I find, being middle aged and caffinated, that 1/2x focal length is a safe choice ie for a 50mm lens I shoot at 1/100 or 1/125sec.

yours
Frank
 
I've been down to 1/4 of a second with the IIIc and propping my elbows on my knees. That's using the 35mm f3.5 summaron.

Cheers
Dave
 
I/15 At 3.5 Or 1.5 Depending On Lens, Cs-28 Or Jupiter 3. Acceptable By Bracing Arms In Chest.
 
I might have got away with a few 1/60 but I stick to 1/100 if I can help it.. I like my Monopod 🙂
 
I'm not an expert by any means but I'll throw in my crib notes from what I've come to understand thus far:

1. 1/focal length is the general rule of thumb. My main lens is 35mm so I round down to 1/30.

2. I've read that another rule of thumb for handholding is that both you and your subject are not moving(relatively speaking...as in a person just sitting there) then try 1/30. If you are still and your subject is moving(ie swiveling their head, walking) you want to try 1/60+.

3. I think I read something by Ansel Adams saying that if you are a perfectionist doing really precise work w/ a tripod you need to be using at least 1/125 (or maybe it was 1/250) to get close to eliminating shake from wind and vibration from operating the camera. I know this doesn't really apply to most RF use but interesting nonetheless.

4. The slower the shutter, the softer the focus will appear when handholding. I find that shots at 1/60 are crisper than shots at 1/30 even tho neither cross over into outright blur. Usually 1/15 won't show outright blur for me either but is softer still than 1/30.

5. My experience w/ handheld, low-light photography is that even w/ reasonably fast lenses and pushing fast film you are gonna miss a lot of good shots if you refuse to go slower than 1/30. I seem to constantly run into lighting situation where the choice is either underexposure or some blur. These days I'm not afraid to just wing it and go down to 1/4 or 1/8. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes not. They are never razor sharp of course but more often than I would have initially suspected, parts or all of them will be acceptably sharp enough to result in something that pleases me.

6. The Ultrapod II is a really terrific little tripod that you can attach to almost anything. It is so light and compact that I carry one in my bag all the time. I handhold 98% of the time but occasionally i want to shoot something at night or take a photo of myself with a friend and I'd never even consider taking a normal tripod with me on a trip.
 
kshapero said:
gee I'm surprised i have done pretty well at 1/15 and even 1/8 with my Nokton 40mm. Am I just that good or lucky?
Click to expand...

I love that response with that avatar. 😀

I haven't had a need to do that type of thing for a long time. 30 years ago, I could do 1 second with a 50mm lens, with an SLR sitting down and my elbows braced on my knees or my head braced on a post or wall. I used to shoot pretty well also. I could watch my hearbeat in prone, sitting and kneeling positions. Rarely in standing. That was for the really good shots.

Now, who knows. If I tried 1 second with a tripod I would probably kick it or something.
 
kshapero said:
How slow are folks getting on their RF's in shutter speed and still getting clear focused shoots of still objects? and maybe the lens you use to get it.
Click to expand...

On the rangefinders (Canon GIII and Mamiya SD) ...

I can always do 1/60 ...
usually do 1/30 ...
sometimes do 1/15 ...

If I'm down in the 1/15 range, I'll take several frames, bracketing up to 1/30, and I'll usually get one that's ok.

On the Pentax (k1000 SLR with a normal lens) I can occasionally do 1/15, but 1/30 is the slowest I can go with any warm fuzzy feeling that it's not gonna be blurred, and even then I've missed several over the years.
 
I find that I can hand hold my Bronica 645RF at lower shutter speeds than any other camera I own. Maybe it is a combination of the ergonomics of the camera and the smooth shutter. Here is a shot taken last weekend on 160ASA film in Wells Cathedral; 1/6th sec hand held with a 65mm lens.
 

Attachments

  • Untitled-13.jpg
    Untitled-13.jpg
    51.1 KB · Views: 0
Ok, it may be one of the cheap tricks, but I bought one of these mini flexi tripods, made of this strange black material that reminds you of a shower tube.

Then all you have to find is some fixed point, desk, bank, wall, top of car, whatever. Not hand-held, of course, but is it a sport after all?

Being a surgeon, I know that trembling hands can do quite a mess, anyway.

Jesko
 
Way back in time, I manages to get a few pretty-sharp snaps with, of all things, a Canon F-1 with 24mm f/2.8, wide-open, at 1/15th sec. With RFs, the percentage of "good" shots at that speed has gone up noticeably, even with my aging quite a few years since my Canon galavanting. It's all about alchemy – stillness of subject, light level, and how steady/still/calm you happen to be feeling at the moment. Not much in the way of hard-and-fast rules here (short of "use a tripod/monopod if you can").


- Barrett
 
1/30 and above seem to present no problems for me with a normal to wide angle. 1/15 is good most of the time. I can get away with 1/8 from time to time; I need to be very careful at that point. That being said, I have gotten images I like with exposure times up to a minute handheld - obviously there is camera shake, but also a surprisingly significant amount of detail.

BTW, sharpness is a subjective quality.
 
I've found that a self timer (if your camera has one) can help for about one shutter stop. Activate the timer and hold the camera as still as possible. This tends to eliminate any hand/finger motion resulting from pressing the shutter button.
 
ernie said:
I find that I can hand hold my Bronica 645RF at lower shutter speeds than any other camera I own. Maybe it is a combination of the ergonomics of the camera and the smooth shutter. Here is a shot taken last weekend on 160ASA film in Wells Cathedral; 1/6th sec hand held with a 65mm lens.
Click to expand...

I always got good photos at surprisingly low speeds with my Super Pres 23 too. Maybe it has to with the weight of the camera. Harder to get that much mass moving?
 
Hi... and here's how it works for me:

First, never be afraid to try.

The focal length of lens and shutter speed rule of thumb is OK, yet with my Leica M2 and 35mm Summaron f 2.8, I felt most comfortable with 1/60 as minumum[1/50 with flash].

Some guys can shoot at 1/15 and get sharp images; I can't, unless braced and in a very calm state of mind.

Hope this helps.
Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Question about shutter speeds adjustments
Replies
0
Views
29
brianentz
B
J
Need help with fed 1 shutter curtain
Replies
2
Views
322
jimsnon
J
fub
Zorki 4 after CLA: everything working except for B
Replies
9
Views
228
fub
fub
B
Canon P service question
Replies
3
Views
274
brianentz
B
H
Nikon F Shutter Speeds Adjustment 1/60th and 1/500th
Replies
0
Views
273
Howie1922
H
Back
Top Bottom