Digital multiplier question.

Ant · Sep 30, 2004

I believe the rough rule of thumb for working out minimum shutter speed to prevent blur when hand holding a camera is one over the focal length. So if I was shooting at 300mm I'd need a speed of at least 1/300 to prevent camera shake.

Do I factor in the digital multiplier for this? So if I was shooting with a 300mm lens and digital would I have to figure a shutter speed of 1/450 instead?

jadin · Sep 30, 2004

I don't think so, my guess is based on the fact that the lens isn't changing, only it's distance to the sensor/film.

steve817 · Sep 30, 2004

I'm leaning towards an answer of yes myself. Although I don't have the facts to prove this, I have noticed a lack of sharpness in my 10D shots with my 300mm as compared to shots taken with my Elan.

Soulreaver · Sep 30, 2004

I would use 1/450 myself, since thats the equivalent for digital.
The CCD is smaller than the neg, so you get a smaller angle of vision with the same focal length.
And the smaller the angle the greater the change in the picture if you move the camera, even a little bit.

Digital Matt · Sep 30, 2004

The problem is that people have a misconception about the "digital multiplier". It doesn't multiply the focal length, or act as a teleconverter. It's a 1.6x "crop factor". It's the same as if you took a shot, and cropped out a small section of it and said it was a macro. It's not.

The focal length of the lens is the same on any camera, just that on digital SLRs you aren't seeing the entire frame.

Based on this, I'd have to agree with Jadin that it makes no difference. Shooting with a 300mm handheld is a risk even at 1/300 or faster. It's just not an easy lens to handhold. IF you want sharper pictures, use a tripod and a cable release.