What would you say is your slowest hand held shutter speed?

[wgp1987]

* I meant to put HAND HELD


I recently have been exploring manual shooting and have gotten better at doing so. I would say standing straight up with only my arms supporting the camera i get the sharpest images at 1/20th. I can go a little slower like 1/10 but that doesn't give me that same sharpness i enjoy. I even tried to pull a trick out of the COD book and hold my breath, i guess it helps? What about you?

 

[Pugs]

Depends on the how heavy/long/focal length of the lens. But I RARELY can get below 1/60th without noticeable camera shake. Once upon a LONG time ago, I had rock steady hands and probably could have done considerably better, but those days are way behind me now.

 

[Chris of Arabia]

As Pugs says, it depends on the focal length you're using at the time, but depending on what you are doing, you can get away with less than the ideal (e.g. 50mm = 1/60s, 100mm - 125s, 200mm = 1/200s). With the various IR systems around, you can get away with murder at times - I've got a shot taken at 1/8s handheld at a focal length of around 40mm that looks fine. It was done with the Canon 17-55mm f2.8 IS though.

 

[itznfb]

I would say 1/30 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 @200mm. I can get a few sharp shots down to 1/10 but not consistently by any means.

 

[Big Mike]

There are plenty of factors at work here.

As mentioned, the focal length of the lens plays a big part. The 'rule of thumb' for 35mm film cameras is that you want your shutter speed to be at least one over your focal length. So for a 50mm lens, you want at least 1/50. For a 100mm lens, you want 1/100 etc.

I can usually go slower than that with good technique.
For example; your posture. Stand with your feet at least shoulder width apart and hold the camera with your arms tucked into your body. Better yet; sit, kneel or lean against something solid.
There are also breathing and timing techniques, the same as you might use while shooting a gun, rifle etc.

And of course, some cameras/lenses have stabilization which really helps.

 

[brianT]

As stated the focal length is important. For me, it also matters which lens I'm using. The large heavy lenses are more difficult to keep steady compared to a small lightweight 50mm prime. Also depends if the lens has VR. Also depends on the weather conditions. If it's windy it's more difficult to keep things steady. If it's cold and my hands are cold more camera shake is probable.

In the perfect scenario (no wind, warm weather, wider focal length) I can shoot 1/20th and get everything sharp. Doesn't work everytime though. If the light condition is dim I will try to shoot at low shutter speed and keep the ISO low.

 

[HikinMike]

I've done a few @ 1/50 with my 300mm and 1.4x. I was trying to find one in my archives, but I can't find it.

 

[PhotoXopher]

With my 70-200 I can usually hand hold 1/30th with fairly consistent results. I hand held my 18-55 kit lens for 4 seconds once with near perfect sharpness though

 

[DScience]

It depends on how much I've smoked.

 

[DScience]

With my 70-200 I can usually hand hold 1/30th with fairly consistent results. I hand held my 18-55 kit lens for 4 seconds once with near perfect sharpness though

Proof? Lol

 

[PhotoXopher]

Coming up

 

[TokZik]

4 sec here

 

[DScience]

Coming up

WOW! Were you on like 3 valium or what? lol

 

[PhotoXopher]

 

[Josh66]

I did a test once to see how long I could hand hold before I started to see camera shake.

I can't remember exactly, but I think I was able to go for at least a few seconds... I might have to try to dig those shots up... Too bad you can't search by exposure time in LR, lol.

That was in ideal conditions, with good technique though. In the real world, I can usually go down to at least 1/50th before I even have to think about it.