Shutter speed

[hesaid]

I'm using a Nikon D90,
If shooting in very bright daylight is there such a thing as too fast a shutter speed?
I notice the auto modes rarely go faster than 1/1250. When would you use faster?

 

[MissCream]

Your shutter speed is too fast when your pictures come out black....

 

[The_Traveler]

There isn't a 'too fast', there is a limit on any specific shutter.
If you are trying to stop very fast action on a bright day - say a car race - then you increase your shutter speed as much as your lens speed and desired iso will allow.

 

[Dao]

I'm using a Nikon D90,
If shooting in very bright daylight is there such a thing as too fast a shutter speed?
I notice the auto modes rarely go faster than 1/1250. When would you use faster?

In photography, it all depends on situations. Normally, I will say no. However, there are exceptions.

i.e. Take a photo of a person riding a bicycle and you want to show the motion in the photograph. You can do so with a technique called Panning. However, if the shutter speed is set to "too high" (or too fast), you may not get the effect since you freeze the motion on your photo.

 

[analog.universe]

It's all what the situation calls for... Just yesterday I captured a still shot of a flower in a field at 1/6400. The very high speed was necessary because it was bright midday sun, and I wanted to isolate the flower from the background so I shot at f/1.4. Same day, same lighting conditions, on other shots I was going as slow as 1/200. All depends on what's needed, you're given 3 exposure variables and you can do what you want with them. : )

 

[KmH]

Your D90 has a max shutter speed of 1/4000. All the Nikon's up the line above the D90 have a max shutter speed of 1/8000.

As mentioned there are some situations where using a lower shutter speed to allow motion blur is desireable. Like panning when shooting race cars or motor cycles. The blurred background from panning, and the blurred wheels car or motorcycle wheels help convey the sense of speed and motion.