Handheld shutter speed

[Zoomster]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but hope someone can clarify. I know that for stable shots without tripods, your shutter speed should be equivalent to the focal length of the lens you have.

So if you have a 75mm lens, your shutter speed should be at least 1/75 or thereabouts. And if you are holding 200mm lens then your shutter speed should be 1/200 or so.

Question is, does the sensor size play any role in altering this above “rule”.
A 75mm lens on APS-C becomes a 112.5mm lens (e.g. on Nikon) and 150mm (on M4/3). So does your shutter speed have to be “faster”.

 

[jsprtan]

That is just a rule of thumb and the actual results is still much dependent on how stable can you hold your camera and shot.

 

[cks2k2]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but hope someone can clarify. I know that for stable shots without tripods, your shutter speed should be equivalent to the focal length of the lens you have.

So if you have a 75mm lens, your shutter speed should be at least 1/75 or thereabouts. And if you are holding 200mm lens then your shutter speed should be 1/200 or so.

Question is, does the sensor size play any role in altering this above “rule”.
A 75mm lens on APS-C becomes a 112.5mm lens (e.g. on Nikon) and 150mm (on M4/3). So does your shutter speed have to be “faster”.

<Edit>
Actually when I rethink about it, if the lens was specifically designed for APS-C or other smaller sensors, then IIANM then it should be 1/(crop factor * focal length in 35mm).
If the lens was designed for FF, then it should be 1/(focal length in 35mm);

 

[elgkh]

It should be calculated with the crop factor. So in your example, the recommended shutter speed is 1/113 for APS-C and 1/150 for m4/3.

With the latest high density sensors like the 24MP APS-C or 36MP FF, you might even need 1/(2 x effective focal length).

I usually forget as I am used to Image Stabilisation

 

[edutilos-]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but hope someone can clarify. I know that for stable shots without tripods, your shutter speed should be equivalent to the focal length of the lens you have.

So if you have a 75mm lens, your shutter speed should be at least 1/75 or thereabouts. And if you are holding 200mm lens then your shutter speed should be 1/200 or so.

Question is, does the sensor size play any role in altering this above &#8220;rule&#8221;.
A 75mm lens on APS-C becomes a 112.5mm lens (e.g. on Nikon) and 150mm (on M4/3). So does your shutter speed have to be &#8220;faster&#8221;.

The guide is linked to the effective focal length in 35mm film terms, i.e. after crop.

Of course using a 500mm lens on APS-C is going to be much much worse than 500mm lens on FF. The same amount of motion in the first case is going to be more pronounced than in the second. It's all very logical if you sit down and think about it.

Don't forget to take into consideration factors like stabilization systems.

 

[yqt]

That is just a rule of thumb and the actual results is still much dependent on how stable can you hold your camera and shot.

Best advise thus far.

Regardless of the crop factor, it is the set up you have and how stable you are that's going to define what speed you use. Use this rule of thumb and see how your images turn out, if motion blur, up the shutter speed.

 

[Rashkae]

<Edit>
Actually when I rethink about it, if the lens was specifically designed for APS-C or other smaller sensors, then IIANM then it should be 1/(crop factor * focal length in 35mm).
If the lens was designed for FF, then it should be 1/(focal length in 35mm);

No, it does not matter if the lens is designed for aps-c or not. The general rule is 1/equiv. Focal length

 

[cks2k2]

No, it does not matter if the lens is designed for aps-c or not. The general rule is 1/equiv. Focal length

That's what I'm not too sure. :dunno:

 

[daredevil123]

No, it does not matter if the lens is designed for aps-c or not. The general rule is 1/equiv. Focal length

That's what I'm not too sure. :dunno:

Rashkae is right... nothing to to with the whether it is a FF or DX lens.

In the end, only the actual sensor used matters. If use FF sensor body, 1/FL. If use cropped sensor body, 1/(FL*cropfactor)

 

[Achim Reh]

besides the fact that it is up to you how stable you can hold your camera, the general rule mentioned above is not a bad thing. However, this only applies to common resolution and magnification . If you have a high resolution camera and you want to enlarge your picture to a 1 meter wide high quality print , for example, you will see a difference if you use a tripod even at high shutter speeds.
So , it comes down to the quality you need. If you just shooting to post on the net or view on your computer screen, the rules mentioned above work fine, if you want to use the file to print fine art or large formats , use a tripod.

 

[Zeisser]

That is just a rule of thumb and the actual results is still much dependent on how stable can you hold your camera and shot.

I totally agree it's about how steady you hold your camera to capture the image whilst FF or APS-C and focal lengths is quite irrelavant. Just to share
a shot - handheld with shutter speed @ 1/25sec wide open F3.5 ISO320 via a 24-85mm lens and leaning against a wall for additional support.

 

[Zoomster]

Thanks for your replies. Though there doesn't seem to be a consensus on whether sensor size actually affects handheld shutter speed.

 

[quadpod70]

if the pix is blur = up the shutter speed. no brainer

 

[Rashkae]

Thanks for your replies. Though there doesn't seem to be a consensus on whether sensor size actually affects handheld shutter speed.

We just gave you the answer. If still cannot understand...

 

[Shizuma]

handheld shutter speed differs from cat to cat.

For me, i take too much coffee. Got "Parker Sng" syndrome, shaky paws. below 1/30 on any lens any sensor anything, all shaky shaky. i can even make shaky photo via PnS on hp ...

Some people have hands/paws like tripod stands. can do 1second handheld

 

[area0404]

Best way to find out is to try it. Start somewhere at about 1/focal length then make the time longer if result is table/shorter if result is blurry. Check result on a computer and not the camera itself since everything seems clear on such a small LCD screen. And remember that in real life, you hand gets shakier as you get tired/drunk/sleepy/anything. Compensate accordingly.