Slow Shutter Speed - Off,1/2,1/4,1/8 ?????

[coldfusion]

Hi guys,

May i know where can I read up on shutter speeds? Im fiddling thru the camera settings and there are some areas i've totally clueless.

It seems that whenever i set shutter speed to 1/2, the image tends to blur; whereas if i set to 1/8, the image is sharper but image seems dimmer. (or it may be due to my shaky hands)

So when should we adjust this shutter speed thingy?

although there's google, but i do not know which search terms to begin with. Will some kind souls point me in the right direcetion? :bsmilie:

Pls advise. Thanks

Im totally lost. lol. I only wanted to point and shoot but it's just so tempting to find out more.

 

[Buggy]

the slower the shutter speed, the brighter your image. it's blur because of your handshake.
for my pair of hands... i always keep myself at 1/30 sec and above unless I've a tripod with me.

 

[westwest1]

go join outing and learn from the pro...

then can understand easier

 

[CasonLyn]

Shutter speed controls the amount of time the shutter stays open to allow light onto the sensor. The lower the shutter speed, the longer the shutter stays open. Thus when you set a low shutter speed, your image will blur due to shakes. Practise with the shutter speed settings and see what is the lowest shutter speed you can shoot at without blurring the image. 1/2, 1/8 shutter are too slow to be handheld for alot of people..

read up on shutter speed google or books and you'll learn more.

 

[Nikonnew]

Hi guys,

May i know where can I read up on shutter speeds? Im fiddling thru the camera settings and there are some areas i've totally clueless.

It seems that whenever i set shutter speed to 1/2, the image tends to blur; whereas if i set to 1/8, the image is sharper but image seems dimmer. (or it may be due to my shaky hands)

So when should we adjust this shutter speed thingy?

although there's google, but i do not know which search terms to begin with. Will some kind souls point me in the right direcetion? :bsmilie:

Pls advise. Thanks

Im totally lost. lol. I only wanted to point and shoot but it's just so tempting to find out more.

For the dimmer image, my first guess is that you are using a small aperture, try a bigger aperture setting and see how...


just another amateur guess

 

[ronaldjace]

slow shutter speed - off 1/2 1/4 1/8 ....

these are seen on compact P&S cameras.

what this mean is ... slow shutter : off, then 1/2 sec, 1/4 sec 1/8 sec
1/2, 1/4, 1/8 sec is very very slow. you will need a small tripod.


if u need slow shutter u need a tripod.
for a good anti-handshake, use atleast 1/30 or 1/40 or 1/50

 

[ronaldjace]

for the dim image, check the aperture setting , i think it might be f/10 or f/12 or even smaller.



bigger aperture means f/2, f/5.6 f/4 smaller mean f/8 f/10, f/12, f/16 ....

aperture is the size of shutter. amount of light is control by the shutter speed(the speed of closing shutter) and the size of shutter.

 

[Reno]

try reading this... i find it useful and easy to understand.

http://www.clubsnap.com/display.php?file=articles/photography101/photography101.html

 

[hwchoy]

what camera are you using? on a canon prosumer type camera or DSLR, select Tv mode which will allow you to set the shutter speed while the camera selects the correct aperture (size of hole in the lens). make sure to try it in brigh sunlight so that you are not short of light. you will then see that as shutter speed goes up, your image will gets sharper while brightness (exposure) remains about the same (due to camera compensating with the aperture).

If you do it in M mode (manual) you will have to mess with the aperture at the same time, not a good way to learn for someone new. mess with one thing at a time.

 

[DT_]

you lack the basic.. if you like to understand shutter speed, it's all link with aperture, asa, bla, bla, bla.... so i suggest you read a good book or go for a course.....

 

[ywh]

Many of you posting on this thread really need to read up on the basics...No offence here but joining a forum and posting images do not mean picking up the fundamentals. It's a good thread that the starter has here as other beginners can learn that they need to build up their foundation too.

Anyway, an exposure is based on 3 factors:ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed. ISO is basically the sensitivity of the sensor or the film used. Aperture is the size of the opening in the lens (crude explanation but that is the best way to explain) and is not the size of the shutter.... Shutter speed is the duration that the shutter is exposed to the scene.

There is no fixed rule that small apertures are f/8, f/11, etc. You can only say f/8 is wider than f/11 or f/22 is smaller than f/16.

If you decrease your shutter speed, you should (if you want retain the same amount of light captured) increase your aperture.

A safe shutter speed to prevent handshake is dependent on the focal length and the weight/size of the lens used. A compact 50-500mm zoom is definitely easier to handhold than a 500/4 prime...But as a starting guide use a shutter speed of 1/focal length i.e. if you handholding a 50mm lens, use a shutter speed of 1/60 at least.

 

[hwchoy]

let's becareful what we write in order not to confuse the newbies.

"Shutter speed is the duration that the shutter is exposed to the scene." should be "shutter speed is the duration the media (whether sensor or film) is exposed to the image" which essentially also means "the duration the shutter stays open."

I thought aperture IS the size (in terms of area) of the opening in the aperture blades? but is expressed as its diameter as a ratio of the lens focal length?

one question I wanted to know myself. if you are on a cropped sensor, does the 1/ƒ rule-of-thumb holds for the actual or "cropped" focal length?

 

[ronaldjace]

"Shutter speed is the duration that the shutter is exposed to the scene."
this is the CORRECT DEFINITION.

most DSLR uses the electronic link + mechanical shutter to employ the opening/closing of shutter. THE SHUTTER IS LIKE A WINDOW BLIND. the aperture is HOW WIDE the WINDOW is open. SHUTTER SPEED therefore is the rate of shutting the "window".

the aperture control amount of light going into the camera from exterior of len by using "iris diaphragm" ----> the curved blades seen in the rear of len. the SHUTTER SPEED have nothing to do with CLOSing/OPENing of this diaphragm. f/4 f/8 all these is a RELATIVE measurement of the diameter of len. Nikkor-O 55mm f/1.2 and Noct-Nikkor 58 mm f/1.2 have extremely large aperture, are made for high shutter speed/low light usage [of coz, they can be used for focusing to infinity , other than that, usable aperature will increase]

 

[hwchoy]

"Shutter speed is the duration that the shutter is exposed to the scene."
this is the CORRECT DEFINITION.

most DSLR uses the electronic link + mechanical shutter to employ the opening/closing of shutter. THE SHUTTER IS LIKE A WINDOW BLIND. the aperture is HOW WIDE the WINDOW is open. SHUTTER SPEED therefore is the rate of shutting the "window".

huh? now my turn to be confused.