Camera shake

[Anorakus]

Is this more of an issue on DSLRs?

Since going digital, I've been able to examine my pics in far greater detail that I ever could when shooting slides or negs. A handful of my shots look fine at normal magnification, but are very slightly blurred when zoomed in. A lot of my shots are "grabbed" with the camera handheld.

I suspect that the rule about using the same shutter speed as your focal length is a bit too lax. One of the shots I did recently with what I suspect is a camera shake problem was shot on 24-70mm zoom on the 70mm setting at 1/200 sec.

A.

 

[thepharcyde]

Tripod is what you need. Only used a DLSR but hand held can be tricky at times unless you are using a stabiliser lens like VR for a Nikkor

 

[StewartR]

Is it more of an issue with digital? No. Do people worry about it more? Yes.

Just because you can look at an image on screen at a huge magnification, it doesn't mean you have to. When you shot slides, how often did you project the image at say 36"x24" and then go and look at the screen really close up? Never. So there's no need to do it now either.

The shutter speed rule is only meant to be a very general guideline. Your technique matters hugely. I have steady hands and good technique, and I wouldn't be bothered by shooting at 1/70th with a 200mm lens, let alone 1/200th with a 70mm lens.

Also - are you sure what you're seeing is camera shake? Could it just be that the image hasn't been sharpened adequately?

 

[Werecow]

Its more easily detectable with digital i think, with our "view at 100%" options easily accessed.

If you resize a large resolution photo to web size, a slightly out of focus or motion blurred subject will often look fine. Thats the same thing happening with small prints from a negative i guess?

 

[Janice]

I must admit I have always wondered about this reciprocal of the focal length as your shutterspeed thing.

If you are using a nifty fifty then 1/50 is ok (and they are very very light)

If you are using a 50-500mm lens at the 50mm end.. then surely the 1/50th isnt enough as you are holding a huge heavy long lens. :shrug:

 

[Raymond Lin]

I must admit I have always wondered about this reciprocal of the focal length as your shutterspeed thing.

If you are using a nifty fifty then 1/50 is ok (and they are very very light)

If you are using a 50-500mm lens at the 50mm end.. then surely the 1/50th isnt enough as you are holding a huge heavy long lens. :shrug:

Well, then you need to go to the gym

It is just a rule of thumb really, i mean if you are adding extra variables in it, then how windy it is, how heavy is that coat on your back all plays a role too. Just take your chances and play it safe really and it is a recommend shutter speed.

 

[Jelster]

It is just a rule of thumb really, i mean if you are adding extra variables in it, then how windy it is, how heavy is that coat on your back all plays a role too. Just take your chances and play it safe really and it is a recommend shutter speed.

It's not just about the size/weight of the lens, it's also to do with the "angle of view". Remember that with a DSLR, most of us are around 1.5/1.6 times magnification on the lens before you start, so the angle of view is narrower, and then we stick a 200mm zoom on (which is 300mm in real terms).

At this point, any shake at the camera end is magnified greatly by the time you reach your subject, A good example is my video camera which has a 500 x zoom. Sounds great, but unless you have it on a very heavy tripod, even the slightest movement of the camera makes the image look like it's in an earthquake !

Steve