questions regarding shutter speed

[kgreen]

Hi, I have been studying the fundamentals of digital photography. I really have a grasp on aperture. I've been practicing taking photo's in aperture priority. I don't neccessarily know where to start, but I know the wider the aperture the more blurred background. And the smaller the aperture the foreground & background is sharp. So I just change the f number until I get what I'm going for.
Now that being said I'm having a litlle more difficulty with shutter speed. I know the shutter allows light to reach the sensor for a predetermined amount of time. I understand that when I move up from one speed to the next, I cut the exposure time by half... like 1/60 sec. allows light to reach the sensor for half the time allowed by 1/30sec. So I've been practicing taking pictures of my ceiling fan spinning, at diffrent speeds. Looking at the photo's I can see that the faster the shutter speed the fan blades stop or freeze, & the slower the shutter speed blurs the blades making them to appear to the viewer that the fan is in motion. I do understand the basics, but I get overwhelmed at just how many speeds I can choose from on my camera-(nikon d7000.)
On my camera I would think when I see 2, it would mean 2sec., but there is more than just one 2?? 2."=20sec. & 2"=2sec., & 2= 1/2 sec., & 2.= 1/20sec.
So I guess that's where the confusion comes in. I went through each speed & jotted it down on paper as to what each one stood for.

X25.-(1/250sec.), 3.”-(30sec.), 25”-(25sec.), 2.”-(20sec.), 15”-(15sec.),

13”-(13sec.), 1.”-(10sec.), 8”-(8sec.), 6”-(6sec.), 4”-(4sec.),

3”-(3sec.), 2.5”-(2.5sec.), 2”-(2sec.), 1.6”-(1.6sec.), 1”-(1sec.),

1.3-(1/1.3sec.), 1.6-(1/1.6sec.), 2-(1/2sec.), 2.5-(½.5), 3-(1/3sec),

4-(1/4sec), 5-(1/5sec.), 6-(1/6sec.), 8-(1/8sec.), 1.-(1/10sec.),

13-(1/13sec.), 15-(1/15sec.), 2.-(1/20sec.), 25-(1/25sec.), 3.-(1/30sec.),

4.-(1/40sec.), 5.-(1/50sec.), 6.-(1/60sec.), 8.-(1/80sec.), 100-(1/100sec.),

125-(1/125sec.), 16.-(1/160sec.), 200-(1/200sec.), 25.-(1/250),

32.-(1/320sec), 400-(1/400sec.), 500-(1/500sec.), 64.-(1/640sec.),

800-(1/800sec.), 1000-(1/1000sec.), 125.-(1/1250sec.),

1600-(1/1600sec.), 2000-(1/2000sec.), 2500-(1/2500sec.),

3200-(1/3200sec.), 4000-(1/4000sec.), 5000-(1/5000sec.),

6400-(1/6400sec.), 8000-(1/8000sec.)

That's allot, I guess that's why it overwhelms me. As a photographer are there common numbers to start with?? As I look at my photo's I can see where it start's to blur the blades on the fan.. but I had no clue where to start when I was taking the photo's. I know this was a mouthful, but you all are always so great when it comes to me asking questions. Thanks.

 

[photo_chick]

One of the first things I do when I get my new camera is change the settings for ISO, shutter speed and aperture to move in whole stop increments. Some people like half stop increments, some people like third stop. I like a whole stop becasue it's easier for me to work with in my head. If you feel like you're on information overload, whole stops might work for you.

As to where I start with shutter speed, 1/focal length is the general guide for a starting point. Then I increase the shutter speed as I need to from there to stop motion, or slow it down if I want to show motion blur.

 

[kgreen]

That makes perfect sense! Thank you, I am going to change the setting to whole stop increments, & see if that helps.

As to where I start with shutter speed, 1/focal length is the general guide for a starting point. Then I increase the shutter speed as I need to from there to stop motion, or slow it down if I want to show motion blur.

Not sure if I understand.. does that mean start with 1 second & then increase or decrease fom there? Thanks

 

[OKW Lover]

In addition to the interrelationship of shutter speed and aperture you've already noted, the other significance of selecting a shutter speed is to stop motion (again as you've noted) and to minimize the effects of camera motion.

Depending on how steady you are, and how "long" your lens is you should experiment with hand-holding the camera and using various shutter speeds to see the lowest you can use and still get a non-blurry picture. With many people this is about 1/60th of a second. Others will tell you they can hand hold much slower than that but only your experience is what matters to your pictures.

 

[photo_chick]

That makes perfect sense! Thank you, I am going to change the setting to whole stop increments, & see if that helps.


Not sure if I understand.. does that mean start with 1 second & then increase or decrease fom there? Thanks

1/focal length refers to the fractions of a second. Just insert the focal length as the denominator. If you have a focal length of 100mm, you start your decision on what shutter speed to use at 1/100. If it's 60mm, you start at 1/60. And so on.

Now this rule of thumb tells you generally what is needed to overcome camera shake. If you want to stop motion on top of that you will have to go a little faster. Like if I was shooting a parade with a 100mm I might shoot at 1/300. And if you want to go slower than the 1/focal length rule you generally need to use a tripod, or some other method to help alleviate camera shake from being hand held. And like stated above, there is a minimum many people can hand hold. In general it's 1/30 - 1/60. Some people can go lower, like I know I can go to 1/15 with certain lenses. It's one of those areas where you have to figure out how low you can go.

 

[kgreen]

Ah ha! It just clicked, I understand that perfectly. I'll have to add this to my notes. Thank you both very much! Thank you once again kind friends of the dis boards!

 

[GrumpyGoat]

There are more factors that influence the background of an image than just the aperture. Sure, small aperture-sharp background, large aperture-blurry background is a basic rule of thumb, but the background is also influenced by lens focal length and the construction of the lens itself.

As far as shutter speeds are concerned, the traditional one-stop shutter speeds that were used on all mechanical shutter film cameras were as follows (in seconds):

1/1000, 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, and one...

When shutters became electronically controlled and construction of them went from horizontal-travel cloth curtains to vertical-travel metal curtains, it became possible to increase the number of interim settings to give an almost infinite number of shutter speeds. All of this, combined with an increased number of possible aperture settings, allows the photographer more precise control over exposure.

We've never had it so good...