Shutter speed on 85mm 1.8

[Snurk71]

How low of a shutter speed do you think I can get away with shooting still subjects (plan on opening aperature to 2.0 or 2.2)?

Lens will be on an XT (1.6 crop sensor), by the way.

Thanks

 

[Furgus]

Good rule of thumb is the shutter speed that is the same as the focal length. So I would say 1/60-1/100 would be good. Of course they are just guidelines. A lot depends on your hand holding technique. Play around with it, if you get good sharp pics at 1/30 then that is good for you.

 

[mabas9395]

Have that lens and love it. The other thing you have to watch besides low shutter speed is the narrow depth of field. I have more shots that are garbage due to misfocusing the narrow DOF than due to low shutter speed.

But when you get a good shot, it comes out BEAUTIFUL with that lens. One of the best quality non-L lenses out there.

 

[Snurk71]

I'm hoping I don't have a DOF issue. I'm shooting a bodybuilding contest, so all of the competitors should be in a line and not at differing distances from me (shoot 3-4 at a time in a group, not the entire line of all 10ish).

But I will definitely watch that aperature to make sure the competitors on the ends don't go out of focus.

 

[Anewman]

I'm hoping I don't have a DOF issue. I'm shooting a bodybuilding contest, so all of the competitors should be in a line and not at differing distances from me (shoot 3-4 at a time in a group, not the entire line of all 10ish).

But I will definitely watch that aperature to make sure the competitors on the ends don't go out of focus.

DOF increases with distance, so if you are 4feet away taking a head shot @F/1.8, yes DOF will be very limited. But if you are 40feet away taking whole body shots of multiple competitors you will have much more DOF available.

If you are sitting moderately centered you should be able to get everyone on stage in focus. If you are on the side of the stage getting the bodybuilders profiles you might have issues. BUT imo if you learn how to focus on the one you want(your wife), it makes them really stand out(having the rest out of focus).

 

[AustinTed]

Great lens. It really helps with low light. I used it at dusk and people asked me how I made it look like day-time with this lens. I haven't had much of a problem with DOF when far enough away to do an upper body shot, but it is still tight. For example, someone's face might be in focus, but the back of their neck is not. Shutter speeds of 1/80 to 1/100 should be ok. Lower than that is challenging. I did one at 1/30s; I was actually able to hold the camera steady enough, but then ended up with a little blur from subject movement.

This lens has a lot of fans. It's also recognized as a good portrait lens and often a staple lens for low light shooting.