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The 500 Rule
How many use this? Shutter speed=500/focal length. Sep 07 21 08:09 am Link As a rule of thumb, your shutter speed should not exceed your lens' focal length when you are shooting handheld. For example, if you are shooting with a 200mm lens, your shutter speed should be 1/200th of a second or faster to produce a non blurry image. (Modern cameras with image stabilization may let you even cheat a little and use a slower shutter speed). The formula is for shooting full frame 35mm cameras. You'd need to convert the field of view ratio from other size cameras before doing the math. In other words an 50mm lens on most APS-C cameras would act like a 75mm lens, so the formula would be 1/75 and instead of 1/50th. I'm not sure why anyone would use the formula Shutter speed=500/focal length. Shooting with a 50mm lens would mean a shutter speed of 10 seconds. Shooting with a 100mm lens would mean 5 seconds 500mm lens would be 1 second. Those times are waaaaaaaay to slow to hand hold in an average scene, and even too slow if used with a tripod. Sep 07 21 08:27 am Link SayCheeZ! wrote: I don't think you mean "Should not exceed" at the beginning of your post as 1/focal length should be the minimum. Sep 07 21 09:50 am Link Bill Sylvester wrote: Yep, sorry 'bout that, it was phrased poorly as in 'exceed' meaning a larger number... ie: 1/50 is larger than 1/500 but 1/50th sec as a shutter speed would be foolish on a 500mm lens in most cases. Sep 07 21 11:11 am Link With very high Megapixel cameras, FX 36+ I'm not finding the 1/focal length for the shutter speed to be very successful for hand holding. Now this is without any stabilization but I prefer 1.5x/focal length for better sharpness from any micro movements. Sep 07 21 12:28 pm Link 63fotos wrote: I don't. Sep 07 21 12:42 pm Link i dont follow that rule. Sep 07 21 02:18 pm Link I had heard the reciprocal rule … minimum shutter speed is reciprocal of lens focal length, so 1/30 for a 35mm lens, 1/250 for a 200 etc. It’s a guideline, not a rule. Depends a lot on the camera platform….a SLR is much more prone to shake than a rangefinder or mirrorless camera. A medium format SLR is more prone to shake than a small format. I have hndheld a Leica M with a 50mm lens at 1/8 second and results were tack sharp, but that is a lot of concentration on camera technique. It doesn’t happen accidentally. Generally I try to avoid handholding if possible all together. I don’t rely on this guideline to inform what shutter speed I choose…I’m almost always more worried that my depth of field be right, and shutter speed will fall where it falls. If it is too low to be practical, I will brace on something, use a tripod, raise my ISO, add light, whatever, Sep 07 21 04:36 pm Link I absolutely consider focal length when considering shutter speed, but other factors usually matter as much or more. Sync speed will be a primary consideration shooting with strobes. I may shoot a moving river on a tripod a 1 second, because I don’t want to freeze the water. I might shoot sports at 1/500 or faster, light permitting to freeze action as much as possible, even if I’m using a shorter focal length, If I’m shooting table top with continuous lights, I’m probably going to use a lower shutter speed, go for depth of field and lower iso. I might shoot at 1/30 handheld f 2.8, high iso, 75 mm and brace myself best I can because the light is low, and that’s the best compromise I can get. So, no, I don’t rely on any single rule when it comes to choosing shutter speed. Sep 07 21 05:21 pm Link Abbitt Photography wrote: Agreed ! Sep 07 21 05:36 pm Link 500/focal length? So shutter speed for a 500mm lens would be 1 second, and for a 50mm lens would be 10 seconds? That does not sound right. Sep 07 21 10:47 pm Link Sep 08 21 01:28 am Link 63fotos wrote: I don't do or have any interest in astrophotography. Since this site is by its very name is about models, why do you bring it up? Sep 08 21 06:18 am Link Mark Salo wrote: No Sep 08 21 07:27 am Link Dan Howell wrote: I’ve seen other photography threads, on this forum, that are not related to portrait photography. Sep 08 21 07:34 am Link Dan Howell wrote: Model Mayhem may indeed be very model centric, but it does have a forum dedicated to photography talk where this topic was appropriately placed. Sep 08 21 10:12 am Link I learned it as the Reciprocal focal length rule https://www.borrowlenses.com/blog/recip … er-photos/ Sep 08 21 11:24 pm Link I'm a rebel, I take what the circumstances give me. Sometimes, the conditions require a rather slow shutter speed and a tripod isn't convenient or a little shutter drag with fill flash makes for a nice effect. Do it long enough and you learn what works and what does not. Sep 09 21 08:45 am Link Brooklyn Bridge Images wrote: No, not the same thing. The OP was referencing a specific rule for astrophotography, not hand-held general photography. There are numerous and lengthy forums for that kind of photography. Most here don't know or use this formula. Those that do give a hoot about this can find oodles and gobs of information elsewhere. Sep 10 21 04:30 am Link Never heard of that rule, did hear that handheld shutter speed should be not be less than the focal length of the lens being used. BUT, it's not a hard and fast rule, depends on the physical condition of the holder. Things like age, medical conditions, and muscle control and strength all enter into it. As I got older my minimum handheld shutter speed has gone up, right now I'm using a tripod whenever possible. P.S. Using your formula if I'm using a 85mm lens then it's 500/85 or a minimum shutter speed of 5.88. Really ? I dare anyone to handhold and get a sharp image with a 85mm lens at 1/6 of a second. Sep 10 21 09:43 am Link Dan Howell wrote: Thank you. That makes OP's context-free question make a lot more sense, as the only 'rule' I've run across even close to that was the 1/focal length handholding guideline--1/500th what was asked about. Sep 11 21 06:48 pm Link I wasn't familiar with it, but then I haven't done any Astrophotography. For those who, like me, were curious for a little more information, it's related to the movement of the stars as the earth rotates during a long exposure (assuming you're shooting with a tripod). The angle of the lens that you're using has a bearing on how many seconds you can get away with before the stars turn into star trails. "What is the 500 Rule? The 500 rule is used to measure the maximum exposure time you can shoot before the stars become blurry or before star trails appear. Setting the shutter speed for longer than allowed by this rule will result in images that do not have sharp stars. The 500 rule can be useful when photographing the night sky on a fixed tripod. The technique works on images of many focal lengths (up to about 200mm), but can be especially effective when photographing the Milky Way with a wide-angle camera lens." [...] https://astrobackyard.com/the-500-rule/ Sep 11 21 08:17 pm Link Edited due to double post Sep 12 21 12:29 am Link I have a MSM star tracker, so I am able to get away not following the 1/500 rule. Using the star tracker, I have been able use shutter drag, light painting, strobe freezes, and high focal length to have a smaller view angle, using very long exposure times, all in the same single shot; like using a 300mm on a 4 minute exposure with zero star trails. NOTE: The 500 rule is more accurate at the stars 45 degrees from the pole star. Stars further out have a "faster" speed (angular displacement), while those closer to the poles move slower across the night sky. So the closer the star you're shooting is to the pole, you might be able to calculate max exposure by using the "700 rule" or the "1000 rule". For stars further away, you'll have to use "300 rule, or "200 rule", or even "100 rule". Sep 12 21 11:53 am Link |
