Slow shutter hand-holding

In low light conditions when you don't have a tripod handy, the temptation is to to keep widening the aperture or slow down the shutter speed and hope for the best. At such times, it would be helpful to know how slow a shutter speed you can safely hand-hold and still get a sharp picture.

WHAT'S THE SHUTTER SPEED'S HAND-HOLD LIMIT?

How slow can your shutter speed be without needing the firm support of a tripod? It depends on the size of your lens and how close you are to your subject.

There is a simple formula you can use for most general photography. The slowest recommended shutter speed with a hand-held camera is the reciprocal of the focal length of the lens you are using, or as close to it as you can get. You don't have to be a math whiz to figure this out. It’s easy. With a 500 mm lens, your slowest hand-held shutter speed is 1/500 sec., and with a 50 mm lens, it's 1/60 sec., which is as close to 1/50 sec. as you can get with most cameras.

This guideline works well when your subject is relatively far away, but when you are shooting close-up pictures at life-size, you will find that any camera movement is magnified, and hand-holding will require faster shutter speeds than the reciprocal of your lens' focal length. (See note below entitled "Adjusting shutter speed when using a zoom lens")

BRACE YOURSELF WHEN USING SLOW SHUTTER SPEEDS

You can use even slower shutter speeds by turning yourself into a tripod. Support yourself on or against a solid object (a vehicle or tree, for instance) and brace your arms against your body to keep the camera from moving. You can also kneel or sit, then brace your elbows with your knee(s). Shutter speeds as slow as 1/15 sec can be successfully, but not necessarily reliably, used if you employ these techniques, particularly if you are using a wide-angle or normal lens. Telephoto lenses require a tripod or other camera support at such slow shutter speed.

USE THE CAMERA'S SELF-TIMER

If your camera is equipped with a self-timer - the kind that allows you to set a timer which gives you anywhere from four to ten seconds to get into the picture yourself before the shutter releases - use it for slow shutter speed hand-holding. It will ensure there will be no camera movement caused by tripping the shutter release. You just have to hold the camera rock steady while the timer is on.

HAVE SOMEONE ELSE PRESS THE CABLE RELEASE

In a similar manner to using the self-timer, the shutter can be released without causing camera movement if you hold the camera firmly in both hands, bracing yourself against a solid object, with a cable release attached, and have someone else press the cable release at the right moment to make the exposure.

Be sure the person doesn't pull on the cable release, which will cause cause camera movement. Ask them to simply press the release at the proper moment for exposure.

IF YOU CAN'T HAND-HOLD WITHOUT THE RISK OF CAMERA SHAKE

When you just can't hand-hold without camera shake affecting your pictures, you should change to a faster-speed film to be able to use faster shutter speeds. Digital photographers need only to set their camera's ISO sensitivity to a faster speed. You might also be able to use your camera's flash.

PLACE YOUR CAMERA ON A SOLID SUPPORT

You may also be able to support the camera itself on a solid object, like a tree trunk or wall, and still frame the image the way you want to. If the surface is uneven, pad it with a jacket, bean bag or some thick material that will allow you to hold your camera level.

Press down firmly with your hands before you depress the shutter button to avoid any camera shake.

If all else fails, perhaps you can place the camera on the ground if it is dry and won't raise a dust cloud. This may involve you in lying flat out sideways with your eye to the view finder, but you will improve your chances for a shake-free picture.

Adjusting shutter speed when using a zoom lens

If you are successfully hand-holding using a shutter speed of 1/30 second with a zoom lens adjusted to a wide angle or normal lens setting, and then you zoom in to a longer telephoto setting, you must increase your shutter speed to continue hand-holding.

If you zoom in by say eight times, the shutter speed needed for hand-holding is calculated as follows: (1/30 x 8) or 1/240 second. If you zoom in by ten times, your new hand-holding shutter speed would be (1/30 X 10) or 1/300 second.