In article
>In article <4fubtm$el1@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu>, d_ruether@hotmail.com (Bob
>Neuman) wrote:
>[...edit...]
>> I pointed out an alternative (to using any tripod)
>> that I prefer to use, since many people don't realize that
>> wide-angles can be successfully hand-held at relatively slow
>> speeds. (When you get down around 6-8mm on 35mm, one second
>> hand-held exposures become possible!)
>Along these lines, I remember reading somewhere that a rule-of-thumb >for determining the limit of what shutter speeds one can hand hold is
>slowest shutter speed (in s.) = 1/focal length (in mm)
>So, with a 50 mm lens, the limit is around 1/50 (i.e. you can handhold
>1/60 s or maybe 1/30 s if your hands are steady, but 1/15 is likely to >come out blurred [yeah, I know, occasionally you will be lucky and it >will come out sharp], unless you can brace it somehow, and sometimes >will be blurred even then)
>The limit for a 28 mm lens would be 1/28 s, which would say that you >can handhold 1/30, and maybe 1/15, but don't count on 1/8.
>Likewise for a 200 mm lens, it would say that you can handhold 1/250, >and maybe 1/125, but don't count on going any slower.
I find that the rule of thumb mentioned does work for slightly wide
(28mm) through slightly long (135mm), but above and below, what does
or does not work diverges from the rule of thumb prediction, i.e.,
a 24mm can be reasonably easily held at 1/15th (as can a 28mm), a 20mm very easily and reliably at 1/15th (and reasonably well at 1/8th), and so on down to 8mm or so held reliably at 1/4 (and reasonably well at 1/2, or even 1 second). At the other end, things get worse than the
rule of thumb, i.e., a 200mm can be held reasonably well at 1/250th, a
300mm requires more like 1/500th minimum, and a 500mm requires more
than 1/1000th for reliable hand-holding, alas. If you need to hand-hold
slower speeds, shooting 4-5 identical frames usually gets you a sharp
frame or two. (And if you just have a good day...., like the wedding
reception I shot almost entirely at 1/4 and 1/8 second with a 35mm f1.4
and a 20mm f2.8 under candle light, and got almost every photo sharp -
but I wouldn't want to have to do that every day!!!)
Hope This Helps