Something I'm missing about shutter speed...

I feel silly asking this but...

I have an XT and a great manual explaining how to get creative photos with different shutter speeds, but the form of which they use for speed is 1/8th of a second, 1/30th of second etc...

On my camera, it's merely just a number...like on TV mode...I'm getting for ex: #60, up to #4000...so anyone know what the relation of these fractions and numbers is? If I want my shutter open for 1/2 a second, what would I set it to?

It's all for an experiment, but also time to learn

On your display what you normally see is in faction of a sec. The 1/ part is left out because it is understood. But, I think the place a symbol next to the number when it display whole secs.

It'll go 4000->160->60->8->0"4->2"... as in 1/4000, 1/160, 1/60, 1/8, the 0"4 is .4 seconds and the 2" is 2 seconds. Obviously I'm missing alot of inbetween numbers there, they're just examples.

To change them set TV mode and rotate the control knob in either direction.. you'll see the numbers in the viewfinder change.

Oooooooh I just wasn't turning the dial enough All this time and I never really needed a longer shutter speed...but I do tonight, so thanks bud

Ohhhh okay, that makes sense now

No probs