Handheld shooting

Just curious to know the following.

What is the lowest shutter speed you are most comfortable shooting at, handheld, before resorting to a tripod? This scenario in late afternoon, outdoor portraiture, with or without IS.

Otherwise, in general.

Thanks

I am a newbie ~ but I think it also depends on if the subject is moving and whether you are using a flash or not...

A general rule of thumb is to not allow a shutterspeed slower than the focal length. So when shooting a 300mm, keep shutter speeds faster than 1/300 second.

I say general rule because some will be able to do better than others based on their health and technique and whether, or not, they use a flash or IS lens.

Naturalist wrote in post #9091040
A general rule of thumb is to not allow a shutterspeed slower than the focal length. So when shooting a 300mm, keep shutter speeds faster than 1/300 second.

I say general rule because some will be able to do better than others based on their health and technique and whether, or not, they use a flash or IS lens.

Thanks for that general rule of thumb. I was just curious as to others comfort levels.

I find myself able to get crisp shots even with fairly slow shutter speeds, 1/50, 1/60. Keeping elbows in, steady stance and with the IS on. Wanted to see what others comfort level was when handheld is preferred.

It depends.

I can (in good conditions) get a handheld shutter speed of 1/5 - 1 sec at 50mm with a pretty sharp picture (no IS on any of my lenses).

Do i want to all the time? No because it can be uncomfortable trying to maintain it.

I would say use a tripod if you feel you need it, dont worry about other folks

There's one big variable that you left out of your question, namely focal length. I can shoot a heck of a lot slower with my 17-85 than I can with my 100-400. Your handheld speeds of 1/50, 1/60, don't really say too much as you don't state which lens you're using.

I thought the rule of thumb was twice the focal length of the lens you are using. However, I can do a realitively good job with the 70-200 f/4 + 1.4 TC at 1/80.

crn3371 wrote in post #9091625
There's one big variable that you left out of your question, namely focal length. I can shoot a heck of a lot slower with my 17-85 than I can with my 100-400. Your handheld speeds of 1/50, 1/60, don't really say too much as you don't state which lens you're using.

Yes, your correct. Maybe I should have thrown in 50-75mm range as noted portaiture but did state "Otherwise, in general". I would not assume someone prefer to handhold, versus tripod mounted, a 100-400 mm lens for portraiture in dim lighting.

My question however was meant to be general. What is your comfort level with handheld shooting, list your favorite lens or various lenses if you like, as light is falling before resorting to a tripod. My lens is a 28-135mm ef and feel comfortable handholding down to 1/50 for portraiture but not below if tripod available. I begin to lose some detail which is easily seen when testing by photographing typed lettering.

Thanks

The rule of thumb is based upon format of the camera...
135/FF = 1/FL
ASP-C = (1/(FL*1.6)
APS-H = (/(FL*1.3)

But you need to understand that the rule of thumb does not apply to someone who is extra shakey, nor does it apply to someone who is extra steady. Nor would it apply to Mr. Average when the blood sugar is low and the normally steady body has the shakes because of it, nor when the muscles are fatigued after a full day of holding a heavy long lens and body.

The rule of thumb also as affected by the presence of IS, and it is also affected by WHICH of the IS lenses is being used (older IS with 2EV of benefit is not as well compensating as newer generations of IS which can provide 4EV of benefit)

I'm happy to handhold my nifty fifty down to 1/4s in certain circumstances, but it's not something I would comfortably do on a regular basis. 1/10s and above is more manageable.

Having used a 100-400 zoom recently, which is an awful lot bigger and heavier, I resolutely stuck to the reciprocal guideline, shooting at 1/125 at the wide end, and above 1/400s at the long end, and that was with the IS switched on.

1/6 second handheld.

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But doesn't it also depend of how many Mpixels the camera has ?
The 10M of the 40D is the same that the 20M of the 5D II when cropped. (approx. of course)
So why would a 1/100s shot would be not sharp on a 40D and sharp on a 5D II with the same lens ?