Help with understanding shutter speed and f/

Alyssa230966 · Mar 14, 2005

I use to own the Sony Cybershot F828 and it was so much easier to understand! The shutter speed on it went all the way up to 6000 if I can remember correctly... I don't understand the shutter speeds on the D70? 1/60 1" 2".. what would the highest speed be at? Confusing stuff.. sorry I know I sound like a ******. haha And what does it mean when I make the f numbers go up, and go down?
Thanks for any help!

tlong3234 · Mar 14, 2005

Alyssa said:
I use to own the Sony Cybershot F828 and it was so much easier to
understand! The shutter speed on it went all the way up to 6000 if
I can remember correctly... I don't understand the shutter speeds
on the D70? 1/60 1" 2".. what would the highest speed be at?
Confusing stuff.. sorry I know I sound like a ******. haha And what
does it mean when I make the f numbers go up, and go down?
Thanks for any help!

Wow...here's a question I can actually answer.

Shutter speeds are generally fractions of a second. If your D70 shows 60 or 200, it is 1/60th of a second or 1/200th of a second. If you see 1" it means one full second. Obviously, 1" is going to leave the shutter open longer than say 1/60th. As a general rule, you need to use a shutter speed faster than the reciprocal of the focal lenth to prevent camera shake. In other words, if you have the kit lens at 60 mm, you want to use a shutter speed of 1/60th or faster, or you will need a tripod or other support. Also, faster shutter speeds freeze motion while slower shutter speeds can produce creative motion blur.

F numbers or apertures are also fractions. An aperture of 2.8 is reall 1/2.8 and is much larger and lets in more light than f/11 (1/11). The larger the opening (like f/2.8), the less DOF you get, meaning that your subject should be in focus, but things in front of or behing the subject will be blurred. This can be useful for portraits. If you are doing a landscape or a shot wher you want everything to be in focus, you would use a smaller aperture (like f/11).

I am currently reading "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. I would recommend it to you, too.
Hope this helps!
--
Tracey
http://traceylong.smugmug.com/

Gov · Mar 14, 2005

Alyssa said:
I use to own the Sony Cybershot F828 and it was so much easier to
understand! The shutter speed on it went all the way up to 6000 if
I can remember correctly... I don't understand the shutter speeds
on the D70? 1/60 1" 2".. what would the highest speed be at?
Confusing stuff.. sorry I know I sound like a ******. haha And what
does it mean when I make the f numbers go up, and go down?
Thanks for any help!

For the shutter speed, put a 1 over the number you see untill it shows this sign--" then that means seconds.

For example:

8000 means 1/8000th of a second
30 means 1/30th of a second
2.5" means two and one half seconds or 2.5 seconds.

When the f number goes up, you are DECREASING the size of the lens opening, and INCREASING the depth of field.

So from 2.8 to 4, you are making the lens opening smaller but increasing your DOF (depth of field)

I highly suggest you get your hands on the following book if you are serious about shooting with Manual settings (and you should be):

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0817463003/qid=1110858856/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-4998144-1053737?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Hope that helps, and if I did not answer toi your liking, let me know.

Gov

Kerry Pierce · Mar 14, 2005

Alyssa said:
I use to own the Sony Cybershot F828 and it was so much easier to
understand! The shutter speed on it went all the way up to 6000 if
I can remember correctly... I don't understand the shutter speeds
on the D70? 1/60 1" 2".. what would the highest speed be at?

The d70 shutter speeds go from 30seconds to 1/8000 of a second.

Alyssa230966 said:
Confusing stuff.. sorry I know I sound like a ******. haha And what
does it mean when I make the f numbers go up, and go down?

The f numbers relate to the aperture settings on the lens. When you make the numbers go up, you're making the aperture smaller.

It's no different than the 828, or any other camera that has full auto and various manual control modes.

Take a look at this page and see if it helps your understanding better. Actually, it would be a good idea if you browsed all of the glossary section of this site. Then, if you have more questions, ask away.

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Exposure/Exposure_01.htm

--
my gallery of so-so photos
http://www.pbase.com/kerrypierce/root

Alyssa230966 · Mar 17, 2005

thanks for the help and suggestion. I'll go check that book out asap. Any other books you would recommend for understanding the d70?

tlong3234 said:
Alyssa said:

I use to own the Sony Cybershot F828 and it was so much easier to
understand! The shutter speed on it went all the way up to 6000 if
I can remember correctly... I don't understand the shutter speeds
on the D70? 1/60 1" 2".. what would the highest speed be at?
Confusing stuff.. sorry I know I sound like a ******. haha And what
does it mean when I make the f numbers go up, and go down?
Thanks for any help!

Click to expand...

Wow...here's a question I can actually answer.
Shutter speeds are generally fractions of a second. If your D70
shows 60 or 200, it is 1/60th of a second or 1/200th of a second.
If you see 1" it means one full second. Obviously, 1" is going to
leave the shutter open longer than say 1/60th. As a general rule,
you need to use a shutter speed faster than the reciprocal of the
focal lenth to prevent camera shake. In other words, if you have
the kit lens at 60 mm, you want to use a shutter speed of 1/60th or
faster, or you will need a tripod or other support. Also, faster
shutter speeds freeze motion while slower shutter speeds can
produce creative motion blur.
F numbers or apertures are also fractions. An aperture of 2.8 is
reall 1/2.8 and is much larger and lets in more light than f/11
(1/11). The larger the opening (like f/2.8), the less DOF you get,
meaning that your subject should be in focus, but things in front
of or behing the subject will be blurred. This can be useful for
portraits. If you are doing a landscape or a shot wher you want
everything to be in focus, you would use a smaller aperture (like
f/11).
I am currently reading "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson.
I would recommend it to you, too.
Hope this helps!
--
Tracey
http://traceylong.smugmug.com/

Alyssa230966 · Mar 17, 2005

thanks, appreciate the help!

Gov said:
Alyssa said:

I use to own the Sony Cybershot F828 and it was so much easier to
understand! The shutter speed on it went all the way up to 6000 if
I can remember correctly... I don't understand the shutter speeds
on the D70? 1/60 1" 2".. what would the highest speed be at?
Confusing stuff.. sorry I know I sound like a ******. haha And what
does it mean when I make the f numbers go up, and go down?
Thanks for any help!

Click to expand...

For the shutter speed, put a 1 over the number you see untill it
shows this sign--" then that means seconds.

For example:

8000 means 1/8000th of a second
30 means 1/30th of a second
2.5" means two and one half seconds or 2.5 seconds.

When the f number goes up, you are DECREASING the size of the lens
opening, and INCREASING the depth of field.
So from 2.8 to 4, you are making the lens opening smaller but
increasing your DOF (depth of field)

I highly suggest you get your hands on the following book if you
are serious about shooting with Manual settings (and you should be):

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0817463003/qid=1110858856/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-4998144-1053737?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Hope that helps, and if I did not answer toi your liking, let me know.

Gov

leandroc76 · Mar 17, 2005

If those photos at deviantART are yours, your a genius. Those are some of the most beautiful shots I've seen.

I guess it takes beauty to create beauty, cause if that holds true I'm one ugly SOB!

The PPing is magnificant. Your eye for detail is inspiring.

Alyssa said:
tlong3234 said:

Alyssa said:

I use to own the Sony Cybershot F828 and it was so much easier to
understand! The shutter speed on it went all the way up to 6000 if
I can remember correctly... I don't understand the shutter speeds
on the D70? 1/60 1" 2".. what would the highest speed be at?
Confusing stuff.. sorry I know I sound like a ******. haha And what
does it mean when I make the f numbers go up, and go down?
Thanks for any help!

Click to expand...

Wow...here's a question I can actually answer.
Shutter speeds are generally fractions of a second. If your D70
shows 60 or 200, it is 1/60th of a second or 1/200th of a second.
If you see 1" it means one full second. Obviously, 1" is going to
leave the shutter open longer than say 1/60th. As a general rule,
you need to use a shutter speed faster than the reciprocal of the
focal lenth to prevent camera shake. In other words, if you have
the kit lens at 60 mm, you want to use a shutter speed of 1/60th or
faster, or you will need a tripod or other support. Also, faster
shutter speeds freeze motion while slower shutter speeds can
produce creative motion blur.
F numbers or apertures are also fractions. An aperture of 2.8 is
reall 1/2.8 and is much larger and lets in more light than f/11
(1/11). The larger the opening (like f/2.8), the less DOF you get,
meaning that your subject should be in focus, but things in front
of or behing the subject will be blurred. This can be useful for
portraits. If you are doing a landscape or a shot wher you want
everything to be in focus, you would use a smaller aperture (like
f/11).
I am currently reading "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson.
I would recommend it to you, too.
Hope this helps!
--
Tracey
http://traceylong.smugmug.com/

Click to expand...

vipin mayer · Mar 17, 2005

to start with , i believe ,you will be able to get more than enough from these 2 sites and links below. buying a costly book is a personal preferance, but in my openion a well explained/detailed book might confuse people (new to slr photography) more than it might help.

i learned a lot from these sites i must admit, and from the experienced people in this forum. so i ´ll say, u are gonna get used to the new cam adjustments and it´s usage pretty quickly. please check up the 2 sites and the detailed links. it´ll help you get the base....

site 1

http://www.photo.net/learn/

about shutter speed and aperture (EXPOSURE)

http://www.photo.net/making-photographs/exposure
------------------------------------

site 2

http://www.shortcourses.com/

http://www.shortcourses.com/choosing/controls/11.htm#Focus

------------
about depth of field( aperture adjustments)

http://www.shortcourses.com/using/sharphess/chapter2.htm

------------

short course on using the camera controls

http://www.shortcourses.com/using/index.htm

-----------

about shutter speed again

http://www.shortcourses.com/choosing/controls/11.htm

have a nice time taking photos, and please dont forget to share it.

goodday. VM

Alyssa230966 · Mar 18, 2005

Thank you! That really means a lot to me.

leandroc76 said:
I guess it takes beauty to create beauty, cause if that holds true
I'm one ugly SOB!

The PPing is magnificant. Your eye for detail is inspiring.

Alyssa said:

tlong3234 said:

Alyssa said:

I use to own the Sony Cybershot F828 and it was so much easier to
understand! The shutter speed on it went all the way up to 6000 if
I can remember correctly... I don't understand the shutter speeds
on the D70? 1/60 1" 2".. what would the highest speed be at?
Confusing stuff.. sorry I know I sound like a ******. haha And what
does it mean when I make the f numbers go up, and go down?
Thanks for any help!

Click to expand...

Wow...here's a question I can actually answer.
Shutter speeds are generally fractions of a second. If your D70
shows 60 or 200, it is 1/60th of a second or 1/200th of a second.
If you see 1" it means one full second. Obviously, 1" is going to
leave the shutter open longer than say 1/60th. As a general rule,
you need to use a shutter speed faster than the reciprocal of the
focal lenth to prevent camera shake. In other words, if you have
the kit lens at 60 mm, you want to use a shutter speed of 1/60th or
faster, or you will need a tripod or other support. Also, faster
shutter speeds freeze motion while slower shutter speeds can
produce creative motion blur.
F numbers or apertures are also fractions. An aperture of 2.8 is
reall 1/2.8 and is much larger and lets in more light than f/11
(1/11). The larger the opening (like f/2.8), the less DOF you get,
meaning that your subject should be in focus, but things in front
of or behing the subject will be blurred. This can be useful for
portraits. If you are doing a landscape or a shot wher you want
everything to be in focus, you would use a smaller aperture (like
f/11).
I am currently reading "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson.
I would recommend it to you, too.
Hope this helps!
--
Tracey
http://traceylong.smugmug.com/

Click to expand...

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Help with understanding shutter speed and f/

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