Focal Length to shutter speed to avoid shake

[Ross Dillon]

Before camera stabilization became a thing, to avoid seeing camera shake in the images the rule of thumb I was taught was to shoot a shutter speed equal to or faster than the focal length, i.e. a 400mm lens means shooting no slower than 1/400s. I've since read that with today's higher resolution camera that maybe we should double that (400mm = 1/800s).

Does this mean that crop factor kicks in as well; shooting M43 (2x crop factor) now bumps that up to 400mm = 1/1600s?

I ask because I went on a safari with my OM-2 MK II and a non-pro 100-400mm telezoom. I say non-pro because it doesn't have the IS Sync that the pro lenses have. I lost a lot of shots that I thought should have come out...I had inadvertently left my custom setting shutter speed set for a much shorter lens but a few stops of IBIS should have saved them but in many cases didn't.

Note I tried to back off from 400mm as I'd heard that the lens was soft at full zoom, but in the heat of the moment I didn't always remember, so I'm pretty sure that contributed to many of my "lost" shots.

The marketing brochures for the lens was confusing in terms of how much total IS one would get with that lens/camera combo...I even reached out to OM systems to get their answer and they tap danced around the question. I've since heard that per anecdotal use® the lens should have it's IS turned off as it sometimes fights the camera. Really cranky that I hadn't found that tidbit before I left for Africa (if in fact it's true)

 

[Ross Dillon]

Can you post a few problem shots. That might well clarify the issue.

One unedited shot. The focus point was dead-on his head. 400mm @ 1/1250 (he was a long ways away). IS was on (OM Mode 4, whatever that is). With even a couple of stops of IS I would have expected better...but I think this is a prime example of this lens being soft at the long end rather than camera shake.

The OM1m2 stabilization is excellent. I can handhold my 150-600 at 1/160 sec pretty easily, even though with IS off I have enough shake that I can't keep a subject in the finder. I don't think that's your issue here.

I don't think you have a focus issue, because I don't see anyplace in focus.

I suppose the lens could be soft - although I'm skeptical that it's as soft as the image would suggest. Do you have a filter mounted, or a polarizer. If so, I'd remove those first.

This is a very large animal quite small in the frame, and my best guess is that you're seeing the effect of atmospheric distortion at your long shooting distance. If so, there's not much you can do about it.

--

Sherm
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P950 album

P900 album RX10iv album
OM1.2 150-600 album

That very well could be true I hadn't considered that it wasn't a hot or windy day, the usual culprits

--
Roscoe
Big ones eat the little ones, little ones got to be fast. - The Radiators

rossdillon

Retired USAF, hobbiest photographer, Hope you enjoy my Pictures!

www.rossdillon.smugmug.com

 

[CarlosU]

I'd say atmosphere first, then focus issue BECAUSE of the heat - shooting long above the heat moist grass

 

[jjbinx]

anytime or place I'm shooting anything that's important to me I always take some test shots and chimp in the viewfinder with a magnified view.

I find this is most important when I'm using long lenses and my shutter speeds are around or below 1/(FLx2), ie in the range where I know that stabilisation by the camera and by me could be marginal.

jj

 

[BudgetTraveller]

The rule 1/2xFL on considers a 1:1 magnification factor for MFT. Meaning when you are shooting @ 400mm at very close distance about 5m (meters), then you are going to look at it at a magnification factor equivalent to a 800m FF lens. So the rule of thumb then would be to shoot @ 1/800sec and above. If you do not crop or need to enlarge it beyond 800mm eqv FL, then 1/800sec and above would be good enough to reduce camera shake and maintain per pixel sharpness.

However, we do not buy a 100-400mm just to shoot at 1:1 magnification factor. When we shoot wildlife, most of the time, we simply can not get very close to wildlife. For safety reasons and also to respect the boundaries for certain wildlife species. So sometimes, we need to shoot at much longer distances and then we crop. When we crop, you are no longer looking at it at a 1:1 magnification factor.

Atmospheric haze will often soften images at longer focal lengths. Usually it is distances beyond 20-25m and sometimes over a body of rocks and a body of water too. Not no matter how fast your shutter speeds is, you can not remove atmospheric haze.

If Atmospheric haze is not causing the softness, then you need to up the shutter speed based on your crop factor.

For example, we know that if you shoot @ 400mm with a 2x crop factor, you need to shoot at above 1/800sec. 1/2xFL. BUT most of the time, we crop further from 400mm to something equivalent to 600mm or 800mm (very small portion of the image). That means, it's now no longer @ 800mm, but @ 1200mm and @1600mm respectively. So now, you have to up the shutter speed to more than 1/1250 sec or 1/2500sec if you want to crop deeper.

A lot of people complained about the Panasonic 100-400mm and the Olympus 100-400 being soft @ 400mm. The main reason it's soft (it's got like a Vaseline look to it) due to too slow of a shutter speed. They shoot with 1/800sec, but then they crop in further to get the equivalent of a 1600mm reach. When you magnify your crop 2x from 800mm, you are going to show the movement that you didn't see before you crop. I've even shoot 1/4000sec @400mm and gotten very sharp images @ 400mm with my Panasonic when I crop further. It is trial and error, but when you crop, you are no longer looking at the subject at 1:1 magnification. It is more magnified and hence you need higher shutter speeds.

Hope this helps.

 

[ChuckB]

If Atmospheric haze is not causing the softness, then you need to up the shutter speed based on your crop factor.

There are two kinds of softness: focus and camera movement. I saw no signs of camera movement in the rhino photo, and my motion-fixer software did not either. Therefore a fast shutter speed would make no difference. It's either atmosphere, bad lens, or Vaseline. The OP should do some tests on a tripod to see if the lens is at fault.

 

[BudgetTraveller]

If Atmospheric haze is not causing the softness, then you need to up the shutter speed based on your crop factor.

There are two kinds of softness: focus and camera movement. I saw no signs of camera movement in the rhino photo, and my motion-fixer software did not either. Therefore a fast shutter speed would make no difference. It's either atmosphere, bad lens, or Vaseline. The OP should do some tests on a tripod to see if the lens is at fault.

If I look at it without pixel peeping, the sharpness on the Rhino is acceptable. The whole image could be sharper and this could be attributed due to some form of Atmospheric Haze and poor lighting. The lighting in this case, in my opinion, is harsh to begin with and therefore, there's no defined contrast between highlight and shadows that can help enhance acuity. It's not the kind of light I would shoot the Rhino under.

Actually, there are 3 kinds of softness; focus, camera movement and poor lighting (aka harsh daytime close to noon from 10:30 am to 2 pm). Sadly, many amateur wildlife photographers tend to choose this time rather than shooting early in the morning (6-8 am) or later at night (4:30pm till sundown). The OP took the Rhino shot @ 1:52 pm.

 

[Bobapingu]

The rule 1/2xFL on considers a 1:1 magnification factor for MFT. Meaning when you are shooting @ 400mm at very close distance about 5m (meters), then you are going to look at it at a magnification factor equivalent to a 800m FF lens. So the rule of thumb then would be to shoot @ 1/800sec and above. If you do not crop or need to enlarge it beyond 800mm eqv FL, then 1/800sec and above would be good enough to reduce camera shake and maintain per pixel sharpness.

However, we do not buy a 100-400mm just to shoot at 1:1 magnification factor. When we shoot wildlife, most of the time, we simply can not get very close to wildlife. For safety reasons and also to respect the boundaries for certain wildlife species. So sometimes, we need to shoot at much longer distances and then we crop. When we crop, you are no longer looking at it at a 1:1 magnification factor.

Atmospheric haze will often soften images at longer focal lengths. Usually it is distances beyond 20-25m and sometimes over a body of rocks and a body of water too. Not no matter how fast your shutter speeds is, you can not remove atmospheric haze.

If Atmospheric haze is not causing the softness, then you need to up the shutter speed based on your crop factor.

For example, we know that if you shoot @ 400mm with a 2x crop factor, you need to shoot at above 1/800sec. 1/2xFL. BUT most of the time, we crop further from 400mm to something equivalent to 600mm or 800mm (very small portion of the image). That means, it's now no longer @ 800mm, but @ 1200mm and @1600mm respectively. So now, you have to up the shutter speed to more than 1/1250 sec or 1/2500sec if you want to crop deeper.

A lot of people complained about the Panasonic 100-400mm and the Olympus 100-400 being soft @ 400mm. The main reason it's soft (it's got like a Vaseline look to it) due to too slow of a shutter speed. They shoot with 1/800sec, but then they crop in further to get the equivalent of a 1600mm reach. When you magnify your crop 2x from 800mm, you are going to show the movement that you didn't see before you crop. I've even shoot 1/4000sec @400mm and gotten very sharp images @ 400mm with my Panasonic when I crop further. It is trial and error, but when you crop, you are no longer looking at the subject at 1:1 magnification. It is more magnified and hence you need higher shutter speeds.

Hope this helps.

Absolutely!
I must admit, when deciding an appropriate SS for a bird at a distance, the need to increase SS for the inevitable cropping had never entered my mind.

 

[gary0319]

The rule 1/2xFL on considers a 1:1 magnification factor for MFT. Meaning when you are shooting @ 400mm at very close distance about 5m (meters), then you are going to look at it at a magnification factor equivalent to a 800m FF lens. So the rule of thumb then would be to shoot @ 1/800sec and above. If you do not crop or need to enlarge it beyond 800mm eqv FL, then 1/800sec and above would be good enough to reduce camera shake and maintain per pixel sharpness.

However, we do not buy a 100-400mm just to shoot at 1:1 magnification factor. When we shoot wildlife, most of the time, we simply can not get very close to wildlife. For safety reasons and also to respect the boundaries for certain wildlife species. So sometimes, we need to shoot at much longer distances and then we crop. When we crop, you are no longer looking at it at a 1:1 magnification factor.

Atmospheric haze will often soften images at longer focal lengths. Usually it is distances beyond 20-25m and sometimes over a body of rocks and a body of water too. Not no matter how fast your shutter speeds is, you can not remove atmospheric haze.

If Atmospheric haze is not causing the softness, then you need to up the shutter speed based on your crop factor.

For example, we know that if you shoot @ 400mm with a 2x crop factor, you need to shoot at above 1/800sec. 1/2xFL. BUT most of the time, we crop further from 400mm to something equivalent to 600mm or 800mm (very small portion of the image). That means, it's now no longer @ 800mm, but @ 1200mm and @1600mm respectively. So now, you have to up the shutter speed to more than 1/1250 sec or 1/2500sec if you want to crop deeper.

A lot of people complained about the Panasonic 100-400mm and the Olympus 100-400 being soft @ 400mm. The main reason it's soft (it's got like a Vaseline look to it) due to too slow of a shutter speed. They shoot with 1/800sec, but then they crop in further to get the equivalent of a 1600mm reach. When you magnify your crop 2x from 800mm, you are going to show the movement that you didn't see before you crop. I've even shoot 1/4000sec @400mm and gotten very sharp images @ 400mm with my Panasonic when I crop further. It is trial and error, but when you crop, you are no longer looking at the subject at 1:1 magnification. It is more magnified and hence you need higher shutter speeds.

Hope this helps.

Absolutely!
I must admit, when deciding an appropriate SS for a bird at a distance, the need to increase SS for the inevitable cropping had never entered my mind.

This may not be the best example, but it is what I normally use for BiFs at a distance. This is with my PL100-400 at 236mm, f/7.1 and 1/2500 sec, auto ISO. The reduced focal length is to be able to keep the bird in the frame and letting bird detect and all focus points do the tracking. The original image and the crop.

 

[Bobapingu]

The rule 1/2xFL on considers a 1:1 magnification factor for MFT. Meaning when you are shooting @ 400mm at very close distance about 5m (meters), then you are going to look at it at a magnification factor equivalent to a 800m FF lens. So the rule of thumb then would be to shoot @ 1/800sec and above. If you do not crop or need to enlarge it beyond 800mm eqv FL, then 1/800sec and above would be good enough to reduce camera shake and maintain per pixel sharpness.

However, we do not buy a 100-400mm just to shoot at 1:1 magnification factor. When we shoot wildlife, most of the time, we simply can not get very close to wildlife. For safety reasons and also to respect the boundaries for certain wildlife species. So sometimes, we need to shoot at much longer distances and then we crop. When we crop, you are no longer looking at it at a 1:1 magnification factor.

Atmospheric haze will often soften images at longer focal lengths. Usually it is distances beyond 20-25m and sometimes over a body of rocks and a body of water too. Not no matter how fast your shutter speeds is, you can not remove atmospheric haze.

If Atmospheric haze is not causing the softness, then you need to up the shutter speed based on your crop factor.

For example, we know that if you shoot @ 400mm with a 2x crop factor, you need to shoot at above 1/800sec. 1/2xFL. BUT most of the time, we crop further from 400mm to something equivalent to 600mm or 800mm (very small portion of the image). That means, it's now no longer @ 800mm, but @ 1200mm and @1600mm respectively. So now, you have to up the shutter speed to more than 1/1250 sec or 1/2500sec if you want to crop deeper.

A lot of people complained about the Panasonic 100-400mm and the Olympus 100-400 being soft @ 400mm. The main reason it's soft (it's got like a Vaseline look to it) due to too slow of a shutter speed. They shoot with 1/800sec, but then they crop in further to get the equivalent of a 1600mm reach. When you magnify your crop 2x from 800mm, you are going to show the movement that you didn't see before you crop. I've even shoot 1/4000sec @400mm and gotten very sharp images @ 400mm with my Panasonic when I crop further. It is trial and error, but when you crop, you are no longer looking at the subject at 1:1 magnification. It is more magnified and hence you need higher shutter speeds.

Hope this helps.

Absolutely!
I must admit, when deciding an appropriate SS for a bird at a distance, the need to increase SS for the inevitable cropping had never entered my mind.

This may not be the best example, but it is what I normally use for BiFs at a distance. This is with my PL100-400 at 236mm, f/7.1 and 1/2500 sec, auto ISO. The reduced focal length is to be able to keep the bird in the frame and letting bird detect and all focus points do the tracking. The original image and the crop.

Nicely anticipated. A good argument for a zoom actually.

 

[Ross Dillon]

If Atmospheric haze is not causing the softness, then you need to up the shutter speed based on your crop factor.

There are two kinds of softness: focus and camera movement. I saw no signs of camera movement in the rhino photo, and my motion-fixer software did not either. Therefore a fast shutter speed would make no difference. It's either atmosphere, bad lens, or Vaseline. The OP should do some tests on a tripod to see if the lens is at fault.

If I look at it without pixel peeping, the sharpness on the Rhino is acceptable. The whole image could be sharper and this could be attributed due to some form of Atmospheric Haze and poor lighting. The lighting in this case, in my opinion, is harsh to begin with and therefore, there's no defined contrast between highlight and shadows that can help enhance acuity. It's not the kind of light I would shoot the Rhino under.

Actually, there are 3 kinds of softness; focus, camera movement and poor lighting (aka harsh daytime close to noon from 10:30 am to 2 pm). Sadly, many amateur wildlife photographers tend to choose this time rather than shooting early in the morning (6-8 am) or later at night (4:30pm till sundown). The OP took the Rhino shot @ 1:52 pm.

I wish you better luck then. I went where and when the jeep went

 

[Ross Dillon]

The rule 1/2xFL on considers a 1:1 magnification factor for MFT. Meaning when you are shooting @ 400mm at very close distance about 5m (meters), then you are going to look at it at a magnification factor equivalent to a 800m FF lens. So the rule of thumb then would be to shoot @ 1/800sec and above. If you do not crop or need to enlarge it beyond 800mm eqv FL, then 1/800sec and above would be good enough to reduce camera shake and maintain per pixel sharpness.

However, we do not buy a 100-400mm just to shoot at 1:1 magnification factor. When we shoot wildlife, most of the time, we simply can not get very close to wildlife. For safety reasons and also to respect the boundaries for certain wildlife species. So sometimes, we need to shoot at much longer distances and then we crop. When we crop, you are no longer looking at it at a 1:1 magnification factor.

Atmospheric haze will often soften images at longer focal lengths. Usually it is distances beyond 20-25m and sometimes over a body of rocks and a body of water too. Not no matter how fast your shutter speeds is, you can not remove atmospheric haze.

If Atmospheric haze is not causing the softness, then you need to up the shutter speed based on your crop factor.

For example, we know that if you shoot @ 400mm with a 2x crop factor, you need to shoot at above 1/800sec. 1/2xFL. BUT most of the time, we crop further from 400mm to something equivalent to 600mm or 800mm (very small portion of the image). That means, it's now no longer @ 800mm, but @ 1200mm and @1600mm respectively. So now, you have to up the shutter speed to more than 1/1250 sec or 1/2500sec if you want to crop deeper.

A lot of people complained about the Panasonic 100-400mm and the Olympus 100-400 being soft @ 400mm. The main reason it's soft (it's got like a Vaseline look to it) due to too slow of a shutter speed. They shoot with 1/800sec, but then they crop in further to get the equivalent of a 1600mm reach. When you magnify your crop 2x from 800mm, you are going to show the movement that you didn't see before you crop. I've even shoot 1/4000sec @400mm and gotten very sharp images @ 400mm with my Panasonic when I crop further. It is trial and error, but when you crop, you are no longer looking at the subject at 1:1 magnification. It is more magnified and hence you need higher shutter speeds.

Hope this helps.

Absolutely!
I must admit, when deciding an appropriate SS for a bird at a distance, the need to increase SS for the inevitable cropping had never entered my mind.

Agreed, that's a very good point