Understanding the Aperture settings & Shutter speeds.

 

Shutter speeds

 

Definition: The speed at which the shutter of the camera opens and closes to allow in light. Expressed on the controls as the denominator of the fraction. i.e. "500" is equal to 1/500 of a second.

 

Shutter speed is measured in seconds – or in most cases fractions of seconds. The bigger the denominator the faster the speed (ie 1/1000 is much faster than 1/30).

 

 

The following list provides an overview of common photographic uses for standard shutter speeds.

 

1/8000 s: The fastest speed available in production SLR cameras as of 2009. Used to take sharp photographs of very fast subjects, such as birds or planes, under good lighting conditions, with an ISO number of 1,000 or more and a large aperture lens.

 

1/4000 s: The fastest speed available in prosumer SLR cameras as of 2009. Used to take sharp photographs of fast subjects, such as sportspeople or vehicles, under good lighting conditions and with an ISO setting of up to 800.

 

1/2000 s and 1/1000 s: Used to take sharp photographs of moderately fast subjects under normal lighting conditions.1/1000 s: is the slowest speed that will reliably prevent image shake in unstabilized handheld shots.

 

1/500 s and 1/250 s: Used to take sharp photographs of people in motion in everyday situations. 1/250 s is the fastest speed useful for panning; it also allows for a larger aperture (up to f/11) in motion shots, and hence for a narrower depth of field.1/125 s: This speed, and longer ones are no longer useful for freezing motion.

 

1/125 s: is used to obtain greater depth of field and overall sharpness in landscape photography, and is also often used for panning shots. It requires a camera with image stabilization to be used effectively for handheld shots.

 

1/60 s: Used for panning shots, for images taken under dim lighting conditions, and for available light portraits.

 

1/30 s: Used for panning subjects moving slower than 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) and for available light photography. Images taken at this and slower speeds normally require a tripod or other camera support to be sharp.

 

1/15 s and 1/8 s: This and slower speeds are useful for photographs other than panning shots where motion blur is employed for deliberate effect, or for taking sharp photographs of immobile subjects under bad lighting conditions with a tripod-supported camera.

 

1/4 s, 1/2 s and 1 s: Also mainly used for motion blur effects and/or low-light photography, but only practical with a tripod-supported camera.

 

1 minute to several hours: Used with a mechanically fixed camera in astrophotography and for certain special effects.

 

The longer exposures ( like 1 second ) give much more light to the film than a 1/1000 of a second exposure. So even though the number may look bigger, don't be deceived!

 

Examples:

 

A half second exposure is ONE STOP darker than a one-second exposure.

 

A 1/125 exposure is TWO STOPS brighter than a 1/500 exposure.

 

A 1/1000 exposure is THREE STOPS darker than a 1/125 exposure.