Page 49 - Learning How to Photograph with your DSLR Camera 2nd Edition Jan 2021

As you can see from the above graphic the numbers are represented as fractions of a
second to full seconds. Each stop change will double or halve the light with each full
stop.
Higher shutter speeds, for example, 1/250, 1/500. 1/100 each halve the amount of light
because the shutter stays open for less time with each stop change. This requires more
light to enable freezing action.

In decreasing order like 1/4, 1/2, 1″, the light is doubled as the shutter is open for a
longer period of time. Longer shutter times are required for low light situations or to blur
an image

Minimum Shutter Speed

Although different shutter speeds are recommended for hand holding your camera for a
sharp image, there is no one shutter speed that will guarantee this. Use your
lens’s effective focal length, which is found by multiplying the focal length by your
camera’s crop factor.

Full Frame Body/Lens

It is simply the reciprocal of the focal length of the lens you are using.

Lens Minimum Shutter Speed

50 mm 1/60*

500 mm 1/500

*since there is no 1/50, we move to the next stop up which is 1/60

Crop Sensor Camera/Lens

For crop sensor cameras a calculation is needed. The multiplier is a fixed number
depending on your camera model. You can find your crop sensor multiplier online with a
Google search, or refer to your manual.

Lens Multiplication Factor Minimum Shutter Speed

50 mm X 1.5 (Nikon) X 1.6 (Canon) = 1/80*

500 mm X 1.5 (Nikon) X 1.6 (Canon) = 1/800*

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