What shutter speed is "ok" to shoot freehand?

[bjanes]

There is no ONE answer to your question. It depends on:

- the body and lens combo used
-> some bodies have more or less vibratig mirrors/shutters, some bodies require a deeper push on the trigger which can generate vibrations,...
-> some lenses have a structure that affect negatively the overall balance of the combo and compromise the ability to shoot at low speeds hand held,

- the focal lenght in case of zoom lenses,

- the circle of confusion you are shooting for, which depends on how large you intend to print your image (but I assume you are aiming for perfect sharpness when reviewing the image at 100% on screen?)

- The person using the camera. Some people are a lot more stable than others naturally,

- The shooting technique: location of the hands on the lens, breathing timing,...

I shoot with a tripod 90% of the time, but when I don't, I typically set my D3 to A mode with auto ISO set at 1/60 sec when shooting with a 24-70 f2.8 zoom lens. I can afford to stay on the safe side like tihs thanks to the good high ISO image quality of the D3. I find that noise has less impact on image quality up to 3200 ISO than hand shake would.

I get about 95% of tack sharp results when viewed on screen at 100% with these settings.

Cheers,
Bernard
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

That's a very comprehensive general answer. The reciprocal of focal length that has often quoted has apparently never been subject to rigorous testing according [a href=\"http://www.imx.nl/photo/faq/]Erwin Puts[/url] (see the section "What are the most important sources of image degradation?") in his FAQ. He suggests at least 1/250 for 75 and 90mm, but that depends on the required sharpness as Bernard pointed out. The circle of confusion used in  most tables is quite lax, and changes markedly for 20/20 vision (Sean McHugh).

A related question is how much resolution in terms of lp/mm or megapixels you can get hand held under field conditions. Somewhere Erwin states that it is very difficult to get 40 lp/mm hand held under field conditions with a Leica, and that is as high as most MTF plots go. I suspect without any proof that the field resolution of the 1DsMIII hand held is no better than the D3. It would be interesting to have some quantitative data.

[Jonathan Wienke]

jejv,

Yes, that makes sense for sure. I used to shoot with a scope years ago, and that training of holding my breath before the shot stuck with me. It REALLY does help.

Try ti this way.
1. Breath in just a little more than normal.
2. Exhale 1/2 the breath and hold at that point.
3. Shoot.

Take two regular breaths before you do it again.

This works. Shooting with a gun and shooting with a camera have a lot in common writh regard to technique. If you have a .22 caliber pistol or rifle, take it out to the range. You'll find that the breathing and bracing techniques essential to hitting the target are directly applicable when shooting in low light with slow shutter and trying to minimize camera shake.

[Peter McLennan]

I saw a shot of the earth from orbit done with either a 300mm or 400mm lens.  The astronaut hand-held the shot at 1/4 second.  Not bad, considering he had to back-pan the shot as it moved underneath him.  I wish I had the URL.

[gunnar1]

I've shot tack sharp nightclub work at 1/50 handheld non-is, but on the other hand, sometimes it seems that I can't handhold an is lens at 1/100. Maybe it's my coffee intake, or my state of relaxation or something.

There are plenty of 'rules' and generalizations, but in the end it is really down to the person holding the camera at any given moment.

[DonWeston]

This may vary more than you know even to an individual. Things like caffeine intake or alcohol would have a significant effect on any person, young or old. IS OR VR is helpful but also my not be what you are asking about....I won't mention the "T" word.....

I am kind of curious as to why anyone would care what another shooter can shoot at handheld. I only care what I can shoot at, at any given scene. If some one can state that he can shoot a 500mm lens at 1/30 hypothetically speaking, what does that mean??? Does he have the same standards for sharpness as you do or me? What are his end uses of his images? How are his eyes functioning, and I don't mean he has poor eyesight, but does he interpret things the same way. Lots of factors enter in to this determination. My personal findings suggest I suggest I really need to use a tripod more, yes I used the word, I will go run and hide now....