38 votes
Accepted

Should changing the shutter speed affect the moon's color?

but why i can see little bit of orange color with shutter speed 1/400 ? My best guess is that you had the camera set to automatic white balance (AWB). In the 1/200s shot, the moon was bright enough ...
Caleb's user avatar
  • 31.7k
35 votes
Accepted

Why can't I shoot with a fast shutter speed with my continuous light at max power?

There is no reason whatsoever that you need to shoot a static object from a tripod with 1/100s or 1/200s shutter speed. The shutter speed has nothing whatsoever to do with "soft focus": it just has ...
user88525's user avatar
  • 406
28 votes

How is it possible to have shallow depth of field in very bright conditions?

The easiest way to solve this problem is to use a neutral-density filter. They are essentially neutral grey filters that cut down on the light reaching the film or digital sensor. Good ones are ...
Jim MacKenzie's user avatar
27 votes
Accepted

Should I use the highest shutter speed for regular shooting?

It depends on what you mean by "highest". If you have enough light, then the first thing you should do is to reduce the ISO setting to the minimum, so that you can get as much light as possible on ...
Matthieu Moy's user avatar
  • 1,683
27 votes
Accepted

How do fast shutter speeds actually work?

Let me add some images. On a mechanical shutter, you have two physical curtains (A) that move when you take a photo (B). The shutter speed is the average time the gap is over a zone of the sensor (C). ...
Rafael's user avatar
  • 23.8k
26 votes

How to capture rays of light in a photograph using a DSLR camera

The first step is to find a situation where the atmosphere is right for such effects to appear to the naked eye - whether it's steam or fog or dust or whatever else in the air that is reflecting the ...
twalberg's user avatar
  • 5,128
25 votes

How can I avoid this blur during taking indoor party pictures?

The blur is caused by the people moving while you were taking the photograph with a slow shutter. Honestly, I think it improves this particular photo a lot: it shows that the people are dancing, ...
David Richerby's user avatar
23 votes

Why do cameras use a slit between two curtains rather than exposing the entire sensor instantly?

As was said, the mechanical shutter has speed limitations. As to the slit, try to imagine without it. Suppose the shutter opens by moving from top to bottom of frame. And then of course, it has to ...
WayneF's user avatar
  • 12.9k
22 votes
Accepted

What are the practical differences between the exposure settings my camera picked for me in auto mode and my own choices?

It's hard to really tell from the small versions here — which is a lesson in itself, because at 1280x850, which is a perfectly fine online viewing size, the differences really don't matter that much. ...
mattdm's user avatar
  • 143k
21 votes

Why do cameras use a slit between two curtains rather than exposing the entire sensor instantly?

Thought experiment time. Assume we'd like a minimum exposure of 1/2000 of a second (500 microseconds) on a 35mm full frame camera. We have a single 'shutter' to move out of the way, and back. We'll ...
Roddy's user avatar
  • 1,848
21 votes
Accepted

What is the relationship between ISO, aperture, and shutter speed?

The Factors There is an equation, and by convention, it's set up to be really simple. There are basically five factors to consider together: Aperture — the size of the opening which lets light in, ...
mattdm's user avatar
  • 143k
18 votes
Accepted

Since the speed of light is so high, why does shutter speed even matter?

why does shutter speed modify picture sharpness/detail? Why do pictures get darker with faster shutter speeds, and brighter with slower shutter speeds? These things happen because the light sensor in ...
Caleb's user avatar
  • 31.7k
16 votes

Shutter speed calibration

Calibrating your Shutter Speed Unless you are performing photographic telemetry or a variety of other niche scientific measurements, the only reason to know the exact length of your exposure is to ...
PhotoScientist's user avatar
15 votes

Why is shutter speed changing after each shot in manual mode?

No, it is not normal. One thing that Manual mode is used for is to take multiple photographs with the same exposure parameters which is very useful in many situations. There are a few cases where it ...
Itai's user avatar
  • 103k
14 votes

How can I avoid this blur during taking indoor party pictures?

Honestly, the biggest problem I see in your picture is not the blur, but the badly clipped highlights. Next time, try shooting at, say, -1 EV (which will also reduce the exposure time, and thus the ...
Ilmari Karonen's user avatar
14 votes

Why do moving objects in photos appear blurry?

First, I'll talk about what cameras do normally, then about how motion affects this operation. In order for an image to be sharp and in focus, all light coming from a single point on the object being ...
Mark H's user avatar
  • 301
13 votes

Shutter speed -vs- effective image stabilisation

Image Stabilizations only compensates for camera movements. IS has no effect on subject movements. None. Zero. Nada. If your subject is moving, only a shorter exposure time ("faster shutter speed") ...
Michael C's user avatar
  • 175k
13 votes

Is there any reason to change the ISO manually?

Is there any reason to change the ISO manually, rather than have it set automatically? The primary reason to set ISO, along with shutter time and aperture, manually would be to totally control ...
Michael C's user avatar
  • 175k
12 votes
Accepted

Are there any electric flashes that will work at shutter speeds like ¹⁄₁₀₀₀th of a second?

That camera with 1/60 sync (and says ASA) must be at least 40 years old. :) More modern cameras commonly allow 1/200 second shutter with flash. But this limitation (of not allowing flash with 1/...
WayneF's user avatar
  • 12.9k
12 votes

Recommended shutter speed for action sports?

In general they like to use the fastest they can get away with. Just how fast that can be is subject to a number of variables. What focal length? How far is the shooting position from the ...
Michael C's user avatar
  • 175k
12 votes

What is the role of Shutter Speed while using a Manual Flash?

Flash duration is typically much shorter than most cameras' flash sync speed. If the flash only has a duration of, say, 1/1000 second (or 1 millisecond), it matters not if the shutter is open 1/250 ...
Michael C's user avatar
  • 175k
11 votes
Accepted

Can high/fast shutter speeds have negative IQ results?

In general, shutter speed can affect IQ in several ways: Directly, by interacting badly with the natural pulsing frequency of lighting (particularly long-tube fluorescent lights and some cheap LEDs ...
dgatwood's user avatar
  • 2,215
11 votes
Accepted

Why use ISO instead of Aperture and Shutter speed?

All three have different uses and different . Aperture - by closing your aperture you're increasing depth of field and sacrificing light - by opening your aperture you're decreasing depth of field,...
walther's user avatar
  • 1,041
11 votes

How is it possible to have shallow depth of field in very bright conditions?

Some considerations: Turn your ISO right down to the minimum value Do you really need f/1.8? Depending on the composition of your shot you can usually still get decent shallow DoF up to around f/4....
SierraOscar's user avatar
11 votes

What does the ISO setting for mechanical 35mm film cameras actually do?

Usually, it does not affect or limit the aperture or shutter speed at all. Rather, it tells the exposure meter where the center is. In some ways, it's exactly like exposure compensation dials. If the ...
mattdm's user avatar
  • 143k
10 votes

How can I take a photo using a slow shutter speed without it being overexposed?

You can close down the aperture and lower the ISO. This will help only up to a point. After that, what you need is a Neutral-Density (ND) filter. Those filters serve to reduce the amount of light ...
Itai's user avatar
  • 103k
10 votes

Why isn't my Nikon D3400 freezing motion even with the shutter set to ¹⁄₄₀₀₀th of a second in View Finder Mode?

You're thinking about the speed wrong. At 1/4000th of a second, if it rotated nearly 4000 times per second, it would go all the way around in one frame. Talk about motion blur. :-) It looks like ...
dgatwood's user avatar
  • 2,215
9 votes

Do fluorescent lighting and shutter speed create a problem with color cast?

The answers given by whuber and Matt Grum are correct, pointing out the flicker problem and some workarounds. My addendum comes 6 years after, where we are now beginning to see some real solutions to ...
Nayuki's user avatar
  • 751
9 votes
Accepted

Why does flash decrease motion blur?

Simple: the flash duration is very short. A full-powered flash is usually around ¹⁄₂₀₀th of a second, and if less than full power is used, it can be in the ¹⁄₁₀₀₀₀th range. If this flash is the only ...
mattdm's user avatar
  • 143k

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