Shutter Speed

[Daniel Jackson]

So, now that a new level of control will soon be available on the 5Dmk2, how do I use it ? Aperture can control the depth of field for selective focus. Setting the ISO high makes the camera more light sensitive but adds grain, lowering ISO makes smoother images with better color rendition. Shutter speed is a little confusing, there are a few artistic and technical issues that I am unsure about. Lower shutter speeds smooth out the action and would be ideal for nice smooth dolly shots, higher shutter speeds emphasize motion and have a stuttering strobing effect, like the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. On a 30p Camera like the 5d, is the ideal shutter speed 1/30?. Is any speed less than 1/30 a waste? What is the useful range before hitting the strobing motion effect? Is the best way to use the enhanced 5d to lock down the shutter speed and aperture and adjust the ISO for the proper exposure, or is the shutter the way to go?

[Tyler Ginter]

Proper shutter speed at 30fps is 1/60th

This follows the 180 degree rule. At 24fps you would choose 1/48th

[Mark Hahn]

Originally Posted by Tyler Ginter

Proper shutter speed at 30fps is 1/60th

This follows the 180 degree rule. At 24fps you would choose 1/48th

Or, if you are shooting at 30fps and planning to convert to 24fps later, you should use 1/48.

[Chris Barcellos]

DVFilm has always recommened shooting at 1/60 for conversion to 24P.

Of course that is from 60i material..

[Jon Fairhurst]

And feel free to use 1/30 for very low light scenes. That's what the camera does today by default, and it looks great. As long as the motion is restrained, few would notice the difference between 1/30 and 1/48 or 1/60.

[Rick Casillas]

Originally Posted by Tyler Ginter

Proper shutter speed at 30fps is 1/60th

This follows the 180 degree rule. At 24fps you would choose 1/48th

I did not know that the 180 degree rule had to do with shutter speed, I always though it meant to shoot from one side of the circle, meaning orientation of characters, left and right, etc. I guess there is always more uses for the same terminology.

Of course being a math major, I can see that 24 is half of 48, but that is about all of the connection, half circle is 180 degrees, and 24 is half of 48. This would cause the effect of having a frame timed at half the display rate.

[Jon Fairhurst]

This is related to the rotating shutter in a film camera. 1/24 is indeed 180 degrees, but because they can over and under crank the film speed, they talk about shutter in degrees rather than absolute time.