Shutter speed question at DVinfo.net

Bruce S. Yarock · November 1st, 2010, 02:41 AM

Since I began shooting with my 7d a year ago, I've always used the reccomened 1/50 shutter. I was shooting a wedding for another production company Saturday night, and the beginning of the reception was real dark. I was using my Tokina 2.8 on a steadycam style rig (indicam) and had to boost the iso quite high. The guy who hired me came over and asked me to drop the iso a bit and drop the shutter to 1/30. I couldn't see any problem while shooting at 1/30 ( although I never got to see my footage on a monitor after being captured).

I wanted to know if anyone has experimented with slower shutter speeds in these low light situations, and what problems have arisen. I would assume that it could cause motion blur although I didn't see any on the lcd. Also, anyone played with faster shutters and if so, what are the results?
Bruce Yarock

Chris Westerstrom · November 1st, 2010, 03:36 AM

IMHO, lowering the shutter looks better than upping the ISO
1/30 is no problem

Bruce S. Yarock · November 1st, 2010, 01:25 PM

Thanks, Chris. What I'd still like to know is under what conditions would a slower shutter be too slow, and what would the negative results?
Bruce Yarock

Jonanthan Carr · November 1st, 2010, 02:07 PM

Lowering the shutter speed should be the last thing you should do to add light. You will notice more motion blur and less crisper image. I only mess with shutter speeds for stylistic looks. During the 35mm adapter era, some people including myself been forced to lower shutter speeds for just a little more light. But if you do that, you would do it to the whole film so the eye adjusts naturally to the 1/24th look. I would rather get a faster prime like a canon 24mm 1.4 lens. But do yourself some tests and look at the difference in motion blurs, let that be the deciding factor.

Gabe Spangler · November 1st, 2010, 04:35 PM

Lowering the shutter speed introduces more motion blur, so if you are shooting any fast action, it is generally not recommended. I would rather lower my shutter to 1/30 or 1/24 rather than up the ISO or the gain because this introduces more video noise. I find that if a scene is a normal scene with no super fast movement, lowering the shutter is perfectly fine.

That being said, I think 1/24 is the lowest you can go before you start to get the blurry slow motion look. I wouldn't go 1/15. The 7D will only let you go to 1/30, so this isn't an issue. I wonder why they don't give super slow shutter speeds in video mode...?

Upping the shutter speed gives you almost zero motion blur and sharp edges to everything, similar to the D-Day scene at the beginning of Saving Private Ryan. It also reduces the amount of light coming into the camera, so you need a lot of light, like outdoors or a very brightly lit scene. Saving Private Ryan made it popular beyond believe, to the point I think it's been way over-used in the past 15 years, so I tend to stay away from it.

Bruce S. Yarock · November 2nd, 2010, 04:53 AM

Thanks for the info, guys. I've never really fooled with the shutter on the 7d's, and this was an issolated incident. Back when I used to shoot a lot of weddings I was using my Canon H1 and A1. Sometimes during the dancing (especially techno) I'd drastically lower the shutter to create a motion blur, stroby effect.. I did that to give the editor another look and feel ( and also out of boredom).
Maybe when I have some free time, I'll do some tests with the 7d. I may even have some of what I shot on Saturday in 1/30 on one of my cf cards.

Bruce Yarock

Bill Pryor · November 2nd, 2010, 08:19 AM

As long as nobody is moving very fast, you can get by with a 1/30, and lots of wedding video producers do that, I've read. If the camera is relatively static and there's not a lot of motion from side to side in the frame, nobody will ever notice. But if you go outside and shoot cars driving by at 1/30, you'll start seeing issues.

I've done the same thing you did, use slow shutter to create an effect, not with a DSLR but with a DSR500 a few years ago. I was doing a promo for the film festival and we were making a point about having more films in a week than anybody could see. I shot this couple going from theater to theater and did it all with really slow shutter. On one shot I panned with the couple as they walked by fast, so they stayed in focus and the background blurred out and streaked. A very cool effect. Then I did the opposite, held the camera steady so the background stayed sharp and the couple blurred and streaked.

So you can use a slow shutter speed creatively, but it isn't something you'd normally do.

November 1st, 2010, 02:41 AM	#1
Bruce S. Yarock Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pembroke Pines, Fl. Posts: 1,842	Shutter speed question Since I began shooting with my 7d a year ago, I've always used the reccomened 1/50 shutter. I was shooting a wedding for another production company Saturday night, and the beginning of the reception was real dark. I was using my Tokina 2.8 on a steadycam style rig (indicam) and had to boost the iso quite high. The guy who hired me came over and asked me to drop the iso a bit and drop the shutter to 1/30. I couldn't see any problem while shooting at 1/30 ( although I never got to see my footage on a monitor after being captured). I wanted to know if anyone has experimented with slower shutter speeds in these low light situations, and what problems have arisen. I would assume that it could cause motion blur although I didn't see any on the lcd. Also, anyone played with faster shutters and if so, what are the results? Bruce Yarock

November 1st, 2010, 02:07 PM	#4
Jonanthan Carr Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: United States Posts: 50	Lowering the shutter speed should be the last thing you should do to add light. You will notice more motion blur and less crisper image. I only mess with shutter speeds for stylistic looks. During the 35mm adapter era, some people including myself been forced to lower shutter speeds for just a little more light. But if you do that, you would do it to the whole film so the eye adjusts naturally to the 1/24th look. I would rather get a faster prime like a canon 24mm 1.4 lens. But do yourself some tests and look at the difference in motion blurs, let that be the deciding factor. __________________ Dp Reel http://www.visualcinema.com/reels/ Rentals in NYC http://www.visualcinema.com/rentals/cameras/ Scarlet-X SN#634 "HEXTALL"

November 1st, 2010, 03:36 AM	#2
Chris Westerstrom Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden Posts: 259	IMHO, lowering the shutter looks better than upping the ISO 1/30 is no problem

November 1st, 2010, 01:25 PM	#3
Bruce S. Yarock Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pembroke Pines, Fl. Posts: 1,842	Thanks, Chris. What I'd still like to know is under what conditions would a slower shutter be too slow, and what would the negative results? Bruce Yarock

November 1st, 2010, 04:35 PM	#5
Gabe Spangler Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 69	Lowering the shutter speed introduces more motion blur, so if you are shooting any fast action, it is generally not recommended. I would rather lower my shutter to 1/30 or 1/24 rather than up the ISO or the gain because this introduces more video noise. I find that if a scene is a normal scene with no super fast movement, lowering the shutter is perfectly fine. That being said, I think 1/24 is the lowest you can go before you start to get the blurry slow motion look. I wouldn't go 1/15. The 7D will only let you go to 1/30, so this isn't an issue. I wonder why they don't give super slow shutter speeds in video mode...? Upping the shutter speed gives you almost zero motion blur and sharp edges to everything, similar to the D-Day scene at the beginning of Saving Private Ryan. It also reduces the amount of light coming into the camera, so you need a lot of light, like outdoors or a very brightly lit scene. Saving Private Ryan made it popular beyond believe, to the point I think it's been way over-used in the past 15 years, so I tend to stay away from it.

November 2nd, 2010, 04:53 AM	#6
Bruce S. Yarock Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pembroke Pines, Fl. Posts: 1,842	Thanks for the info, guys. I've never really fooled with the shutter on the 7d's, and this was an issolated incident. Back when I used to shoot a lot of weddings I was using my Canon H1 and A1. Sometimes during the dancing (especially techno) I'd drastically lower the shutter to create a motion blur, stroby effect.. I did that to give the editor another look and feel ( and also out of boredom). Maybe when I have some free time, I'll do some tests with the 7d. I may even have some of what I shot on Saturday in 1/30 on one of my cf cards. Bruce Yarock

November 2nd, 2010, 08:19 AM	#7
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	As long as nobody is moving very fast, you can get by with a 1/30, and lots of wedding video producers do that, I've read. If the camera is relatively static and there's not a lot of motion from side to side in the frame, nobody will ever notice. But if you go outside and shoot cars driving by at 1/30, you'll start seeing issues. I've done the same thing you did, use slow shutter to create an effect, not with a DSLR but with a DSR500 a few years ago. I was doing a promo for the film festival and we were making a point about having more films in a week than anybody could see. I shot this couple going from theater to theater and did it all with really slow shutter. On one shot I panned with the couple as they walked by fast, so they stayed in focus and the background blurred out and streaked. A very cool effect. Then I did the opposite, held the camera steady so the background stayed sharp and the couple blurred and streaked. So you can use a slow shutter speed creatively, but it isn't something you'd normally do.