Interested In A Re-Hash Of Some Of The Old Common Photographic 'Rules'

[Paul-WB5AGF]

(a recent painful experience)
I went to a wedding last weekend and several pictures did not come out nearly as well as I'd hoped. I'm thinking that I need to learn/re-learn useful tips for successful photography.

(the distant past)
A long time ago I was introduced to 35mm (film) photography while stationed overseas in the Air Force.

Back then one of the common 'rules' was a rough relationship between the focal length of the lens being used and minimum suggested shutter speed.
(minimum speed = (2 * (1/focal length)) example: with a 50mm lens the shutter speed should be no slower than 1/100th second (so use 125th)

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Question: When panning the camera (to try and track someone walking past) is IBIS still a good thing or should it be turned-off ?

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- Paul

 

[Brownie]

(a recent painful experience)
I went to a wedding last weekend and several pictures did not come out nearly as well as I'd hoped. I'm thinking that I need to learn/re-learn useful tips for successful photography.

(the distant past)
A long time ago I was introduced to 35mm (film) photography while stationed overseas in the Air Force.

Back then one of the common 'rules' was a rough relationship between the focal length of the lens being used and minimum suggested shutter speed.
(minimum speed = (2 * (1/focal length)) example: with a 50mm lens the shutter speed should be no slower than 1/100th second (so use 125th)

------------------------------------

Question: When panning the camera (to try and track someone walking past) is IBIS still a good thing or should it be turned-off ?

------------------------------------

- Paul

It's actually just the same. A 50mm lens requires a minimum shutter speed of 1/50th, so typically 1/60 would be chosen.

Almost all cameras these days have a panning IBIS mode. It allows side to side movement without attempting to correct, while it still tries to correct up and down movement. Some people will tell you to shut IBIS off altogether. Some manufacturers tell you to shut it off above a certain shutter speed anyway, usually around 1/1000 or 1/1500. And it should always be shut off if shooting static scenes off a tripod or other support. The best thing to do is a bit of testing to see what works best for you.

And one more note, where IBIS and shutter speed mesh. If you are using IBIS you should be able to shoot well below the focal length. Wide angle lenses are far more forgiving than telephoto, but for example: If your kit is rated at 5 stops of IBIS and you're shooting a 100mm lens, you could count down 5 stops from 100 for a minimum shutter speed. 1 stop would be 1/50, 2 stops 1/25, 3 stops 1/12, etc. Bear in mind this is only for camera movements or shake and only applies to a static subject. Any subject movement depends on a shutter fast enough for the desired effect, be it motion blur from panning or freezing the action.

 

[xpc316e]

I have had so much success with image stabilisation that I feel confident to bend/break the rule about shutter speed being the inverse of focal length, but it may be that I have a steady pair of hands and am lucky.

 

[-ST-]

(a recent painful experience)
I went to a wedding last weekend and several pictures did not come out nearly as well as I'd hoped. I'm thinking that I need to learn/re-learn useful tips for successful photography.

(the distant past)
A long time ago I was introduced to 35mm (film) photography while stationed overseas in the Air Force.

Back then one of the common 'rules' was a rough relationship between the focal length of the lens being used and minimum suggested shutter speed.
(minimum speed = (2 * (1/focal length)) example: with a 50mm lens the shutter speed should be no slower than 1/100th second (so use 125th)

------------------------------------

Question: When panning the camera (to try and track someone walking past) is IBIS still a good thing or should it be turned-off ?

------------------------------------

- Paul

Hi, Paul.

If you do a web search for "photography reciprocal rule," you'll get lots of information. Here's an article I found helpful.

What is Reciprocal Rule in Photography?

One of the biggest challenges in photography is sharp photos when hand-holding a camera. Many end up with blurry images without understanding the source of the problem, which is usually camera shake caused by basic improper hand-holding techniques or mirror and shutter-induced vibrations. The...

photographylife.com

And here's an article about IBIS with references to panning.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/image-stabilization-when-to-use-it-and-when-to-turn-it-off