# Photo NEWB.. Help with shutter speed.



## MxChase (Nov 12, 2011)

Hi everyone.. I'm totally new to photography. I've always wanted to learn about it and do more with it. I've had a SONY camera that is a pretty good one but I decided to get a DSLR and after reading about how good they were I bought a Nikon D7000. Anyway, since I've been reading more and more about Aperture and Shutter Speed. I understand how aperture works.. at least the basics of it. But I'm trying to figure out how Shutter Speed works.. Or more importantly is adjusted. I realize it has to do with, well, speed. But if I understand correctly it is fractions of seconds that the shutter is open. I also know it can be set to stay open for a long time. What I want to understand is how you control it and what the numbers mean. 

Sorry if this seems very dumb. I'm sure someday I'll look back on this and think I can't believe I was this green but for now I'm just trying to figure out the basics. 

Btw, I have been searching for the answer for a while before I posted this.


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## 480sparky (Nov 12, 2011)

Basically, most of the time, you will be working with fractions.  So 500 means 1/500th of a second.  60 means 1/60th.  4000 means 1/4000th of a second.

If you need exposure longer than 1 second, the D7000 uses " to denote this.  So 2" means to seconds, 30" means 30 seconds.

How you control it depends on which mode you're shooting in (Auto, Shutter Priority, Manual, etc.).


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## mangtarn (Nov 13, 2011)

^that sums it up
just a little tip...
the reciprocal of the focal length is the longest acceptable exposure unless using a tripod.


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## SCraig (Nov 13, 2011)

Shutter speed, aperture, and ISO are like a triangle.  You can't change one of them without changing one of the others.  If you increase shutter speed (make the numbers higher) you are going to have to open the aperture more or increase the ISO to allow more light to the sensor (or increase the sensitivity of the sensor).

The fractional numbers, as others pointed out, are fractions of a second.  If you go from 1/250 to 1/500 you are halving the amount of light entering the camera.  If you go from 1/1000 to 1/500 you are doubling the amount of light entering the camera.  In either case you metering system will change the aperture by a full f-stop to compensate, and this will affect the depth of field.  There are no free rides.  If you change one then one of the others has to change as well to compensate.

When the subject is rock steady, such as a landscape with no wind blowing, and you are using a tripod the shutter speed used doesn't make a lot of difference.  With moving subjects it makes a huge difference in the impact of the photograph.  Panning with the subject while the lens opens allows the background to blur giving an impression of speed.  You can also use a slow shutter speed to give a flowing appearance to water or other fluids.

As a caveat, as was mentioned above, the rule of thumb is that the reciprocal of the lens focal length is the slowest shutter speed you can shoot with hand-held.  A 100mm lens is limited to 1/100 second, a 500mm lens equates to 1/500 second.  This is only a rule of thumb and if your hands are very steady you can get away with less and if your hands shake you will have to use more.  Optical stabilization also plays a great role in this rule of thumb, and can usually all 2 to 4 shutter speeds less depending on the VR in use.

Choice of shutter speed at any given time is something that all of us learn to live with and to use to out benefit.  Your camera allows you to use, in addition to other options, shutter or aperture priority. With shutter priority you pick the shutter speed you want to use and the camera adjusts the aperture to the proper diameter to limit the light entering the camera.  With aperture priority you select the aperture and the camera adjusts the shutter speed to match.  Each have pros and cons, and which to use varies with the subject.


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## MxChase (Nov 13, 2011)

Thanks to everyone for their feedback. 

 Maybe I'm trying to adjust it the wrong way. Last night I wanted to do some night shots of the starts and I set my camera up on the tripod. Went to Manual settings and set my aperture to 3.5 and I tried to set my shutter to as long as possible. It was at 8ooo or at least that's how it looked on the display. The shutter was still only open for a second or so. Anway, when I turn the dial all the way to the left I think it should be very fast and all the way right should be very slow. Am I correct in that thinking or is there more on how to control it..


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## SCraig (Nov 13, 2011)

If you were at 8000 it was 1/8000 of a second.  As was mentioned above, look for the seconds indicator (") next to the shutter speed.  If you see that it is full seconds otherwise it is showing fractions of a second.

In manual you should also have a light meter in the viewfinder.  It shows something like +...|...-  with bars underneath.  A properly METERED exposure (and by "Metered" I mean what the camera thinks is a proper exposure) will be centered.  If the metering is over or under exposed the bars will be shifted to one side.

Friendly word of advice ... there is a lot of good information in the owner's manual.  It's worth a read.


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## MxChase (Nov 13, 2011)

Thanks SCraig.. I did actually do ALOT of reading in the ownders manual the first few days after I bought it.. I honestly had no idea what aperture was before then. Thanks the the info on "Metered" exposure. That is something new to me. 

One other question. After making this post and reading some of your replies I played with the camera a bit more. What is the longest the camera will allow the the shutter to stay open. Also, I read something about "bulb" when using a remote. What is that?? Thanks again for your patience. I know most of this is very basic stuff.


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## SCraig (Nov 13, 2011)

The "Bulb" setting holds the shutter open as long as the shutter release is held down.  When using the wireless remote it opens the shutter on the first press and closes it on the second.  Effectively there is no real limit on how long it can remain open, I've seen some night space shots that were over 60 minutes, but at some point your battery will run down.

Learning the basics of photography is not something that can be done in an afternoon.  Reading the manual and asking questions, as you are doing, are the right first steps.  It takes time and experience and those are two things I have never seen included in the box with a camera.  Take lots of photos.  When something doesn't work they way you expected it to try to understand what happened.  If you can't figure it out, ask someone.  Don't expect perfect results at first and be prepared to make mistakes.

Use the histogram in your camera to.  Your LCD can display it and you can learn a lot by looking at it.  Blown highlights or underexposed shadows are immediately shown.  Your camera is a tool and it has a lot of information that can be displayed and abilities that can be used to get the results that you desire.

I got into photography about 45 years ago.  I worked in a camera store after school and on weekends, and the owner was my mentor of sorts.  I learned so much from him that helped me over the learning period that we all have to go through.  You have a huge advantage that many of us didn't have in that you can immediately see the results of your shot on your LCD while everything is fresh in your mind.  Many of us had to wait until the film was processed (or do it ourselves) and then try and remember the exact circumstances of the shot.  You also have the internet with an infinite resource of information available.  You're on the right track, just use each exposure as a learning tool.


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