ABSTRACT

If you use too slow a shutter speed when handholding the camera your pictures will not be sharp. How do you know what a good shutter speed is? A good rule of thumb is to take the inverse of your lens’ longest focal length. For example, if you have an 18-135 mm lens you would take 135 and make it 1/135. Then pick the closest shutter speed to 1/135, which is 1/125. The slowest shutter speed you should use with your 18135 mm lens is 1/125 of a second. Now this method is not a definitive answer, but it gives you an idea of where to start. Do some tests of your own, taking pictures at progressively slower shutter speeds and see when they become blurry. The longer the focal length of the lens, the faster your minimum shutter speed needs to be.