To start at the end, at what shutter speed do I need to think "tripod" when I'm shooting medium format? Now the details.

I've been shooting 35 mm. for a long time,and have recently broadened into medium format, 6 X 6 to be precise.

One of the first things I found out about med. format was that the focal distance of lenses differs from those of 35 mm; that is, a normal lens in 35mm is 50mm, a normal lens in med format is 80 mm. Each med. format lens has an equivalent in a 35mm lens, such as a med. format 180 is the equivalent of a 35 mm. 120 lens.

When I studied 35 mm, years ago, one of the fundamentals was that you should use a tripod if your shutter speed dropped (approximately) below the focal length of the lens; e.g., with normal (50mm) lens you could safely shoot handheld at shutter speeds of 1/60th or faster, with a 135 mm lens you could safely shoot handheld at shutter speeds of 1/50th or faster.

In applying this rule when shooting med. format, do I think in terms of the relationship of shutter speed to focal length in terms of med. format focal length or in terms of equivalent 35 mm focal lengths? For instance, if I'm shooting a normal med. format lens (80 mm) can I safely handhold at 1/60th or am I pushing my luck?

To put the question another way, if I shoot the med. format lens (80mm) at 1/30th handheld am I taking any greater risk than if I shot a normal lens (50 mm.) in 35 mm format?

This may seem like a hair splitting question, but not knowing its answer bugs me almost every time I shoot med. format handheld.

Sorry for the length of this.

-- Paul Arnold

-- Paul Arnold (osprey@bmt.net), June 27, 1999

Answers

I think it depends in part on what kind of camera you are using. I have hand held a Rolleiflex twin lens at 1/10 sec for about a 7" x 7" print. I wouldn't try to hold a RB 67 or Hassie at anything less than 1/125, because of the mirror movement. The Rollei was a more "natural" fit in my hands, and it was fairly easy to get a secure hold. In general though, if you want all the sharpness that medium format can give, put it on a tripod, regardless of the shutter speed you are using.

-- Tony Brent (ajbrent@mich.com), June 27, 1999.

I think the rule still holds--shutter speed should be equal to or greater than the focal length of the lens for hand holding. There have been times when I shot good 35mm at 1/10 second or longer, but I cannot do that with my medium format cameras. I've had very good luck hand holding with Delta 3200 rated at 800 though.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edbuffaloe@earthlink.net), June 28, 1999.

Although I can follow Tony's reasoning for the Rolleiflex twin lens reflex, I agree with Ed that the rule follows the focal distance of the lens. I've got the same experience as Tony with the Rolleiflex twin, this is because the shutter releases with very much ease and there is no mirror-swing on top of it. In my vision the general rule is based on the fact that a certain focal distance implies a certain angle of view. The risk of 'movement-unsharpness' is greater when using a lens with a smaller angle of view. You can easily understand this when you see that a telescope-lens even put on tripod to observe the stars never gives a real steady image.

An 80mm always remains an 80mm lens. The fact that with the same 80mm lens you get another picture on 35mm than on 6*6 or 4*5 just lies in the fact that the negative-plane is farther away from the lens. However the angle of view remains just as narrow or just as broad with that lens and this angle determines the risk of movement- unsharpness. BTW, you made a typing error: a 135mm lens requires 1/250.

So, you are indeed pushing your luck with 1/60 with an 80mm, which does not mean that you can't be lucky sometimes.

-- Lot (lotw@wxs.nl), June 28, 1999.

I have a somewhat different view on this. The "rule" is an average, probably for people who don't handhold a lot, or maybe don't shoot a lot. Technique is critical here, and just as some people can draw a straight line with no ruler, some people can handhold at low speeds, and this can be learned through practice as long as there aren't physical issues. Also, print size and viewing distance are important factors for "acceptable" sharpness.

I find I can handhold down to about 1/15 with my Mamiya 7 and still get acceptable sharpness with either an 80mm or 43mm lens. Below that, it may or may not be sharp, and I often go for a much slower speed and use the blur. You have to be open and creative about it.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeffs@hyperreal.org), June 28, 1999.

Let me pass on a hint that may help with slow shutter/handheld situations. I have been an avid shooter (guns) since my childhood. A common technique in shooting is to take a normal deep breath, let it out normally. Then take another normal breath, let it halfway out and squeeze the trigger (shutter) slowly. Complete the exhale after the camera has fired. Note- I said "after the camera has fired" not after you fired it. This obviously works best when not trying to catch the "defining moment" as in catching expressions. However it is a great technique for still life or landscapes. I recently used this technique shooting an F-16 fighter simulator from inside the cockpit (no room for a tripod). I successfully shot med. format 50mm lens at 1 second hand held. Try it!

Also, as aluded to above, different people can get away with differing slow shutter speeds. You should know what your limit is. You will only know that with practice. Your body position is a huge factor. Try to brace your self against something solid.....brace your elbows....make your body a tripod.

Finally, use a tripod when the shot counts and it is remotely close to a "slow" shutter speed. Why try to see what you can get away with? Forgive me for splitting hairs but when you refer to the idea of using a tripod at shutter speeds slower than the focal length of your lens as a "fundamental" lesson, try to think of it as more of a rule of thumb designed to keep beginners out of trouble rather than a law of nature. Forget the numbers now that you learned them. You are apparantly aware of the rule of thumb, now do what you know to make sharp photos or intentionally blurred ones as your style or the situation dictates.

One last comment, a "normal" lens in medium format depends on what format you are shooting; 6x6=80mm, 6x7=90mm, etc.

-- Rick Stiles (rstiles@ghg.net), July 13, 1999.

Paul, that "fundamental" is just a rule of thumb, so like all such distillations, as soon as you begin discussing specifics, the 'rule' stands a good chance of being broken.

You're talking about camera shake, which has two components - the mechanical nature of the camera itself and whether the camera is being handheld or is on a tripod or other support. Telephoto lenses, due to their larger magnification of the image, magnify the effect of camera shake.

The speed at which a person can handhold a camera varies, as these postings note, on the shutter used by the camera, on the stillness of the photographer, and on whether the camera is an inherent shaker. SLRs of any format have more shake than rangefinders due to the mirror moving just before exposure. Medium format SLRs are even worse, since the mirrors are larger. In my expereince, focal plane shutters seem to cause more shake than a leaf shutter, but it's a small amount.

A Mamiya 6 range finder has almost no shake, while a Hasselblad (in my experience), can't be reliably handheld under 1/125th without first locking the mirror in the up position. I can handhold a Nikon F2 at lower speeds than an Olympus OM-1 because of the Nikon's greater weight absorbs the mirror slap better.

Whether you can handhold your camera at 1/30th is more dependent on these factors than the focal length of your lens. Why not do your own testing, and see how steady you are with the various lenses you're concerned about? But lens length, in my opinion, isn't the real issue.

-- August Depner (apdepner@uswest.net), August 30, 1999.

Rick Stiles is correct. Breath control and trigger/shutter control will help at any speed. However, as to when to consider a tripod, consider using one at any and all shutter speeds. It can help even at 1/1000. For times when a tripod is too space consuming and clumsy, I have found that a monopod is a big advantage. I like to shoot at carnivals and the State Fair. On the midway, crowds can be heavy and a tripod is going to get bumped. For shooting at night or inside an animal barn, shutter speeds are often slow. A flash won't work - and is generally a very bad idea around horses, cows etc. The monopod permits use of slower shutter speeds without the space needed for a tripod. Any support is better than none at any shutter speed.

-- Richard Newman (rnewman@snip.net), September 01, 1999.

There are two different issues here

How slow you can hand held your camera

This varies from person to person. Sharp shooter technique helps.

Hand held shutter speed for different format

. The blur casue by hand held camea shake consists of rotational shift and parallel shift, the blur spot induced by a 1 degree rotational change in 35mm forms a smaller blur spot then a 6x6, and bigger than that from a Minox 8x11mm camera. But when the negatives are enlarged to same size, for example 8x10", then the final blur spot on the print are all the same.

The reference point is 35mm camera, the rule of thumb is 1/focal-length, for example with a 50mm lens the lower limit of handheld speed for general population is 1/50 sec for standard 50mm len. Since the equivalent lens on 6x6 is 80mm, if you use 80mm standard lens on 6x6, then the slow shutter limit for handheld is also 1/50 sec, not 1/80 sec. Similarily, Minox 8x11 camera has a 15mm lens, which as about the same view angle as 50mm on 35mm, so the slowest handheld shutter speed is also 1/50sec, not 1/15sec, in other words, the same person hand holding a Minox, a Leica or a Hassy, all equipped with standard lens, shooting same target, enlarge to same size, will have same degree of blur, and when shooting at 1/50 sec, the blur is barely visible.

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), September 02, 1999.

To summarize:

The rule of thumb for slow shutter speed threshold is 1/50 sec for all format of camera with standard lens (defined as lens which provides similar angle of view as human eyes ) ,that is 15mm lens for Minox, 50mm lens for 35mm camera, 80mm for 6x6 etc.

Use the 1/50 sec as a base line, and find out YOUR OWN slow shutter threshold, if it is 1/10 sec for 35mm, then the same 1/10 applies more or less when you move up to 6x6 or move down to Minox.

When you double the focal length of lens, double the shutter speed (YOUR speed )

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), September 02, 1999.