shutter speeds

[squarepants]

can you change the shutter speed to do 'slow shutter speed photos' on all DSLRs? or can you only do it on the more expensive ones e.g. £450+ ones?

SP

[RobDickinson]

All of them!

They usualy all have these modes:

Full manual (often with some kind of auto ISO now)
Aperture priority - Meeters and sets the shutter speed for you
Shutter priority - Meeters and sets the aperture for you
Program mode - Kind of auto mode but you can make many changes ( ISO, shutter, aperture etc)
Auto mode - point and go the camera decides , often down to focus etc.

Some have custom modes you record a certain setup (say for sports or landcape or macro), some have bulb mode for long exposures (30 second +).

The entry ones (say canon 1000D, xxxD, xxD) have dummy modes too ( potrait, sport etc).

[rottie102]

RobDickinson said:

The entry ones (say xxD) have dummy modes too ( potrait, sport etc).

Oi, how dare you calling my 60D an entry model!

[Killwilly]

Wealthy people down under. Anything under a grand is entry/cheap.

[RobDickinson]

Killwilly said:

Wealthy people down under. Anything under a grand is entry/cheap.

I would say thats because a grand here is worth a tenner there but things have changed

You can tell an entry level camera by th way it has auto modes on the dial...

[squarepants]

Thanks for all the replies .

So your saying i'd be able to take a photo where you make water look like mist?

[RobDickinson]

squarepants said:

So your saying i'd be able to take a photo where you make water look like mist?

Ahh.. Now you have control of the shutter speed within certain contraints.

Three things combine to make the exposure - how much light the lens lets in (aperture) how long the shutter is open for (shutter speed) and the ISO sensativity the sensor is set too.

These three things balance to form the correct exposure. So if you want to extend out the shutter time you have to 'stop down' the lens so it lets in less light, and make the sensor as unsensative as possible.

Problem is the sensor only typicaly goes to ISO 100 and the lens wont stop down past f22 or f30 or whatever. Once you hit those limits (and theres technical reasons why you dont want to stop way down anyhow) you end up with an overexposed pic.

So most of those glassy water shots you see are taken in either low light or using strong neutral density filters.

[Chicken Pox]

SP worth buying this book, whish I'd found it when starting out:
Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera [Paperback]
Bryan Peterson (Author) (only £9.50 from well know online store)

ETA: quick link for overview of Aperture/Shutter Speed & ISO
http://www.parkcameras.com/article/301/Camera-Sett...

Edited by Chicken Pox on Sunday 17th October 11:02

Edited by Chicken Pox on Sunday 17th October 11:06

[dibbly dobbler]

squarepants said:

So your saying i'd be able to take a photo where you make water look like mist?

Funnily enough this is one of things I've most wanted to do and let me tell you it's not that easy! But the first step is getting a half decent DSLR and get the hang of using it, then think about filters and maybe a tripod etc

[CarMac]

dibbly dobbler said:

...... and maybe a tripod etc

Unless you find something to put your camera on while doing it, you've no chance without a half decent, sturdy tripod!

[RobDickinson]

A tripod (and remore relese or timed shot with Mirror lockup if possible) is almost an essential for these!

I did shoot this one , 25 seconds hand held, but braced on a rock, with IS and a variable 1-8 stop ND filter at 8, exposure guestimated as meetering wasnt playing ball: