Shutter Speed for Handheld Shooting

[ColdEye]

Ha! How I wish the law of physics can be broken. ) The wind break is a nice idea, I had a hard time picturing a spider because it kept swaying in the wind.

[John Koehrer]

Those crappy signs on the roadside offer the universal stick-it-in-the-ground holder upper thing too.

[PaulC]

It seems odd that nobody (as far as I can tell) has asked what your preferred subject is or where you want to shoot. It makes a tremendous difference.



(Shot on a Crown Graphic, 150mm lens, 6x9 back, tripod mounted in studio, with flash, maybe around half-size on the film, heavily cropped scan).

[E. von Hoegh]

Is it doable for somebody with shaky hands (me) to shoot macro handheld? I know I should get a tripod, but I don't have one yet. I was trying to shoot some stuff using a 55mm and when it goes to 1:1, the shaking is noticeable in the viewfinder. I used a shutter speed of 1/500, will that do? What might be the lowest shutter speed to use without necessary blur?

I have uncommonly steady hands, and I cannot handhold a camera at 1;1 and get acceptable results at any shutter speed, including 1/2000 second.

[mrred]

I have uncommonly steady hands, and I cannot handhold a camera at 1;1 and get acceptable results at any shutter speed, including 1/2000 second.

I bought my F100 to take advantage of my FX VR lens. I am definitely getting older and not steadier.

But.... there is no substitute for a tripod.

[E. von Hoegh]

I've used a flash with a duration down to 1/32000 sec handheld at close distances, it does work pretty well.