Shutter Speed

[linfitblue94]

I think I kind of know what this does, but if you set it to 8 seconds, and someone runs in front of th elense, or lightning strikes, will the photo have the lightning in it, just wondering could anyone help me to properly understand it, cheers

Paul

[comicIDIOT]

Indeed! Though eight seconds is way too long to record a person running, day or night. Lightning will show up because it is much brighter than the surrounding lights and lasts briefly enough so it won't over expose your sensor.

For running, 1/60th of a second is a good bet

[Saknika]

Think of the shutter as an eyelid. When you click that button, it's going to blink backwards--It's going to open instead of close. So the longer you set that time for, the longer it stays open--It blinks slower. So when you set that speed to 8, if something moves in front of it, you will see the motion blur. In the case of lighting, you should capture it. I often use long shutter speeds to do what is called a ghosting effect, which is where you have someone stand for a few seconds in front of the camera and then move, and they become a ghost.

[linfitblue94]

Cheers, Cause I'd like to be able to take decent photos of more than just still life things like flowers or stuff cheers

[Saknika]

No problem. Best of luck with your photos! I can't wait to see what you do.

[linfitblue94]

Thanks I'm going shooting tomorrow so hopefully will have some by then, any tips as to what I could use a slow shutter speed for???

[Saknika]

Panning (following a moving object to blur the background), running water, evening shots, streaming taillights--All things you can use a long shutter for.