View Full Version : How much do you adjust Shutter Speed?


David Barnett
October 14th, 2013, 03:06 PM
We all know how aperature & Shutter Speed interact, and recently I've kinda been talking with and listening to photographers a bit more. Obviously, due to their lenses and craft, playing with speeds and f stops greatly varies the look of the photo. However, those of us doing long form & shooting with pure video cameras have a slightly different task at hand imho.

So I was wondering how much other videographers make shutter adjustments for DoF & other reasons. I shoot using a Sony Z5U so DoF isn't that much of a feature, and typically when outside I adjust the camera ND filters.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone really tweaks it throughout the night. I'd imagine DSLR shooting do but wondering more about those with standard video cameras?

John Knight
October 14th, 2013, 03:20 PM
Using traditional camera (Sony Z7 in PAL land) shutter speed is always fixed at 50. If it's a dimly lit reception and I'm filming speeches (no movement) I dial it back to 25 for extra boost in light.

Steve Bleasdale
October 14th, 2013, 04:38 PM
Canon 60d I leave it at f2.8 and adjust shutter speed rather than my nd variable filter. Got sick of using it and I love the look a faster shutter speed gives especially confetti throw... If it is very very sunny and out all day in the sun then that would be different.

Don Bloom
October 14th, 2013, 04:41 PM
Whether I was using my Sony's or now JVC's my shutter speed is "locked" at 1/60th UNLESS I'm doing a special sequence like a particular dance and I slow it WAAAAAY down to 1/15th or even 1/8th for a really stuttering, strobe effect but 99.9999999% of the time, I'm at 1/60th.

Adrian Tan
October 14th, 2013, 04:59 PM
DSLR shooter here, and, yep, it's up and down all day for me.

Shallow depth of field outside -- I used to mess around with a Heliopan variable ND and regard the "x2 frame rate makes it look filmic" rule as immovable, but no longer. If I want shallow depth outside, it's crank the shutter up to 200 or even 400 if need be.

Silhouette -- often have to close aperture down as far as possible, as well as ISO, as well as pump up the shutter.

Dark churches and receptions -- will often decrease shutter speed to 30 rather than crank ISO higher than 1250, because I do no noise reduction in post unless I'm desperate. But I'm wary of filming dancing at 30 -- the motion blur makes my eyes hurt.

Slow motion -- will increase ISO to the maximum I can live with, which is 6400 on a 5D3, and crank shutter speed up to 4000 if I can. I reason: the sharper each frame, the easier it is to interpolate frames if I want to slow it down even more in post. Since it's usually daytime when I'm doing slow motion, I find I can live with the noise (it's the darker areas of the image where the noise is more obvious). Don't know if this is a dumb idea, but anyway...

Tim Bakland
October 14th, 2013, 07:03 PM
C100 - I Always leave it at 1/60th and 30p.

I use ND filters for DOF outside.

Chad Whelan
October 14th, 2013, 08:58 PM
FS100 shooting 30P, I use 1/30 quite often for pre shots and other various times throughout the day when I know I will only be using a few seconds of the shot. I love the look it adds with the camera/lens combo. Speeches when extra light is needed are also okay at 1/30 to me since not a lot of movement. An entire 1st dance or lots of motion then back to 1/60. I use a variable ND for outside and DOF.

Danny O'Neill
October 15th, 2013, 01:34 AM
Up and down like a tarts knickers!

Steve Bleasdale
October 15th, 2013, 08:22 AM
Hahaha nice one Danny same here...

Jeff Cook
October 23rd, 2013, 11:35 PM
I too am a dslr shooter. I use the Canon 60d and when I am in low lit areas, I bring the shutter down to 30. I am also playing around with high shutter speeds outdoors along with a nd filter. The filter I have is not too dark, so I do a combo of high shutter and nd for shallow depth.

David Barnett
October 24th, 2013, 07:12 AM
Thanks everyone for the feedback. Seems pretty inline with myself, mostly not at all unless some outdoorr adjusting. As a videocamera owner, I wasn't really looking for it for DoF purproses, I just had a bit of a Eureka! moment where I thought, 'Hmmm, I wonder if others are adjusting their shutters alot throughout the day like photographers do".

Jeff Cook
October 30th, 2013, 09:32 PM
Just this past weekend, I was shooting a wedding and all they had for light were small lights strung across the dance floor. I was shooting with Canon 60d and 2.8 Sigma. I was able to get some good footage using 1/30 shutter speed. No one was dancing, or moving alot, but it sure did open up more light for me. I really do not like using higher than 1600 ISO.