shutter speed question

[gembo888]

Hi guys

as you will gather im a beginner! ive been advised on a shutter speed of 1/6 for a certain picture - what is this? On my olympus camera the shutter speeds are 1-160 or -1-60 with the minus shutter speeds being a decimal point (eg 1.6) there is no / involved!! im confused!! any help please!!!

[SmartWombat]

There is no fixed shutter speed for a picture.
It always depends on the aperture of the lens, the amount of light, and the ISO speed.
So using just 1/6 second without considering all the other settings won't work.

When you say minus shutter speeds, I think you mean just the exposure adjustment.
You can adjust exposure + or - by up to 3 stops. That's not the adjustment you need.

If you let the camera to everything for you, by using "S" (shutter priority) then you can just dial in the speed you want with the main control dial.

See "shutter priority shooting" on page 44 of the E420 manual.
Once it's in "S" mode I suggest you adjust the dial all the way up to the fastest speed of 1/4000 second and watch what it shows in the display, then adjust it all the way down to 60 seconds, watching the display.
Get used to how the controls work before you go out to take the picture.

[Greg McCary]

What camera? and mode are you in? 1/6 is one sixth a second and in manual you should have this speed. That is a slow speed to shoot without a tripod, even if you use image stabilisation.

[Sushigaijin]

fractional shutter speeds show up as whole numbers in the viewfinder of most (all?) digital cameras. So 1/6 of second shows up simply as "6." Likewise, 1/8s is "8" and 1/160s is "160." The shutter speeds that show up as decimals, like 1.6, would be one second and 6/10s.

You can adjust the shutter speed manually in modes M, S and P. 1/6s is the speed that I consider the lowest reliable hand-holding speed, even with image stabilization and good physical technique. If your subject moves, the photo will be blurry. If you move (which you will, even if it is slight) then your photo will be blurry also. But, it is possible to handhold 1/6s. Good luck!

[SmartWombat]

Greg, I checked out his profile and it said

Main Camera Format:
Digital SLR
First Camera:
olympus of some kind
Main Subjects:
Outdoor/Nature, People, Snapshot, Other
Main Camera System:
olympus e-420, 14-42 mm lense

so I went and Read The Fine Manual for the E420

[Greg McCary]

Greg, I checked out his profile and it said

Main Camera Format:
Digital SLR
First Camera:
olympus of some kind
Main Subjects:
Outdoor/Nature, People, Snapshot, Other
Main Camera System:
olympus e-420, 14-42 mm lense

so I went and Read The Fine Manual for the E420

Thanks Paul.

[Atomic2]

shutter speeds that show up as decimals, like 1.6, would be one second and 6/10s.

That is incorrect, because 1.6 is 1/1.6s
if it were 1.6 SECONDS it would look like 1.6" with the " symbol at the end denoting seconds. without that symbol its a fraction.

[Sushigaijin]

Yes, sorry. 1.6" is seconds, 1.6 is fractional.

[chrisnesss]

Just wondering what kind of photo are you taking with such a slow shutter speed?

[gembo888]

a picture within a dark tunnel - a nightclub with lots of flashing lights but a dark ceiling and surrounding.

[Frog]

Tripod tripod tripod

[Atomic2]

As a Nightclub photographer, I can tell you that you absolutely need to use a flash.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...0&l=6bacd6f8e0
This is from last week, but not as good as usual, I got quite drunk this night. As a result, I lost my cameras Eye Relief. Bummer.

[durrson]

Hi,

I have a similar problem, which is why I've just registered to post.

I'm learning the workings of the Olympus E-20 and shutter speed symbols on the control panel are confusing me. - I have an understanding of shutter speeds and know that the fastest shutter speed is: 2'' (dial all the way to the left) and slowest speed is: 64o (dial all the way to the right) but I would like to further understand what the numbers in the display mean.

The following are the list of settings I can choose from, but I don't know the fps equivalent, can someone help me out please? - Thanks..

2'', 1.6'', 1.3'', 1'', 1.3, 1.6, 2.o, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 1o, 13, 15, 2o, 25, 3o, 4o, 5o, 6o, 8o, 1oo, 125, 16o, 2oo, 25o, 32o, 4oo, 5oo, 64o

PS: Looking forward to some great photography :-)

[Greg McCary]

Hi,

I have a similar problem, which is why I've just registered to post.

I'm learning the workings of the Olympus E-20 and shutter speed symbols on the control panel are confusing me. - I have an understanding of shutter speeds and know that the fastest shutter speed is: 2'' (dial all the way to the left) and slowest speed is: 64o (dial all the way to the right) but I would like to further understand what the numbers in the display mean.

The following are the list of settings I can choose from, but I don't know the fps equivalent, can someone help me out please? - Thanks..

2'', 1.6'', 1.3'', 1'', 1.3, 1.6, 2.o, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 1o, 13, 15, 2o, 25, 3o, 4o, 5o, 6o, 8o, 1oo, 125, 16o, 2oo, 25o, 32o, 4oo, 5oo, 64o

PS: Looking forward to some great photography :-)

You have it backwards, 640 stands for 1/640th of a sec where 2" means 2secs, You really need a good book on exposure and how to understand it. If you don't have image stablisation then you really need to stay faster than 1/60th sec or so and your shutter speeds are going to relate with how much light you are shooting in and how open your aperture is.

[valeriemae]

You basically have to know the basics, the triangle. Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO when you master them it's like a walk in the park. Now all you need is the eye, composition, concepts.