Do you feel 1/500 sec max shutter speed is a problem?

[nick mulder]

I'm struggling to get faster than somewhere between 1/30th and 1/60th on the dial in LF ...

Not sure if I have even any MF cameras that do that

 

[removed account4]

never a problem ..

i have 3 mf cameras - and i never shoot them beyond 1/100S
( mamiya, agfa box and holga )
and i also use a graflex slr with a roll film back on it and i only shoot that at 1/15ths
i never use fast shutter speeds, even when i probably should ...

 

[23mjm]

Speed kills--slow down and live.

 

[wclark5179]

Where I need a faster sync. shutter is when I use fill flash outdoors. If I have flash and f stop at f 7.0 but that needs a shutter of 1/400 to balance ambient, that can present a challenge with some camera bodies. I could go to a higher number f stop but usually I want to control DOF. I hate blown out backgrounds or a white sky. Doesn't look real to me.

 

[narsuitus]

How many feel that have a max shutter speed of 1/500 is a problem?

A long time go, I had a night football game to cover in a stadium that was notorious for its dim lights. The light level was too low to shoot available light and I could not use flash because my SLR would sync no higher than 1/60th second.

In this instance, having a maximum shutter speed of 1/500th of a second on my medium format TLR was a solution to the problem. I mounted a telephoto lens, a prism finder, and a pistol grip to my Mamiya C22 and set the shutter speed to 1/500th of a second and used a handle mounted flash to get some great shots for the newspaper.

Having a top shutter speed of 1/500th that can sync a flash is very useful under certain conditions.

 

[brucemuir]

No one mentions handholding longer lenses.
When I recently picked up a 250 Sonnar for my 'blad I was wishing for faster but was okay with 1/500.

I also like 400 speed films for my 120 because they are pretty clean these days for modest enlargements.

 

[MattKing]

Not a problem - for medium format.

For 35mm, some potential inconvenience, but it is slight.

 

[haplo602]

Not realy ... show me an FP shutter that can sync at 1/500 ... that's one of the reasons I picked an ETRSi.

All it needs is a CPL or ND filter. Usualy 1/500 is plenty fast unless you are shooting racing cars.

 

[doktor]

Sometimes there is a problem. I was on a trip, so I had to take all I need to my pockets. On a travel you simply don't have enough rolls to change one every time the lightning conditions changed. Personally, I prefer to carry a bottle of water instead kilos of stuff.

 

[film_man]

I did have a few times where I'd like to be able to shoot at f/2.8-4 with my Hasselblad which is impossible with ISO100 slide film and bright sunlight. 1/1000 would be a lot more convenient as a top speed but...

 

[Q.G.]

I did have a few times where I'd like to be able to shoot at f/2.8-4 with my Hasselblad which is impossible with ISO100 slide film and bright sunlight. 1/1000 would be a lot more convenient as a top speed but...

... can be had if you pick up a 2000 or 2003 FCW body and put your lens(es) on that. Everything else you have will fit too.
Then you have a choice: fast speeds to be able to use a lens wide open in bright light, and fast synch speeds when you need them.

A problem is only a problem if, and for as long as, you do not have the solution.

 

[IloveTLRs]

I shoot mostly ASA 400 film. Shooting wide open in bright daylight is difficult with 1/500, especially in summer.

 

[perkeleellinen]

For me it would be a problem when shooting skateboarding which ideally needs 1/1000 to freeze the action. But it's not too much of a problem as I'd just go the other extreme and shoot at 1/30 and exploit the movement in the scene. Also some issues with wanting to use narrow depth of field in sun with fast film, but that's rare for me.

 

[Andrew Moxom]

I use a Hasselblad 201F with 1/1000th focal plane shutter.... Mainly for use with funky lenses shot wide open. For that, a fast shutter is needed.

 

[film_man]

... can be had if you pick up a 2000 or 2003 FCW body and put your lens(es) on that. Everything else you have will fit too.
Then you have a choice: fast speeds to be able to use a lens wide open in bright light, and fast synch speeds when you need them.

A problem is only a problem if, and for as long as, you do not have the solution.

Yes a simple solution to my problem, buying another very expensive and nearly impossible to find camera. Why didn't I think of that...

 

[hpulley]

Yes a simple solution to my problem, buying another very expensive and nearly impossible to find camera. Why didn't I think of that...

Well, the simplest and cheapest solution for you to use a faster shutter speed is to use your EOS bodies but they aren't MF of course.

Is there a cheaper FP shutter MF camera?

 

[film_man]

Well, the simplest and cheapest solution for you to use a faster shutter speed is to use your EOS bodies but they aren't MF of course.

Is there a cheaper FP shutter MF camera?

Personally I'm not too bothered about the 1/500 limit. I just mentioned that on a few occasions it was an issue but nothing that I couldn't live with.

As for other FP MF cameras, as far as I know the only ones are 645, like the Contax, Mamiya and H1/2/2F.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

In that case, your 1/500th is probably only 1/300th. That could be a problem.

No, the problem is usually with the topmost speed being the most inaccurate. Look at it this way, say that inertia, friction, etc causes a 400 usec delay. At 1/1000 sec this is a 40% error but at 1/100 sec it is only a 4% error.

 

[Q.G.]

Yes a simple solution to my problem, buying another very expensive and nearly impossible to find camera. Why didn't I think of that...

Yes... Solutions always are so painfully obvious once you know them.

 

[Q.G.]

No, the problem is usually with the topmost speed being the most inaccurate. Look at it this way, say that inertia, friction, etc causes a 400 usec delay. At 1/1000 sec this is a 40% error but at 1/100 sec it is only a 4% error.

Shutterspeeds are set/calibrated with that inertia/friction present.
So the error at high speeds probably is (should be) the same as at low speeds.
The bigger problem with fast speeds is shutter efficiency at small apertures.

 

[nick mulder]

He's not talking about inertia/friction in a constant sense - he's talking about the inherent +/- variation trip to trip.

The error might be different at different speeds but I think the trend would be towards the error getting relatively larger compared to the actual shutter time as you go up the speed range (1/500th compared to 1/30th for instance).

I think that the example numbers given are a bit sloppy for most shutters ! But could easily be of concern whilst reconditioning a 100 year old+ pickard and are of interest in talking about the limitations of shutter speed (forgetting other limiting factors like film reciprocity and the rest). I think of course they were supplied in the interests of making his point clearer...

Maybe I should let him speak for himself

 

[hnrh2]

One or twice using 400 film in bright day light with a lens that has minimum apperture of f16 it was a problem (no mediu format). Else never. And I was just one stop short. So it was not really a problem.

 

[degruyl]

One or twice using 400 film in bright day light with a lens that has minimum apperture of f16 it was a problem (no mediu format). Else never. And I was just one stop short. So it was not really a problem.

That's what I was trying to get at before, only I've run into it with a max of f/22 and it was medium format. Slower film was the correct answer, filters were the answer I used. In the real world, it is hardly an issue. Once you meter and think "MY god, it is bright today, maybe I shouldn't be using ISO 320 film..." you should probably finish the roll and switch to something slower.

 

[Q.G.]

You do quickly run out of options using 'regular' ISO 100 film and an f/2 lens too.

Doesn't even have to be bright sunlight: f/2 at 1/500 is a 'paltry' EV 11. Bright sunlight, ISO 100 film, needs EV 15 or thereabouts (and then even 1/2000 will not help keep your lens wide open).

 

[hpulley]

With a medium format camera why don't you just bring two or more backs? Pan F Plus 50 in one back solves all your too bright problems with only 1/400 and f/22 to use.