DSLR Noob / Shutter Speed Question

[Colin Aitchison]

Hi there,

 

I've been fliming for fun for years on all sorts of consumer grade cameras. I've just picked up a 7D and have a question about filming with it. I've watched a ton of tutorials but can't get a clear answer.

 

A lot of tutorials say to only film at 1/30 > 1/50 shutter speed. What is the reason for this? Apart from screens and lights not being displayed correctly is there any other reasons?

If I am fliming stuff that doesn't feature artificial lights is it OK to adjust shutter speed accordingly or do I have to purchase an ND filter?

 

 

[andy lee]

I used to shoot on film exclusively and there is the 180 degree shutter rule I use so

 

have a read of this it explains it all simply

http://luispower2013.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/the-180-degree-rule/

 

 

in a nut shell shoot on 1/50 sec for normal filmic look

shoot 150- 180/ sec region for the Saving Private Ryan , Gladiator action crisper less motion blur look - (I dont use it much)

 

but I do drop down to 1/30 in low light on pop videos I shoot for a more motion blur look

[DevonChris]

This is a really good article too:

 

http://www.lavideofilmmaker.com/dv-film-look/how-to-make-digital-video-look-like-film.html

 

There is some really excellent information about film making on that website.

[Inazuma]

Rule of thumb is what ever FPS youre shooting at, set the shutter speed to double. So if shooting at 24 or 25 fps, set the shutter to 1/50th.

[fuzzynormal]

If I am fliming stuff that doesn't feature artificial lights is it OK to adjust shutter speed accordingly or do I have to purchase an ND filter?

 

You can do whatever you want, but like others have said, double shutter to the frame rate=motion pix rules. 

 

So, if you're outside at say f5.6, a shutter speed of 50, ISO 100, and it's still overexposed, then yeah, slap some ND on there to bring it where it needs to be.  Or, sacrifice f-stop/Depth of field and close down the iris.  

 

Personally, I like a f-stop around 5.6 and a shutter of 50 when shooting with the 7D DSLR @24fps.  I lock that in and control exposure with ISO or ND filters.

[Damphousse]

 

A lot of tutorials say to only film at 1/30 > 1/50 shutter speed. What is the reason for this? Apart from screens and lights not being displayed correctly is there any other reasons?

If I am fliming stuff that doesn't feature artificial lights is it OK to adjust shutter speed accordingly or do I have to purchase an ND filter?

 

As others have stated it affects how much motion blur you have.  Shooting video is different than shooting photography.   You don't want to vary your shutter speed from shot to shot during the day like you do with shooting stills.  It is going to look weird.  You need to pick a shutter speed and stick to it.    Shutter speed is not an exposure tool in video for the most part.  You can vary it a little for exposure purposes as a compromise but that is not ideal.

 

You need to experiment.  Try shooting some sports with the standard 180â° shutter rule, double your frame rate.  Then try using a substantial faster shutter speed.  With a faster shutter speed you will get more staccato movement which works great for sports and action sequences, but will just seem odd if utilized throughout a movie.

 

You can tell low end cell phone video from higher end video productions because you will see this type of staccato movement in cell phone videos shot under bright sunlight.  You need to use ND filters to prevent this from happening.

 

Ideally you are using shutter angle/shutter speed to control motion blur and that's it.  You use aperture to control depth of field.  And you use ISO and ND filters to control exposure.  Yes you have some wiggle room with the shutter angle and aperture but with aperture on these smaller sensor bodies they get diffraction limited pretty quick and you don't want to stop down past f/11 on good lenses and f/22 is a big no no.

 

You can skip to the conclusion at the bottom of this page for a discussion about optimal apertures.

[Colin Aitchison]

Awesome, thanks for the replies.

 

So I guess a good quality variable ND filter is a solid investment? From what I read the cheap ones are not worth your money..

[varicam]

I use my Tiffen variable ND filter all the time. So far so good.

[sandro]

I wouldn't shoot anything above 1/50-1/60 so for me ND filter is a must.