mwsilvers wrote:
In my first post I failed to answer the second part of your query regarding the shutter speed. The convention wisdom to prevent hand held blur of stationary subjects is 1/focal length x crop factor which in this case would be 1/80 second.
However don't use that guideline as a standard. First, it is only intended for static images. For moving subjects the shutter speed will have to be much faster to capture an image without motion blur. Second, lenses with image stabilization will allow you to capture sharp static images hand held at much lower shutter speeds. Cameras that also have in-body image stabilization (IBIS) will allow you to capture those same images at significantly slower shutter speeds.
In addition your skills as a photographer, how you stand, how you breathe, how you hold and brace your camera, and how you depress the shutter button will all affect how slow a shutter speed can be and still give you sharp results. However all of these techniques will have less impact on subjects that are moving.
Shutter speed is part of the exposure triangle with aperture and ISO. Selecting a shutter speed in relation to the ISO and aperture to get you the desired results is part of the creative process.
Slower shutter speeds can allow you to use creative blur to, for example, give a sense of motion by blurring a ball that's being pitched to a batter in a baseball game. It can also be used to give a milky or cotton like quality to moving water that many people like.
In my first post I failed to answer the second par... (
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Let's not forget as well the ubiquity of in-camera and in-lens stabilization in today's gear, which allows greater leeway in avoiding blurred results.