A question about shutter speeds in Video vs. Photo with telephoto lenses

[ilia_isakov]

<p>Please before you flip away, read the questions below marked as A, B or C or simply PLEASE SHARE PROBLEMS AND CAMERA SPECIFICATIONS YOU USE WHEN SHOOTING VIDEO WITH TELEPHOTO LENSES. If you are interested in answering me on a more detailed level then read the entire thing. Here is what I'm asking about:</p>

<p>I am thinking about buying the panasonic 4.0-5.6 45-200 telephoto lens. I do both video and photo. But my priority is video in this question.<br>

Here is what I know<br>

For Photo<br>

If I was to shoot at the 200mm end I would probably adjust my shutter speed to about 1/400 of a sec range. And in situations where light is not as available, even a heavily overcast and dark day, this would mean a few things. If ISO is kept to reasonable limits - then camera aperture will have to be in the fast end, probably reaching the 4-5.6 limit. Give or take……… am i correct?</p>

<p>Ok now assuming this is true for photo, how does this translate in video world. Here are my assumptions, BUT PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR INPUT BASED ON EXPERIENCE WITH WORKING WITH LONG REACHING LENSES WITH VIDEO ON DSLR'S.<br>

I will probably need to use a tripod………I know…….but I am not a tripod person, I like my freedom.<br>

So assuming I will not use my tripod, here is my first questions A) will increasing the shutter speed decrease overall footage shake (I know it photography it simply captures the image too fast for the increased sensitivity to shake that Telephoto lenses have, to have any affect, what does this mean when shooting "moving pictures"/video. will it have any affect other than aesthetic ones.<br>

B) Which brings me to a tangent question- what exactly does increasing shutter <br>

speed do on resulting video footage, I know it makes it more crisp and less motion blur. <br>

But what about the picture shaking corner to corner. how does this affect the entire <br>

footage logo.<br>

C) if increasing shutter speeds in telephoto videography is senseless, then does this obligate me to the tripod, or is there a way around that. </p>

 

[Karim Ghantous]

<p>Since nobody has responded, I may as well share my opinions.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>If ISO is kept to reasonable limits - then camera aperture will have to be in the fast end, probably reaching the 4-5.6 limit. Give or take……… am i correct?<br>

</p>

</blockquote>

<p>In general, yes.<br>

</p>

<blockquote>

<p>but I am not a tripod person, I like my freedom.</p>

<p> </p>

</blockquote>

<p>Photographers do not need tripods. Alfred Eisenstadt never carried one. However, if you're doing video, and you're using a long lens, you do need to stabilise the camera. Even if you have a wide-angle lens, you can't successfully hand-hold a video/movie camera if you are moving - unless you use a Steadicam or similar device.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>B) Which brings me to a tangent question- what exactly does increasing shutter <br />speed do on resulting video footage, I know it makes it more crisp and less motion blur.</p>

</blockquote>

<p> <br>

Yes. But... a high shutter speed will only make individual frames sharp. It will not affect how much shake there is.<br>

</p>

<blockquote>

<p>C) if increasing shutter speeds in telephoto videography is senseless, then does this obligate me to the tripod, or is there a way around that.</p>

</blockquote>

<p> </p>

<p>There is no way around it, sorry. ;-) There is a very good reason why movie cameras are always stabilised - tripods, dollies, cranes, Steadicams whatever. This is not a luxury - it is done because nobody wants to watch shaky footage.</p>

<p>And remember that camera stabilisation is not the same as sensor or lens stabilisation. Sometimes you can use optical or sensor stabilisation instead of a camera platform, but never assume that you can.</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>Plus one to Karim.<br /><br />Shutter speeds with video and movie film stay pretty much the same regardless of what lens you are using, generally in the 1/30th to 1/60th range. If you blow up a frame of movie film or video, from Gone With the Wind to today, you will see motion blur on fast-moving subjects. But since movie/video is a series of still images that blur together to create motion, and no individual frame gets looked at long enough to tell whether it has motion blur, it doesn't matter. The purpose of being able to set a higher shutter speed is mainly for exposure control -- by raising the shutter speed you can use a given aperture without needing a neutral density filter.<br /><br />Higher shutter speeds do not help with camera shake, and the on-screen shakiness is magnified with longer focal lengths. You can hand-hold video at a wide angle zoom setting for short periods of time, and it's easier if you have a big shoulder-mounted video camera with lots of inertia and the stability of being on your shoulder. But for "normal' to telephoto focal lengths you definitely need a tripod of other support, actually much more so than in still photography.</p>