shutter speed | FUJI X WEEKLY

Why IBIS is Good to Have

*Fujifilm X-E5 & Fujinon 23mm f/2.8 – 1/6 second exposure handheld – Vivid Velvia*

I’ve never been a staunch advocate of In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS). For the 25+ years that I’ve been creating photographs, only in the last four or five years have I even owned a camera with IBIS, and it has had only a minimal effect on my photography. So I’ve had a take it or leave it attitude towards it—nice to have sometimes, but far from essential. Nowadays, most of my cameras have built-in stabilization, including my X-E5, X-T5, X100VI, GFX100S II, X-T4 ES, Ricoh GR IV, and more. I still have many without IBIS, including an X-E4, X-T30, X100V, and some others. Yes, I own way too many cameras.

For the most part, the inclusion or exclusion of stabilization hasn’t had any significant impact on my photography. I’m not much of a videographer; if I were, I’d want IBIS—in fact, my wife is a videographer, and IBIS is essential for her. With that said, I know of several people who have done amazing video work on non-stabilized cameras. If I used long telephoto lenses, I’d want IBIS. I used to own the Fujinon 100-400mm, but I rarely used it, so I sold it—for that lens, IBIS can be helpful. The longer the lens, the more camera shake is exaggerated, and the more important IBIS is for handheld photography; the wider the lens, the less you need the camera to be stabilized.

*Fujifilm X100V at 1/3 second exposure handheld*

The picture above is nothing special, but, at 1/3 second, I do believe it is the longest I’ve successfully handheld a non-IBIS camera. The leaf shutter in the X100V certainly helped, but mostly I just utilized good techniques, including bracing myself and slowly exhaling as I lightly pressed the shutter release button, which was set on a two-second self-timer. It took several tries to get one sharp result. It was more work than that particular picture was worth, but it does demonstrate that the lack of IBIS isn’t necessarily a major deal.

Aside from that, I could always carry a tripod with me. Even a monopod will potentially offer the stabilization necessary for slow shutter speeds, but a tripod ensures the camera is perfectly still and I’ll get a sharp picture. Before I had cameras with IBIS, I would usually use a tripod for any shutter speed as long as or longer than half the reciprocal focal length of the lens. For example, with a 50mm lens, I can, with good techniques, get a sharp photo as slow as 1/30; anything slower than that needs a tripod. Even in that example, using 1/30th shutter speed with the 50mm lens is definitely pushing the envelope of what I can do, and it might depend on how much coffee I’ve had that day. If the lens is wider, the shutter speed can be slower. For a 12mm lens, 1/8 might not need a tripod, but 1/6 probably does.

*Fujifilm X-T30 & Rokinon 12mm f/2 + tripod – 0.4 second exposure – Kodak Gold 200*

I hate carrying tripods. Especially when traveling, or if I have to hike somewhere, the last thing I want is a tripod. When I was younger, carrying a tripod was less of a big deal (and I’m sure they were heavier back then, too), but now that I’m in my mid-40’s, it’s annoying, and I’d rather avoid it. That’s where IBIS comes in handy. I can go slower and not think twice about it. I don’t have to utilize crazy techniques. I can leave the tripod at home, and just enjoy photography—the camera will take care of my shakiness.

So even though I’m not a big IBIS advocate, and it’s still a feature that 99% of the time I see as nonessential for me, it can certainly be quite handy. It was definitely nice to have on my recent trip to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where I utilized it a number of times for flowing streams and waterfall pictures. I don’t think that every camera needs to have IBIS; however, when I’m packing my camera bag for an adventure, if I think I might be shooting in low-light situations or want a slow shutter speed for effect, you better believe that at least one of my bodies will be stabilized. Having at least one camera with IBIS is good to have.

Exposure Triangle, Part 2: Understanding Shutter Speed

Posted on February 9 by Ritchie Roesch

*Fujifilm X100VI – f/11, ISO 500, 1/15 shutter – Kodak Gold 200*

Part 1: Aperture, Part 3: ISO

Shutter speed simply controls the amount of time that light is exposed to the camera’s sensor. How motion is rendered—either frozen still or as a blur—will depend on the shutter speed. There are a few key things to know, but overall this is all fairly easy to understand.

Before we dive in, I want to quickly revisit aperture, because there’s something I forgot to mention in Part 1. How sunstars and lens flare will appear depends on a number of factors, including (among other things) the aperture you’ve selected. For more pronounced sunstars, use a small aperture, such as f/16. If you want to minimize sunstars and lens flare, use a large aperture, such as f/2. This is just one more factor to consider when choosing the most appropriate aperture for the scene in front of you.

*Forest Sunstar* – Sedona, AZ – Fujifilm X-T50 & Fujinon 23mm f/2 lens at f/14 – California Summer

Now, with that out of the way, let’s talk about shutter speeds. What is it? What does it do to your pictures? How do you control it to get the images that you want?

The quick and simple definition of shutter speed is that it is the amount of time the camera’s shutter curtain is open, allowing light to reach the sensor or film. A fast shutter speed allows very little light to expose the sensor, while a slow shutter speed allows a lot of light in. Shutter speed is one of three elements of the exposure triangle, along with aperture and ISO, and must be used in balance with the other two elements. On many Fujifilm cameras, the shutter speed is controlled by a knob on the top of the camera, marked with numbers like 125, 250, 500, etc., etc..

Some common shutter speeds are 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 and 1/500. There are, of course, many other shutter speeds, this is far from a comprehensive list. 1/15 is an example of a slow shutter speed, and 1/500 is an example of a quick shutter speed. You’ll note that these are fractions, as in fractions of a second. You’ll also note that they’re half or twice as long as the shutter speed on either side, which means that 1/60 lets in half as much light as 1/30, and 1/15 lets in twice as much light as as 1/30. Like aperture, there are intermediate stops in-between the full stops—most commonly one-third stops, but sometimes half-stops.

Shutter speed is about motion, either freezing or showing it. A slow shutter speed will show motion as a blur, while a fast shutter speed will freeze it. In the first picture below, which was captured with a 1/450 shutter speed, you’d never know that the car was zooming by, because the motion was frozen. The second picture below, which was captured with a 1/80 shutter speed, shows the motion through the car’s blur. The third picture below, which was captured with a 1/60 shutter speed, shows the motion through panning, where the car is sharp but the background blurred from the sweeping lens.

*Fujifilm X-M1 & Fujinon 90mm – 1/450 shutter speed*

*Fujifilm X-M1 & Fujinon 90mm – 1/80 shutter speed*

*Fujifilm X-M1 & Fujinon 90mm – 1/60 shutter speed*

In order to freeze motion, there are a few considerations: the focal length of the lens, the distance of the moving object, and it’s speed. The longer the focal length of the lens, the faster the minimum shutter speed needs to be; the shorter the focal length, the slower the minimum shutter speed needs to be. The closer and faster the moving object is, the faster the shutter speed needs to be; the further and slower the moving object is, the slower the shutter needs to be in order to freeze it.

If nothing is moving in the frame, the only motion is the photographer. A tripod will eliminate camera shake; if you don’t have a tripod, in-body-image-stabilization (IBIS) or optical-image-stabilization (OIS) can help to a degree. If your gear doesn’t have stabilization, you’ll want to use this rule of thumb: whatever the focal length of the lens is (or in the case of Fujifilm cameras, the full-frame-equivalent focal length), the minimum shutter speed should be a similar number. For example, if the lens is 18mm, which has a full-frame-equivalent focal length of 27mm, the slowest hand-held shutter speed is around 1/30. If the lens is 90mm, which has a full-frame-equivalent focal length of 135mm, the slowest hand-held shutter speed is around 1/125. With good techniques, you can often get a sharp picture with even slower shutter speeds, but that takes practice.

*Fujifilm GFX100S II & Fujinon 80mm f/1.7 – f/9, ISO 320, 1/680 shutter – 1970’s Summer*

In order to freeze motion, for portraits, events, kids, and pets, I recommend a minimum shutter speed of 1/125, but faster is better, such as 1/250. For sports and moving wildlife, the minimum shutter speed should be 1/250, but faster is better, such as 1/500. If the motion is blurry, increase the shutter speed. In order to show motion as a blur, the maximum shutter speed will likely need to be under 1/125, and probably under 1/30, just depending on the situation. If the blur is insufficient, decrease the shutter speed.

Another shutter speed consideration is in regards to flash photography. Some cameras, such as the X100-series, have a leaf shutter, which allows for high-speed flash sync; however, most cameras don’t have a leaf shutter, and have a maximum shutter speed for flash. On Fujifilm models, this is marked by an “X” next to the shutter speed—for example, on the X-T5, the maximum shutter speed for flash photography is 1/250, which is marked as 250X on the shutter knob. The fastest shutter speed you should use with flash photography is the one with the X next to it.

*Fujifilm X-T5 & Fujinon 56mm f/1.2 + flash – f/4, ISO 500, 1/250 shutter – Nostalgic Americana*

The two main things to remember about shutter speed are 1) that it is used to show motion, either frozen still or as a blur, and 2) it is one aspect of the exposure triangle, and must be balanced with both aperture and ISO. Increasing the shutter speed reduces the light, so you may need to use a larger aperture and/or a higher ISO to compensate; reducing the shutter speed increases the light, so you may need to use a smaller aperture and/or lower ISO. It’s a balancing act. Used thoughtfully, shutter speed can express movement in creative ways, so take a moment to consider how to best use it for the scene in front of you.

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm GFX100S II:
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Fujinon GF 80mm f/1.7:
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Fujifilm X-T5 in black:
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Fujifilm X-T5 in silver:
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Fujinon 56mm f/1.2 R WR:
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Fujinon 90mm f/2:
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Fujifilm X100VI in black:
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Fujifilm X100VI in silver:
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What’s Old is New — Or, the Global Shutter Hype

Posted on November 7, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

There’s a lot of hype around a camera that Sony just announced: the a9 III (such an inspiring name, right? When will camera makers come up with more memorable—and, in turn, marketable—names?). What’s special about this camera is that it’s the world’s first full-frame stacked CMOS global shutter camera.

Global shutter? What’s that? Specifically, we’re talking electronic shutter, and not mechanical. Typically, CMOS sensors are read line-by-line, and not every line at once, which can cause problems like rolling shutter effect. This makes the electronic shutter less useful, as it’s more limited than the mechanical shutter; however, there are also several advantages to an electronic shutter, so sometimes it is preferable. With a global shutter, all the light sensitive sensor elements are read at the same time (not line-by-line), eliminating the disadvantages of the electronic shutter.

This is a significant step forward in camera technology, and I don’t want to diminish that, but at the same time the hype is a bit overhyped. Let me explain why.

One of the big advantages touted by those who are especially excited for this new technology is that it eliminates the need for flash sync speed. Use whatever shutter speed you desire for flash, including ultra-fast. Interestingly enough, this limitation doesn’t exist for leaf shutters, which are a mechanical shutter type found in some cameras, namely the Fujifilm X100-series. If you have a Fujifilm X100V and you are using the mechanical shutter, there’s no need to worry about flash sync speed. Granted, most cameras don’t have a leaf shutter, and leaf shutters are mechanical and not electronic; however, I found it interesting nonetheless that the global shutter solves a problem that isn’t always a problem, depending on your camera. If you don’t have $6,000 to shell out for a new camera, but you already own an X100-series model, you don’t have to worry about missing out, and you can let the FOMO rest for awhile.

*Fujifilm X100F — Shutter 1/2000 — flash on*

Did you notice all of the qualifiers for the “world’s first” designation? Specifically, full frame and stacked CMOS global shutter. Why do you think those needed to be added? Well, the first full frame camera with a global shutter was the Contax N, way back in 2002 (it was developed in 2000, but it took awhile to come to market). The first camera with a global shutter, in theory, was developed by Kodak in the 1970’s. You see, CCD sensors, which were common before CMOS, were technically global shutter sensors. They became outdated before advancements in camera technology allowed photographers to take advantage of that aspect of them, but, technically speaking, global shutters are far from new, they’re only new to CMOS. Actually, Panasonic made a global shutter CMOS sensor back in 2018; however, the technology is newly coming to the market just now.

The promise of the global shutter is that the disadvantages of the electronic shutter are eliminated, and the need for a mechanical shutter is reduced or eliminated. The mechanical shutter has served photography pretty well over the last 150-ish years, so it’s not exactly a high-priority item to replace (in my humble opinion), but perhaps having fewer moving parts in future camera models will extend the life of those bodies (maybe). If you have a leaf shutter camera, the advantages of a global shutter is much less significant, but if you don’t, it’s a bigger deal for sure. Of course, global shutters bring their own disadvantages (most namely, it takes more processing power to read and store everything all at once). I think it’s just a matter of time before global shutter sensors are common, and perhaps as a result mechanical shutters will be much less common in future cameras.

I’m not saying that the need for improved electronic shutters doesn’t exist, or that significant advancements in the technology shouldn’t be celebrated. I’m simply stating that what’s old is new. That the hype is a little overhyped. For most people, the Sony A9 III won’t be a game-changer, or a milestone model remembered for decades and decades to come (as some are suggesting). I’m certain it will be a great camera that many will love and it will sell quite well for Sony, but for the majority of people, the differences between global and non-global electronic shutters will make little or no practical difference to them and their photography. For some, however, it will be a big deal, and for those folks, it’s worth noting and celebrating. Don’t be surprised if the X-H3 or X-T6 has this technology (I have no idea, I’m just speculating). If you have a leaf shutter camera, such as the X100V, you’re already enjoying the benefits, at least when it comes to flash sync speed and (nearly) silent operation.

Camera Basics: Shutter Speed

Posted on November 2, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Fujifilm X-T30 & Rokinon 12mm – 0.4 Second Shutter Speed

Let’s talk about shutter speed! What is it? What does it do to your pictures? How do you control it to get the images that you want? For many of you, this is something you already know very well, but for others this will be helpful information.

The quick and simple definition of shutter speed is this: the amount of time that the camera’s shutter curtain is open, allowing light to reach the camera’s sensor or film. A fast shutter speed allows very little light to expose the sensor or film, while a slow shutter speed allows a lot of light to expose the sensor or film. Shutter speed is one of three elements of the exposure triangle, with aperture and ISO being the other two.

Some examples of common shutter speeds are 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 and 1/500. There are, of course, many other shutter speeds, this is far from a comprehensive list. 1/15 is an example of a slow shutter speed, and 1/500 is an example of a quick shutter speed. You’ll note that these are fractions, as in fractions of a second. You’ll also note that they’re half or twice as long as the shutter speed on either side, which means that 1/60 lets in half as much light as 1/30, and 1/15 lets in twice as much light as as 1/30.

If the shutter speed is too slow, you’ll have blur from camera shake, unless you’re using a tripod. A rule of thumb for the slowest hand-held shutter speed (without the help of image stabilization) is this: whatever the focal-length of the lens is (or in the case of Fujifilm X, the 35mm-equivalent focal-length), the shutter speed should be a similar number. For example, if the lens is 12mm, which has a 35mm-equivalent focal-length of about 18mm, the slowest hand-held shutter speed is around 1/15 or 1/20. If the lens is 90mm, which has a 35mm-equivalent focal-length of 135mm, the slowest hand-held shutter speed is around 1/125. With good techniques, you can often get a sharp picture with even slower shutter speeds, but that takes practice. Otherwise, you’ll have to use a tripod.

Shutter speed is about motion, either freezing it or showing it. A slow shutter speed will show motion (such as the picture at the top of this article, where the water is blurred), while a fast shutter speed will freeze it (such as the picture directly below this paragraph, where the moving car is sharp). In the first picture below, which was captured with a 1/450 shutter speed, you’d never know that the car was zooming by, because the motion was frozen. The second picture below, which was captured with a 1/80 shutter speed, shows the motion through the car’s blur. The third picture below, which was captured with a 1/60 shutter speed, shows the motion through panning, where the car is sharp but the background blurred from the sweeping lens.

You can show motion in a photograph using a slow shutter speed, and some of that motion might not be immediately obvious. In the first picture below, the firework is moving during the exposure, showing colorful light streaks. In the second picture, the earth’s rotation makes the stars streak. In the third picture, intentionally shaking the lens creates an abstract picture through the camera’s movement.

Fujifilm X100V – 20 second shutter speed

Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 100-400mm – 30 second shutter speed

Fujifilm X-T20 & Fujinon 90mm – 1/15 shutter speed

A fast shutter speed will freeze motion. If there’s some fast-moving object that you want to capture still without blur, you need a quick shutter. This might be a car driving down the road, running kids or jumping pets. Just how fast the shutter needs to be depends on how fast the object is moving, how close it is to the lens, and the focal-length of the lens. The picture below is an example of freezing a moving object with a fast shutter speed.

Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 90mm – 1/2000 shutter speed

It takes much practice to master the shutter, but with practice you’ll know exactly what shutter speed you need to get the picture that you want. There are many variables, so there’s no one-size-fits-all recommendation. Don’t be afraid to experiment. You might fail, but you’ll learn, which will lead to success. Be creative! Put the camera on a tripod and try some different slow shutter speeds. Try photographing your kids or pets using a fast shutter. Pretty soon you’ll be a master of the shutter, totally in control of your camera.