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Shutter speeds vs. quality?

Waytoomuch
Enthusiast

I have a 7d with the 70-200 IS lens and love taking sports.

My question is related to picture quality vs. shutter speeds. 

With plenty of sun light I am able to crank up speeds to 1/8000 sec. but am wondering if I sacrafice quality at those speeds if I do manage to get a shot that I want to enlarge.

 

Thx

20 REPLIES 20

Skirball
Authority

If you get enough light to get proper exposure (without turning up the ISO), then no, the ultra-high shutter speeds won't effect IQ.  For any sort of typical dynamic shots 1/8000 is overkill for stopping the action, so you won't gain anything from it, but it won't hurt either.   Bottom out your ISO, set your aperture for the DOF you want, and the shutter speed will be what it needs to be.

You haven't said what kind of sports nor how you're able to shoot at such a high SS. If you're forcing the camera to shoot the lens  wide open or nearly wide open you DOF may be too shallow to reflect the surroundings & how they play into the shot. On the other hand if you have any interest in motorsports or aviation you'll need to learn how to shoot them with low shutter speeds. Take a good look at the EXIF for those 1/8000 shots to see what f stop it took to get them & what your ISO was.

"A skill is developed through constant practice with a passion to improve, not bought."

Thx for the advice. I am shooting girls fast pitch softball and ultimatly I want to stop the ball in flight completely. I have another game to shoot this evening so I will continue to experiment with iso/shutter speeds and debth of field however shooting at f2.8 from a distance of 50ft and above the shallow depth of field has worked wonderfull with this L lens!

Thx for the advice. I am shooting girls fast pitch softball and ultimatly I want to stop the ball in flight completely. I have another game to shoot this evening so I will continue to experiment with iso/shutter speeds and debth of field however shooting at f2.8 from a distance of 50ft and above the shallow depth of field has worked wonderfull with this L lens!

I wouldn't really consider that shooting sports. The camera / lens combo you're using can do that in the spray & prey mode as long as you shoot across the balls intended path. Try getting 2 or 3 shots like your talking about from a sequence where you pan while following the ball's path.

 

"A skill is developed through constant practice with a passion to improve, not bought."

You would be surprised at how fast this game is and the speed at which it is played. I do pan the camera but I also want the proper framing as well. Nothing like capturing a young lady with make-up on doing a face plant on a muddy field.


@Waytoomuch wrote:

You would be surprised at how fast this game is and the speed at which it is played. I do pan the camera but I also want the proper framing as well. Nothing like capturing a young lady with make-up on doing a face plant on a muddy field.


Well, I disagree with his opinion that softball isn't a sport, but from the camera's POV the people themselves aren't really 'fast'.  The except are the extremities - swinging hands, feet kicking a soccer ball, baseball bats.  You'll need upward of 1/4000+ to free those - if you want to, movement can look good too.  But the girl falling in the mud can easily be frozen with less.

 

But to answer your question, the shutter speed won't decrease IQ.  If there isn't enough sunlight to shoot minimum ISO and Maximum shutter, at whatever aperture you use, then you'll have to make a descision between ISO and speed, noise and blur.  Best bet is to just get out there and shoot and you'll start learning what reasonable.  I never shoot baseball or Nascar, so 1/8000 is well above where I spend my time.

I'm not saying baseball or softball aren't sports. Freezing a ball in flight isn't a sport. The camera ^& lens being used CAN do it if the operator does their part. I doubt the ball will be going faster than 60 MPH since pro baseball players aren't throwing it so the exercise would be similar to shooting the ornament on a car's hub cap while it travels down a highway. 

 

"A skill is developed through constant practice with a passion to improve, not bought."

HDCamTeam
Enthusiast

@Waytoomuch wrote:

I have a 7d with the 70-200 IS lens and love taking sports.

My question is related to picture quality vs. shutter speeds. 

With plenty of sun light I am able to crank up speeds to 1/8000 sec. but am wondering if I sacrafice quality at those speeds if I do manage to get a shot that I want to enlarge.

 

Thx


Hi @Waytoomuch,

 

The EOS 7D with two Digic IV has enough potential to process 8fps and apply NR on the fly, but I wouldn't suggest to set a high ISO for this task (just a comment).

 

In normal conditions, the fast shutter speed and fast frame rate shouldn't decrease the IQ of the pictures. But the sensor heating will indeed (especially noticeable at mid to high ISO). So try to keep the camera as fresh/cold as possible (if you're shooting in hot weather / hot season)

 

Regards

 

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