Best modes for a beginner

Part 1

Shutter Priority 

On Canon it is indicated by ( Tv ) on Nikon ( S ) on others ( Sv )

When the camera is set to Shutter Priority ( Tv, S, Sv ) you control the shutter speed and the camera will automaticaly select the Aperture for proper exposure.

TIP: The suggested safe shutter speed for hand held shooting is 1/60 at 50mm focal length when you change lens focal length the general suggested guideline is to simply place a 1 over the focal length. 

Example: 250mm lens – safe Handheld minimum shutter speed is 1/250 

Note: To freeze action like an ocean wave, water splash etc.  your shutter speed should be 1/500 or above.

 Q:  In certain lighting situations I cannot get a high enough shutter speed to safely hand hold the camera, what can I do to raise the shutter speed?

A: When shooting in shutter priority you can raise the shutter speed by Increasing ↑ ISO from say ISO100 to ISO800

Q: Doesn’t increasing ISO effect the image quality?

A: In Short yes, as ISO increases so does digital image noise. With todays post processing software much if not all the noise can be reduced or eliminated. The trade-off, using post processing software to remove noise will make the image soft.

TIP: Do test shots with your camera and determine what the highest ISO acceptable is and make a mental note of that ISO setting. I will go into more detail about ISO in seperate post.

The ultimate remedy for low shutter speed is to use a nearby stable surface or tripod and use self timer or a remote trigger.

In my next post I will talk about Aperture Priority

Feel free to leave comments and questions.