What shutter speed should I use to avoid camera shake when hand-holding?

Question

How can I estimate the slowest shutter speed I can use while hand-holding a camera without introducing blur from camera shake? I’m interested in general rules of thumb for different sensor sizes, how image stabilization affects this, and whether there’s a practical way to test my own limit.

user67 · Accepted Answer

General Rule

The general rule of thumb for 35mm (full frame) has been the reciprocal of the focal length.

This means that for a 50mm lens, the minimum shutter speed when hand-holding is 1/50 sec.

1/(focal length) = 1/50

Since this is usually not an option, 1/60 sec is the next option.

Since the move to digital and multiple sensor sizes, the generally agreed upon rule is that the effective focal length is the number to keep in mind.

So, on a APS-C cropped sensor, a 50mm lens would need a 1/(50 * 1.6) = 1/80 sec.

On a longer telephoto, say a 300mm on a full-frame (35mm) you would need 1/300 sec.

Image stabilization

Camera (and lens) makers are now adding image-stabilization to their lenses, which lowers the shutter speed needed. Generally the makers will rate the level of stabilization in stops. Keep in mind these ratings are used for marketing and may be a bit inflated, but I am going to do my calculations based on the numbers being correct to keep it simple.

If you are using a 100mm lens with a 2 stop image stabilization system on a APS-C cropped sensor then:

 (1/(effective focal length)) * (2 ^ image-stabilization-stops)

 (1/(100*1.6)) * (2^2)

 (1/160)*4 = 1/40 sec

What shutter speed should I use to avoid camera shake when hand-holding?

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