My uncle, a lifelong darkroom guy, insisted I always use a tripod for 400 speed film and I finally saw why when my first roll of Portra 400 came back blurry from hand-holding in low light.

Has anyone else found a specific speed where you just can't trust your hands anymore?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade321mo agoMost Upvoted

Got a roll of HP5 back last summer shot at 1/30th on a 50mm, and every single indoor shot looked like my subject was vibrating. I was so sure I could brace myself against a doorframe, but nope. That experience basically rewired my brain, and now my camera doesn't even come out of the bag without a tripod if the light starts to fade.

dylanwilliams2mo ago

Your uncle is totally right about that tripod rule. It's wild how much you can get away with on sunny days. So what's your absolute slowest shutter speed you try to hand-hold now, after getting those blurry shots back? For me, anything under 1/125th on a 50mm lens is just asking for trouble.

claire_fisher412mo ago

Remember my friend who swore he could hand-hold his 50mm at 1/60? His whole roll of Delta 3200 looked like a shaky ghost convention.