Nikon Z 24-120mm, slowest comfortable hand held shutter speed?

[Rookie Roy]

For the Nikon Z 24-120mm (which doesn’t have image stabilization), when used on a Z9 or Z8 (which has IBIS) , used at 120mm hand held, what is the lowest shutter speed that you are reasonably confident that you will get a good percentage of shots in focus? For this question I’m assuming a static subject.

 

[hef19898]

Without IBIS, somewhere around 1/90, lower than that I shoot a short burst (if I think about it in the field...). With IBIS, I got reliably good results aroubd 1/60th and even as slow as 1/30 (again, a burst helps). All on a Z6, and I realized that I got comparable results on a heavy D700 with grip without VR.

 

[Ralph]

For the Nikon Z 24-120mm (which doesn’t have image stabilization), when used on a Z9 or Z8 (which has IBIS) , used at 120mm hand held, what is the lowest shutter speed that you are reasonably confident that you will get a good percentage of shots in focus? For this question I’m assuming a static subject.

Usually the rule of thumb is 1 over the focal length. In your case, 1/120.

 

[TurtleCat]

It really depends on a lot of factors like your natural steadiness, your ability to find a comfortable stance or being braced against something solid, etc. Assuming a realistic 4 stops of VR on a modern body (regardless of the rating it's generally less in realistic usage) I can usually get good pics at 1/30 or faster with the 24-120 f4. There may be a little bit of shake but not very much. That number can go up and down depending on things like wind, being on a steady/unsteady platform, etc. So I generally aim for 1/100 or faster and I've gone as low as 1/15 when braced against a tree or building. I'll usually do a burst as well and expect one to be sharper than the rest.

Another factor is if what you're aiming at is higher, lower, or same height as you as it changes the forces on your arms. And, of course, early in the day after a good sleep will be better than later in the day after a lot of activity or being hungry so expect that your minimum number will change through the day.

 

[Patrick M]

you don't have VR but the Z8 & Z9 have great IBIS. 1/30 should be doable....it also depends how steady you are of course. As they say, tucking the elbows in helps stability...

 

[hef19898]

And releasimg the shutter between breath without holding said breath.

 

[Nimi]

Usually the rule of thumb is 1 over the focal length. In your case, 1/120.

I thought it was 1 over double. So 1/250

 

[TurtleCat]

I thought it was 1 over double. So 1/250

My recollection is that the double came about with APS sensors. In any case, though, any rule of thumb is just a starting point for where to start experimenting.

 

[John Navitsky]

idunno, i might do something like 1/30, with a burst and then pick out the sharpest one(s)

 

[John Navitsky]

but really, if i’d probably walk it down. shoot starting at a “reasonable” speed, then do bursts at slower and slower shutter speeds

 

[DRwyoming]

Really hard to say as it depends on personal skill, steadiness and things like can you kneel or lean against a tree or wall. With practice it’s possible to handhold a 120mm lens at much less that 1/100” but shooting bursts can help a lot in terms of getting one or more crisp images.

 

[Calson]

Based on my own experience the slowest shutter speed depended on the mass of the body in terms of absorbing the mirror flop during an exposure. With a mirrorless camera it is only the capabilities of the camera that matter. With the Olympus EM-1 camera and a 300mm f/4 lens I was getting sharp images at 1/10s shooting hand held. With the Z9 and Z8 I would expect the same as with Nikon's own statements the gain with a VR lens is usually only 0.5 stops better than with a non VR lens as the camera is doing 95% of the image stabilization.

With my DSLR cameras I would test how slow a shutter speed I could use and what percentage of usable images resulted. I also quickly became aware of how my technique mattered. I needed to slow down and compose myself and carefully take the shot to get a sharp image. If I rushed to get a shot the chances of getting a sharp image was greatly reduced. With my wedding photography there was a sense of urgency not to miss a shot but until I learned to slow down my results were not optimum.

 

[Johan Schmidt]

Very slow shutter speeds are possible when using the vibration reduction option on the Z9 - for static subjects you can easily get down to 1/10s with the Z 24-120 f4 lens wide open

 

[Anjin San]

For the Nikon Z 24-120mm (which doesn’t have image stabilization), when used on a Z9 or Z8 (which has IBIS) , used at 120mm hand held, what is the lowest shutter speed that you are reasonably confident that you will get a good percentage of shots in focus? For this question I’m assuming a static subject.

On a Z9/8…I’ve used mine at 120mm and 1/30…the trick is to shoot bursts as Steve recommends to get at least a couple good images. I’m pretty sure that 1/10 would still give some good shots in the burst as long as the subject was really static or I didn’t mind the waterfall blurring…but then waterfalls should almost always be blurred.

 

[Roy]

For the Nikon Z 24-120mm (which doesn’t have image stabilization), when used on a Z9 or Z8 (which has IBIS) , used at 120mm hand held, what is the lowest shutter speed that you are reasonably confident that you will get a good percentage of shots in focus? For this question I’m assuming a static subject.

Shutter speed will vary depending on skill level.
If you get the chance brace on a wall or fence ...