Which SLR allows consistent handheld steady and slow shutterspeed ?

[f16sunshine]

The Contax RX and Aria have very smooth shutter and Mirror action. I've had great luck over the years with those two cameras in low light and slow speeds often to 1/15.

[raytoei@gmail.com]

thanks much for all the responses. i will probably practice on the pellix a bit more at 1/15 and try even 1/8. It seems that a heavier body + technique are key here.

[Frontman]

You don't need any particular camera for slow speed shooting, you simply need a steady hand. You can use the same technique with a camera which you use with a firearm; a good stance, proper breathing technique, and a smooth and light push on the shutter button.

A heavier camera (like a heavier firearm) is steadier than a light camera. A motor drive with batteries installed can give you a steadier camera, and even better balance, and the added weight also reduces the amount of vibration caused by the shutter (if you are shooting with the motor drive turned off).

[Fawley]

I tend to agree with Frontman. I know my Minolta XK will give good steady hand held shots at 1/15 but I suspect others will as well. Older Nikons, even Spotmatics, but not my Minolta SRT's.

[raytoei@gmail.com]

One last question: Does the Soft release button commonly paired in RFs work well for SLRs too ? ie. a gain of +1 stop ?

thanks

[Rob-F]

Pretty much what everyone else said. A heavy camera is better, and the less vibration from the shutter and from mirror clatter, the better. For me, it's the Nikon F100, FA, or FE2. The optional battery pack for the F100 adds more mass, and further improves stability. The same goes for motor drives on the other models. All that clatter and bang of the motor occurs after the exposure, not during; while the added mass makes the camera more solid.

[rxmd]

Image-stabilized lenses on a halfway modern body.

[raytoei@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by varjag

Leica M with Visoflex.

Varjag,

can you elaborate on it ? From what I read, Visoflex is not immuned from mirror-slap. I have a M4 which i am considering using the Visoflex II with some of my elmarit 90 or hektor 135 for
portrait in available light.

thanks

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

The EOS RT has the normal mode and RT mode. With the switch set to "RT" it will fire the shutter with the 8 millisecond delay (from memory). A part of the reason it can do this so fast is it will also stop down the aperture when you focus (as soon as the autofocus locks the mechanism stops the lens) and not when you release the shutter. So, if you set the camera to RT mode and focus, the camera has stopped down in advance, the mirror doesn't move--all that happens when you depress the release the rest of the way is the shutter opens and closes. I haven't tried the EOS1-N RS yet, but this would be even better, with many more features. Both RT and 1-N RS were available quite inexpensively from KEH last time I checked, although personally I don't need autofocus very often, so the RT gets little use these days.

But there are certain applications where they are almost unbeatable. I think I may have mentioned once that I took a few fireworks shots three years or so ago. Had an RT loaded with colour neg and an EOS 630 (on which the RT is based) with Provia 100F. It was so much easier to make long exposures with the RT, because you could actually verify that you'd captured the bursts during the exposure and could monitor the framing. With the 630, it was a case of hold the cable release open and hoping for the best... For flash work (as was previously mentioned) you get the benefit of watching the flash fire during the exposure, like a TLR or RF, which can be useful sometimes, too.

The RT/RS mirror bounces 2/3 of a stop of light up to the finder as I recall. So ISO 100 film effectively becomes 64. A friend has a Pellix (as well as an RT). The Pellix was sophisticated for its day, but the viewfinders are chalk and cheese. The RT finder is a lot brighter. And the mirrors have held up well to date and seem to be more robust--I have cleaned mine (carefully) a couple of times with no trouble whatsoever.
Regards,
Brett

[MRohlfing]

Originally Posted by Keith

It's technique and a camera with some mass IMO. I regularly use my D700 at speeds below 1/20 and get acceptable sharpness.

How does the tiny noble OM compare in this regard to that big ugly beast D700?

I just have to know (ordered an OM-1 yesterday)!

[mdarnton]

Anything modern with image stabilization, but I'm thinking the new OM-D, with 6-axis stabilization is probably the winner. My brother told me he was able to shoot a pretty good second and a half exposure with his, and he was VERY surprised. With this kind of technical improvement, any mention of old heavy cameras seems totally out of date.

[raytoei@gmail.com]

mdarnton: nah, that's too easy and expensive. Let me do it the hard way with old heavy cameras, it's more fun, especially to a amateur like me

[shadowfox]

Olympus Pen-F series.
Yes, solid and heavy body helps, but so does a tiny mirror flipping sideways.

[wblynch]

Over the years I have often taken hand-held shots with my OM1 at 1/15 and even 1/8. Works great. Sometimes I have to take a second shot to make sure. Be very still.

[MRohlfing]

Originally Posted by raytoei@gmail.com

Let me do it the hard way with old heavy cameras, it's more fun, especially to a amateur like me

Those slow speeds are for amateurs only. Professionals use faster speeds:
Ansel Adams found 1/250 with a 50mm lens to be his slowest speed handheld, using a rangefinder!

[f16sunshine]

Originally Posted by MRohlfing

Those slow speeds are for amateurs only. Professionals use faster speeds:
Ansel Adams found 1/250 with a 50mm lens to be his slowest speed handheld, using a rangefinder!

Yes but, Adams also felt any aperture above f8 (135mm) was soft, too shallow DOF, and... not useable

[Spanik]

Never had much problems going down to 1/15s with my Eos RT. Also useful is reading up about how rifflemen and bowmen use position and control their movements. The same things help steadiing your camera.

[MRohlfing]

Originally Posted by f16sunshine

Yes but, Adams also felt any aperture above f8 (135mm) was soft, too shallow DOF, and... not useable

...and that's why he had to take a big LF camera and a big heavy tripod in a truck everywhere he went!

I guess we don't want that!

[jarski]

trick is to press shutter button, like trigger on gun.

and yes, hefty body damps movement, but also tires hands.

[filmfan]

What you will find here will not answer your question. Instead, what you will find is a list of which SLRs people here own, regardless of how steady the slow shutter-speeds are.

[varjag]

Originally Posted by raytoei@gmail.com

Varjag,

can you elaborate on it ? From what I read, Visoflex is not immuned from mirror-slap. I have a M4 which i am considering using the Visoflex II with some of my elmarit 90 or hektor 135 for
portrait in available light.

thanks

Ray,

It certainly is not immune but the Viso is a hefty thing, it's finder is a heavy chunk as well, and it all mounts on substantial Leica M. The release arm is a very long lever which makes for very little shake to fire the mirror. In addition you can adjust the mirror release point to your liking.

Be aware though, the thing is ascetic as bolt action rifle. But gets the job done!

I use a II too, but I think the III has better mirror kinematics and even more mass.

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by raytoei@gmail.com

One last question: Does the Soft release button commonly paired in RFs work well for SLRs too ? ie. a gain of +1 stop ?

thanks

Soft release buttons make some SLRs more comfortable to use... but I think the "gain of +1 stop" is largely imaginary.

[ChrisPlatt]

Originally Posted by filmfan

What you will find here will not answer your question. Instead, what you will find is a list
of which SLRs people here own, regardless of how steady the slow shutter-speeds are.

I've used Canon, Nikon, Ricoh and Pentax manual focus SLRs.
In my experience brand/model doesn't matter much, if at all.
Most photos exposed at 1/30 or less handheld are not sharp.

Chris

[rxmd]

I realize that this is a forum for old fashioned cameras, but image stabilization is the one area where modern cameras really shine. Insisting on classing cameras and then thinking about (sorry) absurdities like a Visoflex "because it's heavy" seems pretty awkward to me. If you want to use film, you can use a halfway modern film SLR; but if I'm going to carry a Visoflex, I can also just carry a monopod instead and get better ergonomics.

Here's a generic shot taken at 70mm focal length, 1/10s handheld (no particular attention to breathing etc, just stood there and took the shot)



Here's a 1:1 crop from the 21MP file, from the "far end". On film, at this scale you'd already be looking at grain.



And this lens is not exactly a gem and its image stabilizer isn't one of the best around. There is simply no way you can get that on a classic camera without a tripod.

[wblynch]

slow lens can not be saved by image stabilization