Handheld shooting—can it be sharp at 1/4 sec?!
I’ve found from experience that handheld shooting with large and heavy cameras can yield sharp images down to ridiculously low shutter speeds, provided that one accepts that 2-4 frames might be needed to yield one frame that is acceptably crisp.
By “large and heavy” I mean cameras like the Nikon D3 or Canon’s 1Ds Mark III. I dislike cameras like the Nikon D200 for low light shooting; less mass (and perhaps a less well damped shutter) means a lower success rate under marginal conditions, or so I’ve concluded from years of experience, at least with Nikon DSLRs. In addition, the handheld technique I’ve developed relies on stabilizing the larger camera bodies against my face, something not really feasible and/or quite awkward with the smaller camera bodies.
Today’s example: I took two frames, both at 1/4 second (yes, one quarter second!) at ~/f8, handheld at ISO 1600 with no support (just free-standing). The successful frame is not critically sharp, but it’s awfully good for 1/4 sec handheld, especially keeping in mind that the 1DsM3 is a 21MP camera; the image would stand up to fairly high enlargement (though the chroma noise of the Canon EOS 1DsM3 is really very disappointing compared to what the Nikon D3 can deliver).
Actual pixels: frame 1 (left), frame 2 (right)
The point here is that sharp images can be made at very low shutter speeds—this is not a one-time freak accident. By shooting 2-4 frames, chances are good that one of them will be sufficiently crisp for even fairly large prints—I do this all the time, though more commonly in the 1/15 - 1/60 range.
