Tripod and Timer

Imagine that you are moving when you take the photo. This is known as camera shake and is generally an unwanted technique. Now imagine that you are using a zoom that is ten times more powerful. Any shake will be magnified by ten. So in yesterday's blog about zoom you may choose to use a tripod if you are using a powerful zoom.

At night you need a tripod anyway. You simply can't hold the camera long enough to get a sharp image because the shutter may be open for over a second. There is a rule of thumb that says you need a tripod if the shutter speed is greater than 1/focal length of the lens that you are using. If you are using a zoom of 200mm then you need to be quicker than 1/200th of a second. You have no chance at night!

These photos were taken last night and they are to show you the importance of using the timer to avoid shake. The first photo was taken when I pressed the shutter. The second had a two second delay so there is no shake caused by contact with the camera. You can read so much more on the right. The moral of this story is use a tripod and use the timer.

Happy snapping.