----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom C" Subject: RE: Hummingbird help
> I don't quite understand why a flash is viewed as needed when their > wings typically beat < 100 times per second. It would seem that > shutter > speed alone would capture it (though I've shot at 1/250 before and > have > still seen motion blur in the wings). I'm no scientist or mathematician but you figure even the smallest hummingbird has at least 2" movement at the tip of his wings, so each beat is moving 4" (2" down,2"up) X 100 times a second, that's a lot of movement. So it does not surprise me that the average SLR shutter speed (1/4000 or less) will not freeze the motion. As others have mentioned electronic flash duration can be significantly shorter then that. When I took my camera to baseball games 1/1000 second was not fast enough to freeze a fast ball, it was only when I got the Z-1p and was able to shoot 1/4000 - 1/8000 was I able to freeze the ball and I think a hummingbird's wings move faster then a baseball. For what it's worth Butch -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
