Shutter Speed Calculator — Recommended Shutter Speed

The reciprocal rule states that your minimum handheld shutter speed should be 1 divided by your effective focal length. For example, with a 50mm lens on full frame, use at least 1/50s. On APS-C (1.5x crop), that becomes 1/75s. This prevents camera shake blur in handheld shots.

Image stabilisation (IS, VR, OIS, IBIS) lets you shoot at slower shutter speeds without camera shake. Each stop of stabilisation doubles the usable exposure time. A 3-stop IS system on a 200mm lens lets you shoot at 1/25s instead of 1/200s for static subjects.

Walking people: 1/125s. Running or cycling: 1/500s. Sports and birds in flight: 1/1000s to 1/2000s. Motorsport: 1/2000s or faster. These are guidelines — the actual speed needed depends on the subject distance and direction of movement relative to the camera.

Yes. A crop sensor magnifies both the image and any camera shake. A 50mm lens on a 1.5x APS-C sensor has the same field of view as 75mm on full frame, so you need at least 1/75s handheld instead of 1/50s. Always use your effective focal length in the reciprocal rule.