There are three basic settings on a DSLR camera that you need to master if you are going to take great photos: ISO, aperture and shutter speed. Of the three, shutter speed is the easiest to understand and master, in our opinion.

Your shutter speed is what controls how long the shutter is open for light to enter the camera and touch the sensor (or film, in the old days). Modern digital sensors collect light the same way that film did some years ago. The more time your shutter is open, the more light is collected and the more brighter the picture will end up being.

The most important question regarding the shutter speed is, which shutter speed is best? As with most things, it’s a complex question that comes down to what you are doing with the camera and what you are shooting. First you need to determine if you are shooting an object that is moving or is still. If you are wanting to cause your subject to freeze and be very sharp, you are going to need to figure out how fast it is moving. The faster the subject moves, the faster your shutter speed is going to need to be. If the object in the photo is moving away, the speed it’s moving does not matter as much as if it is moving left to right.

Next, you need to think about which focal length you are using in your picture. Your focal length is going to affect the blur of the image. Blur is what happens when you move your hand in the frame when the shutter has opened. The more time that the shutter is open, the more firm you hand will need to be so you do not get blur. The thing to remember is that your shutter speed should be 1 over the focal length. So, if you have a 500 mm lens, you will want to have your shutter speed at 1/500 or greater.

You also should think about if you are going to use a tripod or any sort of image stabilizer. Using these devices will help you get rid of most blur problems. If you have a tripod, you can make your shutter speed almost anything you wish. An image stabilizing product is going to allow you to set up your shutter speed about 8x slower than we mentioned above. Another nice way to be able to use slower shutter speeds is to use a cable release to take your picture.

Another thing to consider is how you want your photo to look. Do you want it to look static and still, or dynamic and moving? If your picture has blurred objects and objects that are still, it is going to make the image look more dynamic.

The big key to getting good effects with shutter speed is to practice a lot. That is the great think about modern digital cameras. You can take an endless number of pictures. Try a photo at 5 or 6 different shutter speeds to see which gives you the best effect.

When you come time to purchase a good SLR camera, please take a look at our excellent offerings at www.focuscamera.com.

It’s all about the Jaw from Peter Hurley on Vimeo.

The best lens for the money is generally a zoom lens in the area of 28-80mm.

When you start to shop for lenses for your camera, you are going to first run into the basic types, which are standard, telephoto and wide angle. A standard lens usually has a focal length of 50 mm, and a camera lens that has a focal length less than that is known as a wide angle lens. A telephoto lens is one with a focal length of more than 50 mm.

Which camera lens you end up buying depends on what you want to use it for. If you are going to take shots of many landscapes, you are probably going to be looking for a wide angle lens. If you want to take a lot of close up shots of sporting events, you should look for a telephoto lens. And if you want to take a lot of traditional shots of people, a 50 mm lens will probably do the job.

When it comes to buying the best lens for your money, keep in mind that the lens you buy makes all the difference in the quality of the picture. You need the best lens you can afford to take good pictures. In general, the best lens that works for the most people in the most situations is a good quality 28-80mm zoom lens. One of these types can typically come included with your DSLR body. However, we often recommend that you try to buy one of these zoom lenses separately from the camera body. You often can get a lens of better quality if you shop for it on its own.

However you obtain the zoom lens, generally speaking, this type of lens provides the best bang for the buck. Essentially, you are getting three lenses in one product. You can do some wide angle work, close ups and regular portrait shots too. Of course, there are compromises involved in this type of lens. Generally, the zoom lens is never going to do as good a job in each area as a dedicated lens of high quality would do, but this is a good compromise for most shooters.

When it comes to deciding which zoom lens to buy, we are big fans of many of the Nikon line of zoom lenses. Some of these include the 24-70/2.8G ED Af-s Nikkor USA Wide Angle Zoom Lens – 2164, and also the 17-35/2.8 EDIF AFS Nikkor Zoom Lens . Both of these Nikon products provide exemplary photographic performance and plenty of flexibility in your photography.

If you’re on the market for lenses check the great selection at www.focuscamera.com

We find that generally, Canon and Nikon cameras and lenses are very close in performance, with Sony a fairly distant third.

Anyone who takes a lot of photos and is into photography is going to have a strong opinion on which lens is better: Canon, Nikon or Sony. This is an important question because you will find that you can have a really good camera or DSLR, but if your lens does not perform well, you are going to be disappointed in the results.

We recently did an evaluation of lenses by Canon, Nikon and Sony. When we did our comparisons, we were really comparing sensor noise. We also were looking at overall picture quality of course, which includes such factors as sensitivity, dynamic range, noises and color fidelity. Of course, dynamic range and color is very difficult to discern unless you are using a lab to really measure it reliably. When it comes down to judging the performance of these lenses by the eye, you really have to look most closely at sensor noise.

We took a look at a bunch of cameras from the big three, and some of them were the Nikon D3x, Canon 5D MKII and Sony A900. In our view we did not see a major noise difference in these three cameras and lenses, at least up to ISO 800. At ISO 1600, we could see that the Sony would not do as well as the Canon and the Nikon. The fact is that many Sony cameras have more noise at higher ISOs. In our view, from ISO 1600 to 6400, the Canon and Nikon are about the same.

As far as dynamic range and color rendition, we didn’t think there was that big of a difference between them.

Overall, we think that Sony cameras and lenses offer great value for the buck, but generally, they are noisier cameras. On the other hand we find that many Canon and Nikon cameras are about the same in noise. Their similarity is a bit spooky actually! There is simply not enough difference between them to really prefer one over the other. We have seen Canon cameras that will go to ISO 25600, but that is just for the rights of bragging in the camera wars and there is really no practical use for it.

So overall, Canon and Nikon lenses and cameras have a bit of an edge, but Sony is also a fine value. If you are in need of a very good quality Sony, Canon or Nikon lens or camera, please check our selection at www.focuscamera.com.