Why should I always film with a 1/50th shutter speed?

Today I thought I would share a simple but interesting point, especially for all the beginners in the video industry, who joined the club with the Canon Mark II.

Some people still ask themselves “Why use an ND filter to get a darker image, while spending money in 1.2 or 1.4 expensive lens. More isn’t always best ” ? Sure, having a great lens zith high luminosity like 1.4 will help you a lot in night or end-of-the-day shots, but what about during the day ? Shooting with higher (shorter) shutter speed ? No. Use a ND filter.

But WHY?

Because… it’a all about the shutter speed. As all photographers know, when you have to shoot during a longer time, moving elements of your scene will get kinda blurry. That can be quite anoying for a photograph, but it’s essential to a videast. This blurry effect appears only on moving object ; it’s called “motion blur” and it helps your audience to instantly understand what is moving in your scene. It’s quite important, and if not respected, all your scene’s elements will appear equally sharp, misleading the eye of the spectators.

So WHAT does a ND filter do?

It blocks a part of the light entering the lens, letting you adjust the luminosity without touching the shutter speed. You get the right amount of light, get to use the right focal (f1.2 or f8 if you’re into), get the right depth of field, maintaining the right amount of motion blur. In one word, the shot of your life !