Here's another method. Mount the camera on the end of a long strong cord, the other end of which is supported loosely on a nail. Hold the camera out horizontally and drop it, opening the shutter as it's in mid-swing. The angle vs. time relationship will be described by an elliptic integral, but that's a minor complication. Measurement of the starting and finishing angles of blur will yield the shutter speed. No need for fancy timing! Roger >Dan Dresner wrote: >> >> Why not eliminate the complexities of acceleration, etc? > >Certainly! There are many methods of measuring shutter speed that do >not depend on gravity. In fact most of the posts suggesting it have >pointed to the drawbacks. > >Of the methods suggested, the TV trick (for faster speeds) and the >phonograph method for slower speeds are perhaps the easiest in that they >don't require special equipment or techniques. > >However, I think there's a need to find something better than a record >player, as these are rapidly becoming "special equipment" :-) > >Steve
