What shutter speed should be used when hand holding a camera that is focused on a target 600 feet away?

The appropriate shutter speed when hand-holding a camera, especially when focusing on a target that is 600 feet away, is generally based on the principle of minimizing motion blur. This principle often states that the shutter speed should be at least as fast as the reciprocal of the effective focal length of the lens that is being used.

For instance, if you're using a camera with a full-frame sensor and an effective focal length of 600mm, the recommended shutter speed would be 1/600 seconds or faster to prevent motion blur due to camera shake. Therefore, using a shutter speed of 600 allows for clear and sharp images when hand-holding the camera, particularly at such a long distance.

A shutter speed of 125 would likely result in noticeable blur, particularly if the photographer isn’t perfectly stable. Similarly, a shutter speed of 250 or even 1000 would be faster than necessary for this scenario and could unnecessarily reduce the exposure, especially in lower-light conditions where a longer exposure might be beneficial. As a result, 600 is optimal for clarity when capturing distant subjects while hand-holding the camera.