At what shutter speed threshold does a tripod start to matter?

I use a Nikon D7000 with a prime 35mm/f1.8 lens. I usually shoot at the highest aperture with 200-1000 ISO, holding the camera steady and taking 6 or more shots in the hope of at least one coming out sharp.

It seems like more often than not, they don't come out as sharp as I wish.

Recently I've been thinking about when the tripod becomes significant. Is there some sort of starting shutter speed threshold to abide by?

Answer

Of course the answer is, it depends.

A common rule often mentioned is that to get sharp images hand held, you need a shutter speed that is 1/focal length used. When using this rule though you must also take your format or sensor size into account. Lucky for you, you do have a full frame(35mm) sensor so no factor is necessary. You must also consider if your lens or body has image stabilization/vibration reduction built in.

In your specific example, with a D700 and a Nikon 35mm f/1.8AF(non-VR), you should then be able to shoot hand held until about 1/35th of a second, or more likely 1/30s or so. Does this mean that every shot at 1/30th of a second will be tack sharp? No it does not. It is just a general rule of thumb that may or may not work for you and your shooting style.

If the image is critical and you have a tripod available, certainly use it with any and all shutter speeds. The technique that you have noted of shooting in burst mode and determining which is the sharpest is a fair idea and used often by today's digital shooters. But the fact is, if you care about sharpness and printing big, you will use a tripod for every shot if it is possible.

Here is an example I created with a full frame camera and a 40mm lens, shot at 1/40s over 4 shots, hand held from 3ft. Not a definitive test by any means but at least shows in practice what following the "rule" may get you:

Much more detailed information with examples of this rule in practice can be found at the following link: http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/technical/handholding_shutter_speed.html

To concisely answer your question, a tripod always matters, but practically speaking for shots slower then 1/focal length I highly recommend a tripod.

Other questions about tripods and when to use them: