I can set the shutter speed manually on mine in the same manner. The problem is I don't trust myself in the dark not to crash everything to trash yet, LOL.
You did mention zoom lenses and the lens I have has some extra capability that way. I took your suggestion and ran with it, which gave me more options. Thank you for that.
You're right, very slight changes create completely different effects. All of this has made me start to think out of the box and to see light in a completely different way when doing photography. It's a great opportunity to play around.
just check what the settings were and start playing with it. making it a bit faster maybe gives you strait lines or making it a bit slower gives you full photo of light, or maybe an option to zoom faster and get less shake.
and seeing what changes is fun :D
Thanks, I'll have to go back and look at the settings I used. I tend to feel my way intuitively, so I'm not thinking much when I'm shooting, unless I'm running tests or experimenting. I love seeing the changes when I shoot several of the same subject, while altering what I'm doing.