Shutter Speed

Key facts

• A fast shutter speed, such as 1/1000 s, lets in less light and freezes motion.
• A slow shutter speed, such as 1/2 s, lets in more light and shows motion as blur.
• It is one of the three exposure settings, with aperture and ISO.
• It is measured in seconds or fractions of a second, from tens of microseconds to many minutes.

Key facts

• Mechanical shutter: curtains move to begin and end the exposure. It works with flash and shows little rolling shutter distortion.
• Focal-plane shutter: two curtains just in front of the sensor, in most DSLR and mirrorless cameras. Speeds run from about 30 s to 1/8000 s, with flash sync usually between 1/90 s and 1/250 s.
• Leaf shutter: overlapping metal blades inside or behind the lens, found mostly on medium format and large format lenses. It can sync with flash across its whole range.
• Electronic shutter: the sensor is switched on and off line by line. It is silent but can distort fast motion and show banding under some artificial lights.
• Electronic front curtain is a mix of both, with an electronic start and a mechanical end. It reduces vibration.
• Film cameras and some cine cameras use a rotating disc shutter with a gap in it. That is where the idea of shutter angle comes from.
• Shutter shock is vibration from the front curtain that can blur pictures at some speeds, mostly with long lenses. An electronic front curtain avoids it.
• A global shutter exposes every pixel at the same time and avoids the distortion of a rolling shutter. A rolling shutter exposes the sensor row by row.

Key facts

• 1/2000 s is fast. 1/60 s is medium. 1/4 s is slow. 2" and above is in whole seconds.
• The usual full stops are 1/4000, 1/2000, 1/1000, 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30, 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 second.
• Camera readings are rounded. The exact series is 1/64, 1/128, 1/256, and the camera writes 1/60, 1/125, 1/250.
• B or Bulb keeps the shutter open as long as you hold the button.
• Time Exposure (T) keeps it open until you press again.
• Most cameras go up to 30 s. Some electronic shutters reach 1/32000 s.

Key facts

• One full stop: 1/500 s to 1/250 s doubles the time and the light.
• Half stop: each step changes time and light by about 1.41 times.
• Third stop: each step changes time and light by about 1.26 times.
• Three third stops, or two half stops, equal one full stop.
• Photographers use the phrase 1/2 stop and 1/3 stop. The factors come from 2^(1/2) and 2^(1/3).

Key facts

• Slower shutter means more light and a brighter picture.
• Faster shutter means less light and a darker picture.
• Brightness also depends on the aperture and on ISO.
• The camera measures the light and suggests a combination. The light meter and the histogram tell you whether it worked.
• In shutter priority mode the camera adjusts the aperture to match your shutter speed.

Key facts

• Faster shutter freezes action. Slower shutter shows motion as blur.
• Blur on the picture depends on the speed of the subject, its direction, its distance and the focal length.
• A subject moving across the frame blurs more than one coming towards you.
• A close subject blurs more than a far one at the same speed.
• Some blur can be wanted. It makes a picture feel alive.
• Rain, water drops, splashes and lightning need very fast speeds to freeze.

Key facts

• Faster subject, closer distance or movement across the frame all need a faster shutter.
• For a creative blur, go slower: panning 1/15 to 1/60 s, flowing water 1/2 to 2 s.
• For a night sky, 10 to 25 s with a wide lens, before stars start to trail.
• Test the result on the screen and adjust.

Key facts

• Longer focal length magnifies small hand movements, so it needs a faster shutter.
• Full frame guide: 24 mm 1/25 s, 50 mm 1/50 s, 100 mm 1/100 s, 200 mm 1/200 s, 400 mm 1/400 s.
• On a crop sensor, multiply the focal length by the crop factor first. A 50 mm lens on 1.5 crop behaves like 75 mm, so use about 1/80 s.
• A crop sensor needs the crop factor applied: a 200 mm lens on a 1.6 crop body behaves like 320 mm, so use 1/320 s.
• Stabilisation may allow a slower shutter. It comes in the camera (sensor shift), in the lens (Canon IS, Nikon VR, Sigma OS) or as software. It only helps against camera shake, not subject motion.
• High resolution sensors show shake more, so use a faster shutter.
• For stabilisation in lens and body, and what 5-axis means, see the stabilisation question.

Key facts

• Three systems: in the lens (Canon IS, Nikon VR, Sigma OS), in the camera body (sensor shift, called IBIS) and in software (digital).
• Pitch and yaw are tilts. They are the most common cause of blur and are measured by gyroscopes.
• Roll is rotation around the lens axis. Lens stabilisation cannot correct roll, but a sensor that rotates in the body can (Fstoppers, n.d.).
• X and Y shift are sideways and up and down slides, measured by accelerometers. They matter most at close distances, for example in macro work.
• Body and lens can work together, called Coordinated Control IS by Canon, Sync IS by OM System, Dual I.S. by Panasonic and Synchro VR by Nikon. The lens takes the large angular corrections and the body takes roll, shift and fine correction (Fstoppers, n.d.).
• Makers rate stabilisation in stops, from one to about eight. The ratings follow a CIPA test, cover only the rotation axes, and are best treated as a stop or two better than real use (Fstoppers, n.d.).
• One stop of stabilisation lets you use a shutter speed twice as slow. With a 200 mm lens on full frame, 1/200 s becomes about 1/100 s with one stop, 1/50 s with two.

Key facts

• Examples: 1/2 s silky water, 10 s cloud movement, 30 s light trails.
• Use a tripod to keep the camera steady.
• Use a low ISO and a small aperture to cut the light so the slow shutter does not overexpose.
• Use a remote or the 2 second timer so you do not shake the camera.
• In bright light a neutral density filter reduces the light so you can still use a slow shutter.
• A polarising filter also cuts the light, and its maker gives a filter factor for it. Its main job is to control reflections, so treat any dimming as a bonus, and meter again with it fitted (Präkel, 2009).
• The 500 or 600 rule gives the longest time before stars trail: divide 500 or 600 by the focal length. A 24 mm lens gives about 20 s or 25 s.

Key facts

• 1/15 s gives the strongest background blur and needs very smooth tracking.
• 1/30 s is a balanced start.
• 1/60 s gives a milder background blur and is easier to keep the subject sharp. It is a good start for motorbikes.
• Use continuous autofocus (AF-C or Servo).
• Track the subject before, during and after pressing the shutter.
• Panning also works on vertical motion, for example a diver or a jumping child.
• Move the camera in the same direction as the subject to keep it sharp and blur the background. Move it against the subject and the blur on the subject doubles.
• Keep the camera moving after the shutter closes. This follow-through keeps the pan smooth.

Key facts

• Focal-plane shutters usually sync flash from about 1/90 s up to 1/250 s, rarely higher. Leaf shutters sync at every speed (Canon Europe, n.d.).
• Above the sync speed, the second curtain starts to close before the first one is fully open, so a dark band appears in the picture.
• Electronic shutters are harder to sync with flash.
• Rolling shutter can warp fast subjects because lines of the sensor are read at slightly different times.
• Under fluorescent or LED lights, an electronic shutter can show banding. Matching the shutter speed to the flicker cycle, or turning on anti-flicker, helps (Canon Europe, n.d.).
• Rear (second) curtain sync fires the flash at the end of the exposure, so light trails of a moving subject stay behind it.
• High speed sync lets some flashes work above the sync speed, at reduced power.

Key facts

• Exposure time = angle ÷ (360 × frame rate) (StudioBinder, n.d.).
• 180° at 24 fps is 1/48 s, at 25 fps is 1/50 s, at 30 fps is 1/60 s and at 60 fps is 1/120 s.
• The name comes from the rotary shutters of film cameras, a disc with an angled opening.
• A smaller angle, such as 90°, gives crisp and choppy motion. A larger angle, such as 270° or 360°, gives smoother and softer motion.
• In India the mains supply is 50 Hz, so 1/50 s (172.8 degrees at 24 fps) is preferred to 1/48 s, which can flicker. See flicker and shutter speed (Cinematography Mailing List, n.d.; Chapman, 2013).
• At high frame rates for slow motion, 180 degrees at 120 fps is 1/240 s, so you need much more light. In bright light, keep the angle and add an ND filter.

Key facts

• In a 50 Hz country, choose a shutter speed that is a multiple of 1/50 s, for any frame rate (Cinematography Mailing List, n.d.; Chapman, 2013).
• At 24 fps the 180 degree shutter of 1/48 s is not a multiple of 1/50 s and can flicker under mains lights. Use 1/50 s, which is 172.8 degrees at 24 fps.
• At 25 fps, 180 degrees is already 1/50 s. At 30 fps use 1/60 s in 60 Hz countries, and 1/50 s or 1/100 s in India (Cinematography Mailing List, n.d.).
• HMI and other discharge lamps cause flicker. Some electronic HMI ballasts have a flicker-free setting and 50 Hz and 60 Hz settings, and a 60 Hz setting in a 50 Hz country causes flicker (Cinematography Mailing List, n.d.).
• Fluorescent tubes with high frequency ballasts are usually flicker free. Old magnetic ballasts and cheap LED lights often flicker.
• A mixture of lights on different frequencies cannot be fixed with one shutter setting. Turn the extra lights off or replace them.
• In stills, an electronic shutter under fluorescent or LED light can show banding. Matching the shutter speed to the flicker cycle, turning on the camera anti-flicker mode, or using the mechanical shutter helps.
• At high frame rates, for slow motion, the exposure is too short to average the pulses, so use flicker-free lighting.

Key facts

• Choose shutter for motion, aperture for depth, ISO for brightness.
• Faster shutter needs a wider aperture or higher ISO.
• Shutter priority (S on Nikon and Sony, Tv on Canon): you set the shutter speed and the camera sets the aperture (Canon, n.d.).
• If the aperture value blinks in the display, the exposure is off: the lowest value blinking means underexposure and the highest value blinking means overexposure (Canon, n.d.).
• Manual mode (M) lets you set shutter, aperture and ISO yourself.
• Wider apertures also make the depth of field shallower, so a fast shutter often means a thinner sharp zone.

Key facts

• Birds. 1/1000 s or faster for perched birds that move. 1/2000 s or faster for birds in flight.
• Animals and pets. 1/500 s for walking animals. 1/1000 s or faster for running ones.
• Reptiles. 1/250 s on a tripod for still animals. 1/500 s or faster when they move.
• Insects and macro. With flash, the flash freezes the insect, so stay at or below the flash sync speed. Without flash, use a tripod and wait for still air.
• Portraits. 1/125 s or faster when handheld with an 85 mm lens. Use a faster speed for a longer lens.
• Fashion. 1/200 s with studio flash, but check the sync speed of your camera. 1/500 s or faster for jumps and flowing cloth outdoors.
• Wedding and events. 1/125 to 1/250 s for people. Slow to about 1/30 s with flash on the dance floor to show the motion.
• Product. A tripod makes the speed free. Use the flash sync speed with flash, or any speed with continuous light.
• Automotive. 1/125 s for parked cars. 1/30 to 1/60 s to pan with a rolling car, and 1/1000 s to freeze it.
• Photojournalism. 1/250 to 1/500 s as a default for people in motion.
• Sports and action. 1/1000 to 1/2000 s outdoors. 1/500 to 1/1000 s indoors.
• Landscape. A tripod makes the speed free. Use 1/2 to 2 s for silky water, and a fast speed to freeze waves.
• Street and documentary. 1/250 s or faster for walking people. 1/60 s while panning to blur the background.
• Night and astro. 10 to 25 s with a wide lens, before the stars start to trail.
• Cinema. 180 degrees, which is 1/48 s at 24 fps. In India, 1/50 s avoids flicker under mains lights.