Shutter speed

Shutter speed can have a dramatic impact on the appearance of moving objects. Changes in background blurring are apparent from the need to adjust the aperture size to achieve proper exposure.

The shutter speed dial of a Nikkormat EL

Slow shutter speed combined with panning the camera can achieve a motion blur for moving objects.

A photo of street at night (exposure time 30 seconds)

A pinwheel photographed at three different shutter speeds

In photography, shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a camera's shutter is open. The total exposure is proportional to this exposure time, or duration of light reaching the film or image sensor.

Introduction

In still cameras, the term shutter speed represents the time that the shutter remains open when taking a photograph. Along with the aperture of the lens (also called f-number), it determines the amount of light that reaches the film or sensor. Conventionally, the exposure is measured in units of exposure value (EV), sometimes called stops, representing a halving or doubling of the exposure.

Multiple combinations of shutter speed and aperture can give the same exposure: halving the shutter speed doubles the exposure (1 EV more), while doubling the aperture (halving the number) increases the exposure by a factor of 4 (2 EV). For this reason, standard apertures differ by √2, or about 1.4. Thus an exposure with a shutter speed of 1/250 s and f/8 is the same as with 1/500 s and f/5.6, or 1/125 s and f/11.

In addition to its effect on exposure, the shutter speed changes the way movement appears in the picture. Very short shutter speeds can be used to freeze fast-moving subjects, for example at sporting events. Very long shutter speeds are used to intentionally blur a moving subject for artistic effect. Short exposure times are sometimes called "fast", and long exposure times "slow".

Adjustment to the aperture controls the depth of field, the distance range over which objects are acceptably sharp; such adjustments need to be compensated by changes in the shutter speed.

In early days of photography, available shutter speeds were not standardized, though a typical sequence might have been 1/10 s, 1/25 s, 1/50 s, 1/100 s, 1/200 s and 1/500 s. Following the adoption of a standardized way of representing aperture so that each major step exactly doubled or halved the amount of light entering the camera (f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, etc.), a standardized 2:1 scale was adopted for shutter speed so that opening one aperture stop and reducing the shutter speed by one step resulted in the identical exposure. The agreed standards for shutter speeds are:

• 1/1000 s
• 1/500 s
• 1/250 s
• 1/125 s
• 1/60 s
• 1/30 s
• 1/15 s
• 1/8 s
• 1/4 s
• 1/2 s
• 1 s

An extended exposure can also allow photographers to catch brief flashes of light, as seen here. Exposure time 15 seconds.

With this scale, each increment roughly doubles the amount of light (longer time) or halves it (shorter time).

Camera shutters often include one or two other settings for making very long exposures:

• B (for bulb) keeps the shutter open as long as the shutter release is held.
• T (for time) keeps the shutter open until the shutter release is pressed again.

The ability of the photographer to take images without noticeable blurring by camera movement is an important parameter in the choice of slowest possible shutter speed for a handheld camera. The rough guide used by most 35 mm photographers is that the slowest shutter speed that can be used easily without much blur due to camera shake is the shutter speed numerically closest to the lens focal length. For example, for handheld use of a 35 mm camera with a 50 mm normal lens, the closest shutter speed is 1/60 s. This rule can be augmented with knowledge of the intended application for the photograph, an image intended for significant enlargement and closeup viewing would require faster shutter speeds to avoid obvious blur. Through practice and special techniques such as bracing the camera, arms, or body to minimize camera movement longer shutter speeds can be used without blur. If a shutter speed is too slow for hand holding, a camera support, usually a tripod, must be used. Image stabilization can often permit the use of shutter speeds 3–4 stops slower (exposures 8–16 times longer).

Shutter priority refers to a shooting mode used in semi-automatic cameras. It allows the photographer to choose a shutter speed setting and allow the camera to decide the correct aperture. This is sometimes referred to as Shutter Speed Priority Auto Exposure, or Tv (time value) mode.

Creative utility in photography

Main article: Motion blur

Sparklers moved in a circular motion with an exposure time of 4 seconds. This is an example of Light painting

Shutter speed is one of several methods used to control the amount of light recorded by the camera's digital sensor or film. It is also used to manipulate the visual effects of the final image beyond its luminosity.

Images taken with a lower shutter speed invoke a visual sense of movement. Exposure time 3 seconds.

Slower shutter speeds are often selected to suggest movement in a still photograph of a moving subject.

Excessively fast shutter speeds can cause a moving subject to appear unnaturally frozen. For instance, a running person may be caught with both feet in the air with all indication of movement lost in the frozen moment.

When a slower shutter speed is selected, a longer time passes from the moment the shutter opens till the moment it closes. More time is available for movement in the subject to be recorded by the camera.

A slightly slower shutter speed will allow the photographer to introduce an element of blur, either in the subject, where, in our example, the feet, which are the fastest moving element in the frame, might be blurred while the rest remains sharp; or if the camera is panned to follow a moving subject, the background is blurred while the subject remains sharp.

The exact point at which the background or subject will start to blur depends on the rate at which the object is moving, the angle that the object is moving in relation to the camera, the distance it is from the camera and the focal length of the lens in relation to the size of the digital sensor or film.

When slower shutter speeds, in excess of about half a second, are used on running water, the photo will have a ghostly white appearance reminiscent of fog. This effect can be used in landscape photography.

Zoom burst is a technique which entails the variation of the focal length of a zoom lens during a longer exposure. In the moment that the shutter is opened, the lens is zoomed in, changing the focal length during the exposure. The center of the image remains sharp, while the details away from the center form a radial blur, which causes a strong visual effect, forcing the eye into the center of the image.

The following list provides an overview of common photographic uses for standard shutter speeds.

• 1/16000 s: The fastest speed available in APS-H or APS-C format DSLR cameras (as of 2011). (Canon EOS 1D, Nikon D1, D1X, and D1H)
• 1/12000 s: The fastest speed available in any 35 mm film SLR camera. (Minolta Maxxum 9xi, Maxxum 9 (de)
• 1/8000 s: The fastest speed available in production SLR cameras (as of 2011), also the fastest speed available in any full-frame DSLR (as of 2011). Used to take sharp photographs of very fast subjects, such as birds or planes, under good lighting conditions, with a ISO speed of 1,000 or more and a large-aperture lens.
• 1/4000 s: The fastest speed available in consumer SLR cameras as of 2009. Used to take sharp photographs of fast subjects, such as athletes or vehicles, under good lighting conditions and with an ISO setting of up to 800.
• 1/2000 s and 1/1000 s: Used to take sharp photographs of moderately fast subjects under normal lighting conditions.
• 1/500 s and 1/250 s: Used to take sharp photographs of people in motion in everyday situations. 1/250 s is the fastest speed useful for panning; it also allows for a smaller aperture (up to f/11) in motion shots, and hence for a greater depth of field.

The Whirligig ride during night at SFGAm at an exposure time of 0.8 Seconds.

• 1/125 s: This speed, and slower ones, are no longer useful for freezing motion. 1/125 s is used to obtain greater depth of field and overall sharpness in landscape photography, and is also often used for panning shots.
• 1/60 s: Used for panning shots, for images taken under dim lighting conditions, and for available light portraits.
• 1/30 s: Used for panning subjects moving slower than 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) and for available-light photography. Images taken at this and slower speeds normally require a tripod or other camera support to be sharp.
• 1/15 s and 1/8 s: This and slower speeds are useful for photographs other than panning shots where motion blur is employed for deliberate effect, or for taking sharp photographs of immobile subjects under bad lighting conditions with a tripod-supported camera.
• 1/4 s, 1/2 s and 1 s: Also mainly used for motion blur effects and/or low-light photography, but only practical with a tripod-supported camera.
• B (bulb) (1 minute to several hours): Used with a mechanically fixed camera in astrophotography and for certain special effects.

Light streaks outside Waterloo Rail Station in London

Light streaks on Tottenham Ct. Rd. in London

Light streaks on Tottenham Ct. Rd. in London of turning Taxi's

More Light streaks of a bus in London

Bus moving at high speed

Slow shutters cannot be handled by hand, a side rail is being used. Bus in London

Cinematographic shutter formula

Further information: Rotary disc shutter

Motion picture cameras used in traditional film cinematography employ a mechanical rotating shutter. The shutter rotation is synchronized with film being pulled through the gate, hence shutter speed is a function of the frame rate and shutter angle.

Where E = shutter speed (reciprocal of exposure time in seconds), F = frames per second, and S = shutter angle:

$E = \frac {F \cdot 360^\circ}{S}$, for E in reciprocal seconds

$S = \frac {F \cdot 360^\circ}{E}$

With traditional shutter angle of 180° film is exposed for 1/48 second at 24 frame/s. To avoid effect of light interference when shooting under artificial lights or when shooting television screens and computer monitors, 1/50 s (172.8°) or 1/60 s (144°) shutter is often used.

Electronic video cameras do not have mechanical shutters and allow setting shutter speed directly in time units. Professional video cameras often allow selecting shutter speed in terms of shutter angle instead of time units, especially those that are capable of overcranking or undercranking.

See also

• exposure
• exposure value
• f-number
• shutter

References

• Doeffinger, Derek (2009). Creative Shutter Speed: Master Your Camera’s Most Powerful Control. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-45362-9.