What's shutter speed?
What's shutter speed?
To convert the image the camera sees into a photograph, your camera needs light. This light needs to reach the sensor. With the shutter speed, you determine how long the aperture of the camera is open to catch this light. That's why the shutter speed is also called the exposure time. The longer the shutter speed is, the more light will fall on the sensor. A shorter shutter speed results in a shorter exposure time.
How does it work?
Shutter speed gets its name from the shutter, an important part of an SLR camera. The shutter is a system that consists of 2 curtains. As soon as you take a picture, these curtains fold away so that the sensor is exposed. The longer the curtains are open, the more light enters the sensor. Mirrorless cameras and compact cameras have an electronic shutter. With these, an electronic change takes place in the camera, not a mechanical one. The sensor is in fact its own shutter.
When do you use it?
With the shutter speed, you primarily determine whether you freeze a movement in a photo or not. In sports photography, you want to freeze motion. In some photos, you want the movement to be visible. For example, think of red and white light stripes from passing traffic. For this, you use a slower shutter speed. You can freeze motion with a fast shutter speed. In addition, by adjusting the shutter speed, you get more control over the exposure in your photo.
How do I recognize the shutter speed on my camera?
The shutter speed is indicated in number of seconds. The number of seconds varies widely on most cameras. The longest shutter speed is usually 30 seconds and the shortest sometimes 1/4000 second. That is 1 four thousandth of a second. If you work with a shutter speed shorter than one second, you can recognize the shutter speed by '1/' with a certain number behind it.
