Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Darmok N Jalad

macrumors 603
Original poster
Sep 26, 2017
5,425
48,332
Tanagra (not really)
It's something I haven't really messed with that much, but I've been reading a little bit about the 3 different shutter modes that many cameras (mirrorless) have--mechanical, electronic, and e-curtain.

I've only really run as a mechanical shutter shooter to this point, but I'm seeing that there may be benefits to the 3 different types depending on the situation. Rather than a poll, I'd like to open the floor on what everyone uses, when, and why. Feel free to weigh in!
 

kenoh

macrumors 604
Jul 18, 2008
6,507
10,850
Glasgow, UK
I had to go look at my cameras to see what they were set to.... suppose that goes someway to answering the question.

Mechanical mainly though one of them switches to electronic above 1/8000th of a second - suppose that is a physical movement limitation

Also, electronic shutter for silent shooting at events.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Scepticalscribe

steveash

macrumors 6502a
Aug 7, 2008
527
245
UK
Personally, I use either a mechanical focal plane shutter or a leaf shutter. The leaf shutter is within the lens and operates like an iris opening and closing. The result is low vibration, near silence and no limitations to flash sync speed (other than the duration of the flash itself). On the downside they make lenses more expensive to produce and the maximum shutter speed can be fairly slow.

I use flash a lot in studio and daylight and my subjects are usually cars or products with highly reflective surfaces. I therefore need to have good control of ambient light. Having high flash sync speeds allows me to do this.

I don't have much experience of electronic shutters but would love to explore the creative possibilities of the way they can distort fast moving subjects.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Darmok N Jalad

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
29,239
13,312
I wouldn't be surprised if -- in time -- "mechanical" shutters fade into the fog of camera history as optical viewfinders are doing right now...
 

Nathan King

macrumors regular
Aug 24, 2016
205
716
Omaha, NE
I wouldn't be surprised if -- in time -- "mechanical" shutters fade into the fog of camera history as optical viewfinders are doing right now...

Getting a fast enough sensor readout to make electronic shutters work well in a wider set of use cases will be extremely challenging.
 

Mark0

macrumors 6502a
Sep 11, 2014
516
3,399
SW Scotland
I wonder when Global shutters or something like that will become the norm for digital cameras. Lots of R&D on it just now but probably 5-10 years away? Maybe, who knows? It will be a massive development when it comes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kenoh

tizeye

macrumors 68040
Jul 17, 2013
3,241
35,935
Orlando, FL
On my Sony, technically, they are all electronic and the one I don't use is e-curtain. It has more specialized uses that I just don't think of it. Primary is the electronically controlled focal plane which is the equivalent of manual which gives the feedback, thump. Silent, which is totally silent, is used at concerts and when trying not to distract the subject, such as kids. The only problem with silent is forgetting to switch it back, then wondering why the camera won't take a picture as you didn't hear the thump. Have similar problem with certain lens with the AF/MF switch and discover, typically when looking at full screen in post, that out focus as forgot to change back to AF, or worse apparently shifted on its own because I don't recall any situation where I shifted to MF during the shoot.
 

Ledgem

macrumors 68020
Jan 18, 2008
2,042
936
Hawaii, USA
It depends on the camera I'm using. With my Olympus E-M1 Mk2, which has a sensor readout speed of around 1/60, it's fast enough that I can use the electronic shutter for most things. I only switch to the mechanical shutter (which operates in a electronic first-curtain mode most of the type, changing to full mechanical above certain shutter speeds) if I'm shooting something that is very fast, or occasionally when there's fluorescent lighting and I'm worried about banding. I've read on Sony forums that people worry about electronic shutter impacts on bokeh, but I don't know the specifics about it. I haven't noticed any difference between mechanical and electronic shutter, though. Otherwise, I appreciate the silent shooting in so many ways. It saves on wear and tear for the mechanical shutter. It doesn't wake my young children up when I do sleeping baby photos, and at family parties it's great for candid photos. People can't easily tell whether I'm taking video or a photo, so they're initially always on guard and then ease up. Lastly, because I love Olympus' f/1.2 primes and often shoot wide open, being able to expose at 1/32000 means I'm not dealing with overexposure issues in normal lighting.

My other camera is a Fujifilm GFX 50S. It has a sensor readout speed of around 1/4, meaning that even slight motion (such as if shooting handheld) leads to that "jello" effect. Full electronic exposure is essentially useless. Instead, I use electronic first curtain all the time, which switches to full mechanical above certain shutter speeds. It's more responsive than full mechanical in most cases.

The holy grail of mirrorless camera exposures, the global electronic shutter, will make sensor readout speed issues a thing of the past. I suspect once we have that, mechanical shutters will only be included on select cameras.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Darmok N Jalad

Susurs

macrumors 68000
Jun 18, 2010
1,609
11,017
A9’s electronical shutter is required to achieve 20 FPS, going more than 1/8000, and getting no blackout (as far as I understand).
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.