What is exposure
Shutter speed is the time that the camera captures the image. When photographing, light is read using the camera’s matrix or using a film. When we do not take a picture, the film or matrix is closed by the shutter. During shooting, the shutter opens and the film or matrix receives an image from the lens. The amount of time until the shutter is open and there is an exposure.
No, the article is not about alcohol, the article is about the photographic concept of aging. Exposure is easy. In phones and digital cameras (soap dishes) there is no mechanical shutter as such. There, the shutter is the on / off matrix. But the principle of operation is fully preserved with the only difference, instead of raising the mirror and the shutter curtains, the soap dish matrix is simply updated. Now fashionable mirrorless cameras, for example Sony ILCE-7 do not have a mirror, but they have a real mechanical shutter, which gives that very nice click of the shutter.
What is the exposure measured
Exposure is measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days. Usually, even a second is a too long shutter speed, therefore, almost always the shutter speed is indicated in fractions of a second. For example, 1/60, 1/120, 1/500, 1/4000, often add the word “sec” or “s” or “sec”, as was done in my photos in this article. If the shutter speed is indicated in seconds, then the second sign is written next to the number – 2 ′, 10 ′, or just 3 s, 15 s. The expression ‘1/20 s’ reads as “one twentieth of a second”.
Very short shutter speed so that every drop of water is visible, not a whole stream
Very short shutter speed so that every drop of water is visible, not a whole stream
How to adjust the shutter speed in the camera?
The easiest way is to set the shutter speed in the camera in shutter speed mode or in manual mode. The shutter speed mode is usually referred to as S (shutter) or Sv (shutter value – shutter value, shutter speed value), sometimes you can see the designation Tv (time value – time value). This mode is usually located on the shooting mode selector wheel (more detailed here). Exposure affects the time that the shutter of the camera is opened. In these modes, just set the shutter speed that you need. How to do this will have to read the instructions.
Exposure is different
There is a very short (fast) shutter speed, for modern digital SLR cameras the shutter speed limit is usually 1 / 4000s, in advanced cameras 1 / 8000s, in specialized cameras the shutter speed can be 1 / 40.000. For example, my Nikon D5200 has a minimum shutter speed of 1 / 4000s, and the Nikon D7000 – 1 / 8000s, and the old Nikon D1h and the new Nikon 1 J1 – 1 / 16.000s. Short shutter speeds are important when shooting very fast-moving subjects or when shooting with a super fast lens in bright light. The difference in shutter speed is twice called stop (step). For example, the difference in shutter speeds of 1 / 20s and 1 / 80s is 2 steps (2 stops), or 4 times. How to achieve super short shutter speed on the camera can read here.
There is a long exposure. Usually, the limit in shutter speed on modern cameras is 30 or 60 seconds. For example, Nikon D3100, Canon 700D cameras have the ability to get shutter speeds of up to 30 seconds only. If you need a longer shutter speed, then there is an excerpt “by hand”, usually it is designated as BULB (B). In this mode, the first time you press the shutter button, the shutter opens, and the second time you press, the shutter closes. Thus, a very long shutter speed can be achieved. Typically, a slow shutter speed is made using the remote control or camera cable from a tripod or fixed surface. The photo below was taken on the Nikon D90 and the ML-L3 remote control with a shutter speed of 1/13 s. Slow shutter speeds can be used to create unusual visual effects, for example, when shooting moving cars at night, or using a light pen.
Flash sync
There is one serious problem for short exposures. When using the camera with a flash, due to the specific shutter operation, the camera cannot synchronize the flash and the slow shutter speed. Synchronize – means giving a flash of light at the same time and opening the shutter. Therefore, you can check that usually a camera with a built-in flash takes photos only at shutter speeds of up to 1/200 s. This shutter speed is called X-sync shutter speed. Some amateur cameras can sync with the flash up to 1/500 s – for example, Nikon D40, Nikon D70s.
