In photography, a shutter is a device that allows light to pass for a determined period of time, for the purpose of exposing photographic film or a light-sensitive electronic sensor to light to capture a permanent image of a scene. A shutter can also be used to allow pulses of light to pass outwards, as in a movie projector or signal lamp.
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Camera shutters can be fitted in two positions:
Shutters immediately behind the lens were used in some cameras with limited lens interchangeability. Shutters in front of the lens were used in the early days of photography.
Other mechanisms than the dilating aperture and the sliding curtains have been used; anything which exposes the film to light (for a specified time) will suffice.
The time for which a shutter remains open (exposure time) is determined by a timing mechanism. These were originally mechanical, but since the late twentieth century are mostly electronic.
The exposure time and the effective aperture of the lens must together be such as to allow the right amount of light to reach the film or sensor. Additionally, the exposure time must be suitable to handle any motion of the subject. Usually it must be fast enough to "freeze" rapid motion; sometimes a controlled degree of blur is desired, to give a sensation of movement.
Most shutters generate a flash synchronization switch to trigger a flash, if connected. This was quite a complicated matter with mechanical shutters and flashbulbs which took an appreciable time to reach full brightness, focal-plane shutters making this even more difficult. Special flashbulbs were designed in a slow-burn style where the light would reach full intensity, and then remain at that intensity to wait for the slow focal-plane shutter to expose the full film frame. Many of these problems have been alleviated with modern electronic timers and electronic flash units which fire virtually instantaneously. When using a focal-plane shutter with a flash, a photographer will typically operate the shutter at its X-sync speed or slower; however, some electronic flashes can produce a steady pulse compatible with a focal-plane shutter operated at much higher shutter speeds. Keeping in mind that the focal-plane shutter is still going to impart focal-plane shutter distortions to anything that is moving.
Cinematography uses a rotary disc shutter in movie cameras, a continuously spinning disc which conceals the image with a reflex mirror during the intermittent motion between frame exposure. The disc then spins to an open section that exposes the next frame of film while it is held by the registration pin.
Focal-plane shutters are usually implemented as a pair of cloth, metal, or plastic curtains which shield the film from light. For shutter speeds slower than a certain point (known as the X-sync speed of the shutter), which depends on the camera, one curtain of the shutter opens, and the other closes after the correct exposure time. At shutter speeds faster than the X-sync speed, the top curtain of the shutter travels across the focal plane, with the second curtain following behind, so that each section of the film or sensor is exposed for the correct amount of time. The effective exposure time can be much shorter than for central shutters.
Focal plane shutters have the advantages of allowing the use of interchangeable lenses without requiring the expense of a separate shutter for each lens.
They have several disadvantages as well:
A leaf shutter is a type of camera shutter consisting of a mechanism with one or more pivoting metal leaves which normally does not allow light through the lens onto the film, but which when triggered opens the shutter by moving the leaves to uncover the lens for the required time to make an exposure, then shuts.
Simple leaf shutters have a single leaf, or two leaves, which pivot so as to allow light through to the lens when triggered. If two leaves are used they have curved edges to create a roughly circular aperture. Simple leaf shutters typically have only one shutter speed and are commonly found in disposable cameras. Some have more than one speed. Shutters for newer digital cameras are a combination of electronic and mechanical timings. Some cameras employ a 100% electronic shutter, created by turning on and off the imaging sensor's signals. Digital cameras that can also take video implement this method for their video modes. For single-frame photography then either mechanical or mechanical+electronic methods are used.
A diaphragm shutter is a type of leaf shutter consisting of a number of thin blades which briefly uncover the camera aperture to make the exposure. The blades slide over each other in a way which creates a circular aperture which enlarges as quickly as possible to uncover the whole lens, stays open for the required time, then closes in the same way.[1] The larger the number of blades, the more accurately circular is the aperture. An odd number of blades is usually used: 3, 5, or more.
The term diaphragm shutter has also been used to describe an optical stop with a slit, near the focal plane of a moving-film high-speed camera.[2]
A central shutter is a camera shutter normally located within the lens assembly where a relatively small opening allows light to cover the entire image. The term is also used for shutters behind, but near to, the lens. The alternative to a central shutter is a focal-plane shutter.
Interchangeable lens cameras with a central shutter within the lens body require that each lens has a shutter built into it. In practice most cameras with interchangeable lenses use a single focal plane shutter in the camera body for all lenses, while cameras with a fixed lens use a central shutter; many medium format cameras and most large format cameras, however, have both interchangeable lenses and use central shutters.
Film cameras, but not digital cameras, with a central shutter and interchangeable lenses often have a secondary shutter or darkslide to cover the film and allow changing lens in mid-roll without fogging the film.
Central shutters usually use either the simple leaf mechanism or the diaphragm mechanism.
The main advantages of the central shutter compared to a focal-plane shutter are:
Some disadvantages of the central shutter are:
Digital image sensors (both CMOS and CCD image sensors) can be constructed to give a shutter equivalent function by transferring many pixel cell charges at one time to a paired shaded double called frame transfer shutter. If the full-frame is transferred at one time, it is a global shutter. Often the shaded cells can independently be read, while the others are again collecting light.[3] Extremely fast shutter operation is possible as there are no moving parts or any serialized data transfers. Global shutter can also be used for videos as a replacement for rotary disc shutters.
Image sensors without a shaded full-frame double must use time-consuming serialized data transfer of illuminated pixels called rolling shutter. It scans parts of an image mostly by line at different times causing motion effects.[4]
Shutter lag is the time between pressing the shutter release and the camera responding by taking the picture. While this delay was insignificant on most film cameras and some digital cameras, it may be a problem when trying to capture subjects which are moving quickly such as in sports or other action photography. Today, release shutter delay might be less of an issue again due to the release lag becoming faster and faster. Release lag of a Bridge camera like the Pentax X90 is only approximately 0.021 seconds.[5]
A shutter cycle is the process of the shutter opening, closing, and resetting to where it is ready to open again. The life-expectancy of a mechanical shutter is often expressed as a number of shutter cycles.
In movie projection, the shutter admits light from the lamphouse to illuminate the film across to the projection screen. To avoid flicker, a double-bladed rotary disc shutter admits light two times per frame of film. There are also some models which are triple-bladed, and thus admit light three times per frame (see Persistence of vision).
Shutters are also used simply to regulate pulses of light, with no film being used, as in a signal lamp.