Sutter Speed

In an article titled Exposure Level has been discussed about the factors that influence the level of brightness of an image. One of the main factor that influence the level of image brightness is Sutter speed. What is Sutter speed? The simple answer is "the time which is required for the sutter to open".

One important component of a digital camera is Sutter. Sutter can be described as a door or window that can open and close. Sutter is placed between the lens and sensor, which is the way to entrance of light from the outside toward the sensor. The duration of Sutter opened can be set and controlled by the camera. The amount of light entering the sensor is determined by the time (short or long) of sutter when open. The longer time Sutter open, the light entering the sensor will be more and more so the resulting image will be brighter. To produce good image, the time setting must be precise. If too short, it will produce under exposure image. But if too long, it will produce over exposure image.

Here are the simple explanation how sutter work:
1. Before we push the capture button, the sutter still close. The light can not reach the sensor.

Step 1. Sutter still close

2. When we push the capture button, the sutter will open. The length of time when Sutter is open is depend with the settings that have been set. When sutter is opened, the light from outside can reach the sensor. The light will burn the sensor. This is the process of recording images. If sutter open in longer time, then the sensor will get more burned, so the result of images recorded will be more bright.

Step 2. Sutter open, light can reach the sensor

3. Next step, the sutter will close again. The light can not reach the sensor. The burned sensor will produce a certain pattern according to the light reaching the sensor. Here is the image that has been recorded. Then this pattern will keep in memory of the camera.

Step 3. Sutter close, image already recorded

Notice this explanation:
If we set the sutter speed on our digital camera with value of 100, it is mean that the sutter will take time 1/100 second to open. It is very short time. The duration of sutter when open will affect to the quantity of light which reach the camera sensor. Another setting are 500(1/500 second), 250(1/250 second), 125(1/125 second), 60(1/60 second), (30(1/30 second) etc. These kind of sutter setting is depend on camera.

Sutter settings can also be used to describe the effects of freeze and moving objects. If we use high sutter speed then we can freeze the effects of a moving object. Conversely, if we use a low sutter speed we can show the effect of motion of a moving object.

Look example below:

High sutter speed

High sutter speed

Picture above show the effect of high sutter speed which can be used to freeze the fast movement object

Low sutter speed

Low sutter speed

Picture above show the effect of low sutter speed which can be use to indicate the moving objects.

So the value of sutter speed setting decision is depend to our image theme. In some situation we need to use high sutter speed setting but in another situation we need to use low sutter speed setting.

The more detail about sutter speed will be discuss at another article with title Sutter Priority (will release soon)

Tags: Sutter speed, freeze effect, moving effect