By Brian Fjord McEuen
DSLR cameras grab the attention of both professionals and novices alike. The lower price point and excellent image quality are an irresistible draw. Once it’s in your hands though, the next question is often “How do I use it?”
One commonly misunderstood feature is shutter speed. It is the amount of time the sensor of a camera is exposed. Shutter speed, along with aperture (or f-stop), adjust the amount of light that a camera captures.
The shutter speed can help create different kinds of images. With lower speeds the image suggests movement. This suggestion is created by blur. At higher speeds the picture is clear and appears to be frozen. Imagine a person jumping on a trampoline and they seem to float in the air, perfectly still.
Shutter speed is important when creating video. It is rare that blur is desired. The way to avoid this is to adjust the shutter speed to double the frame rate (24fps, 30fps, etc.).
Here are a few things to remember about shutter speed:
- It adjusts amount of light
- It can create frozen or blurred images
- Double the frame rate for video
Here’s a link to a video explaining more.
Brian Fjord McEuen is a Senior at San Francisco State University