Be aware of the drawbacks of the electronic shutter

Monday 28 July 2025, 16:08 by Nando Harmsen | 5,144 views | 13 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

The electronic shutter on mirrorless cameras is widely used. But be careful, as it can cause unwanted effects. In the worst case, your photos may become completely unusable.

A mirrorless camera can use an old and familiar mechanical shutter, or an electronic one. In the latter case, there are basically no moving parts, allowing the camera to work completely silently.

This sounds ideal, but there are some drawbacks to using the electronic shutter. It is important to know about them, so you can prevent them or anticipate when they occur.

You often, but not always, have a choice of two or three shutter options: mechanical, electronic and electronic first curtain.
The electronic shutter reads the sensor line by line. This is not the shutter speed, but the readout speed. You must not confuse the two. For example, the Sony A7R V has a readout speed of 31 milliseconds, approximately 1/30 of a second. That is how long it takes to read out the sensor.

Those 31 ms apply regardless of the shutter speed used. It makes no difference whether your shutter speed is 1 second or 1/1000 of a second. It still takes 31 ms to read out the sensor completely. Some cameras are slower, while others are faster.

Rolling shutter effect

Are you an action photographer, or do you photograph fast-moving subjects? Then there is a chance of the rolling shutter effect. This is distortion of the subject in the direction of movement. You will also notice that vertical lines are shown at an angle.

The readout speed of the sensor in the Sony A7 IV is slow. This causes the rolling shutter effect with the electronic shutter, as shown in this example. Vertical lines are shown at an angle when panning. The dog also shows distortion.
The cause is the movement of the subject during the time needed to read out the sensor. The faster the sensor readout, the less rolling shutter effect occurs. If your camera suffers badly from it, use the mechanical shutter.

Are you looking for a camera that is suitable for photographing action with an electronic shutter? Look for a camera designed for this purpose. For example, the Canon EOS R5 mark II has an extremely fast readout speed of 6.5 milliseconds. Or the Sony A1 mark II, which is even faster at 3.8 milliseconds.

The Sony A9 III has no rolling shutter effect at all. The sensor readout is instant.

Banding effect

The banding effect is related to the rolling shutter effect. Here too, the sensor readout speed determines whether it occurs. When it happens, it is while photographing under artificial light, particularly fluorescent and LED lighting.

LED and fluorescent lighting in particular can cause dark bands. Especially at faster shutter speeds. This is banding.
This type of light flickers at the frequency of the alternating current: 50 Hz. This means it switches on and off 50 times per second. If the sensor readout is not fast enough, this flickering becomes visible in the photo as dark bands.

Using slower shutter speeds can make the effect less noticeable. You should then use around 1/40 sec or preferably slower. But watch out for motion blur at those shutter speeds.

This effect can also occur with a mechanical shutter, but only when the shutter speed is close to the frequency of the light. Around 1/50 of a second. In that case, switch on your camera's anti-flicker mode to prevent it.

Prevention is better than cure

It is always sensible to check in advance whether you are affected by the effects mentioned above. You only need to check the rolling shutter effect once, and then you will know whether the camera you use suffers from it.

Preferably use the mechanical shutter. Then you will almost never suffer from banding effects. Do not worry too much about the sound of the shutter: in almost all cases, you are the only one bothered by it.
Does your camera suffer from rolling shutter? Then choose the mechanical shutter. Unfortunately, this also means that you have a lower frame rate available, and no pre-capture options.

Banding effects are a little more complicated, as they depend heavily on the circumstances. If you photograph indoors under artificial light, take a few test shots. If you see banding, switch straight to the mechanical shutter.

If in doubt, switch to the mechanical shutter as well. Do not take any risks. Do not worry about the sound of the shutter. In 99% of cases, only the person standing within a metre of the camera can hear it. It is also less disturbing than photographers think.

Help, I do not have a mechanical shutter

Some cameras do not have a mechanical shutter at all, or only have one partly. The latter have an electronic first-curtain shutter. This means that the camera starts the exposure with an electronic shutter and ends it with the mechanical one.

Check which shutter types your camera has. It may only offer electronic or electronic first curtain. Usually, these are the simpler cameras.
The electronic first-curtain shutter is faster than the fully electronic shutter. Choose this mode when you suffer from rolling shutter or banding effects. If you continue to experience problems, consider upgrading to a camera that is better suited to your photography.

The Nikon Z9 no longer has a mechanical shutter at all. But its readout speed is so fast that you will not suffer from rolling shutter or banding.
Finally, there are cameras that do not have a mechanical shutter at all. These include the Nikon Z8 and Z9, and the Sony A9 mark III. If you have one of these cameras, you can be sure that the sensor is read out quickly enough to prevent these unwanted effects.

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About the author

Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.

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13 comments

Roelie van der Meer wrote on Tuesday 29 July 2025 at 10:30 | reply
Bedankt Nando.
Ik heb een Fuji X-H2 en zet hem meestal op MS+ES.
Is het slimmer om hem op een van de twee te zetten.
Nu denk ik,zo zit ik altijd goed.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 29 July 2025 at 10:48 | reply
Een goede vraag. Ik denk dat de camera de mechanische sluiter zal gebruiken, tot de belichting een snellere sluitertijd dan de maximale mechanische sluitertijd, en dan overschakelt op de elektronische.
Maar dat weet ik niet zeker. Het zou kunnen dat dit in de handleiding uitgelegd wordt. Je zou dat eens kunnen nakijken.
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Kees Verwaard wrote on Tuesday 29 July 2025 at 10:41 | reply
Heel interessant voor als ik binnenkort een mirrorless camera koop! Nog een vraagje. Kan je met een mirrorless camera ook voor een tweede gordijn flits instelling kiezen of flits op het einde van de sluitertijd .
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 29 July 2025 at 10:51 | reply
Tweede gordijn en flits einde sluitertijd is hetzelfde, natuurlijk.
Flitsen en elektronische sluiter is altijd een dingetje. Meestal is de flits-synchronisatietijd vrij traag bij elektronische sluiter.
Maar er zijn er die ook snellere flits-synchronisatietijd hebben, meestal de duurdere modellen.
Sommige camera's kunnen alleen mechanische sluiter gebruiken met flits, als ik het goed heb.

Of tweede gordijn met elektronische sluiter mogelijk is, weet ik niet. Wel iets om eens uit te zoeken.
Dank je dat je de vraag gesteld hebt. Daar had ik niet aan gedacht bij het schrijven van dit artikel.
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Metin wrote on Tuesday 29 July 2025 at 11:12 | reply
Bedankt Nando, interessant artikel — helder uitgelegd met duidelijke voorbeelden. Ik lees jouw stukken altijd graag.
Zelf fotografeer ik nog steeds met een DSLR uit 2009.
Die doet het nog prima, maar op een dag komt toch het moment om de overstap te maken.

Ik sla dit artikel op in mijn notities voor wanneer het zover is.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Gina Heynze wrote on Tuesday 29 July 2025 at 12:47 | reply
Als je graag snelheid fotografeert ben je beter met de Global Shutter in e A9III. Dat is echt een verademing.
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Nando wrote on Tuesday 29 July 2025 at 13:01 | reply
Klopt, en dat meld ik ook in het artikel. Maar dan moet je wel 7000 euro (!) te besteden hebben.
Voor het overgrote deel kan je ook met een camera zonder global shutter prima uit de voeten. Ook met flinke snelheid, mits de uitleessnelheid snel genoeg is.
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Truus wrote on Tuesday 29 July 2025 at 20:27 | reply
Hallo Nando, een heel interessant artikel. Ik heb gisteren een dag in een vogelhut gezeten voor ijsvogels. Ik heb alles geprobeerd in mijn ogen. Ik ging voor de duik- en vluchtvogels. Allerlei sluitertijden geprobeerd. Ik zat pal voor de plek waar de duik en vlucht zouden komen/zijn. Daarop scherp gesteld maar alles scherp behalve de ijsvogel. Wel met de elektronische sluiter met de Fujifilm xt 4. Op statief maar schommelkop. De stabilisator uit, is dit ook handig bij een schommelkop? Dank je wel voor het artikel.
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Nando wrote on Wednesday 30 July 2025 at 11:03 | reply
Vervelend om te horen dat het niet zo goed lukte. Dat heeft echter niets met de elektronische sluiter te maken. Ik denk dat de snelheid en nauwkeurigheid van de autofocus en de gekozen sluitertijd zeker een rol spelen bij de resultaten die je behaald hebt.
Ik ben er zelf nog niet uit of beeldstabilisatie op een schommelkop het beste aan kan, of uit. Ik neig naar uit, maar ik durf dit niet met zekerheid te zeggen.
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Mac wrote on Wednesday 30 July 2025 at 08:08 | reply
je zegt dat de Z9 geen mechanische sluiter meer heeft. Maar op de foto zie je toch gewoon een suiter? Of zit dat er alleen voor het stof?
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Nando wrote on Wednesday 30 July 2025 at 09:42 | reply
Dat is om de sensor te beschermen wanneer je de camera uitzet. Je sluit de sensor af voor de buitenwereld... je zou het dan toch een sluiter kunnen noemen.
hahaha
Alleen wordt die niet gebruikt bij het fotograferen. Alleen elektronisch.
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Guido Bellens wrote on Thursday 31 July 2025 at 17:37 | reply
Hallo Nando,
Dank voor deze info. Ik gebruike mijn R6 voornamelijk met electronische sluiter. Maar er wordt mij aangeraden om mechanisch te gaan bij flitsreportages, waarom eigenlijk?
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Nando wrote on Friday 1 August 2025 at 10:55 | reply
Precies wat ik in dit artikel ook noem: het gevaar van banding door het bestaande licht.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

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