The different types of camera shutters explained

Wednesday 1 January 2025, 13:31 by Nando Harmsen | 2,821 views | 5 comments

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

As a photographer, you will certainly have come across the terms electronic shutter and mechanical shutter. Did you know there are also leaf shutters and global shutters? I have put together an overview.

It used to be that simple. You had a mechanical shutter and that was it. It could be a focal-plane shutter or a leaf shutter. Now there is also an electronic shutter.

This is how a slow mechanical shutter works. Slow because this is what happens at shutter speeds below the flash sync speed.
With the arrival of mirrorless cameras, the electronic shutter has really started to gain ground. Many people think this technology is better than the mechanical shutter. However, this is not necessarily the case.

The electronic shutter is silent, but at the same time it can cause rolling shutter effects. For flash photography, a mechanical shutter offers advantages over an electronic one.

An electronic shutter is often slow, which causes rolling shutter effects.
Some cameras no longer have a mechanical shutter. Sometimes that is a disadvantage, but not always. Sony has a global shutter that is still unique. It removes all the disadvantages of the electronic shutter, but it comes at a price. Literally.

The Nikon Z9 and Z8 no longer have a mechanical shutter, just like the Sony A9 III.
I have put together an overview of the different shutters. How do they work, and what are their advantages and disadvantages? You will also notice that they all still have a reason to exist. Follow this link to read the article on my website.

Do you have a mirrorless camera? Then do not be afraid to keep using the mechanical shutter. Especially if you practise action photography and panning. Or flash photography.

I hardly ever use the electronic shutter myself. For my photography, it offers no added value, and may even have disadvantages. But of course, this is different for everyone. Use whatever works best, or feels most comfortable, for you.

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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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5 comments

Matt Houben wrote on Wednesday 1 January 2025 at 14:25 | reply
A quick question regarding the central shutter: it opens and closes from the middle. Doesn't that result in uneven exposure: the middle of the photo / sensor is exposed for longer than the edges?
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Wednesday 1 January 2025 at 17:43 | reply
No, not at all. Opening and closing is of course fast enough.
But there is a limitation to the maximum speed this shutter can achieve. Precisely because of the way it opens and closes.
Translated from Dutch.

Mac wrote on Thursday 2 January 2025 at 08:23 | reply
Small addition,
With certain flashes, you no longer have a max flash sync speed with a focal-plane shutter either. Then you can flash at all shutter speeds (HSS Flash)
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Thursday 2 January 2025 at 14:23 | reply
There is always a maximum flash sync speed with focal-plane shutters.
That is why you have to switch to high speed sync (HSS) to take a flash photo.
If there were no maximum flash sync speed, high speed sync would not be necessary either.
Translated from Dutch.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 7 January 2025 at 14:52 | reply
With most mirrorless cameras, the flash does not work when using the electronic shutter. You then have to use the mechanical shutter or the electronic shutter with first curtain.
Translated from Dutch.

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