Shutter Speed Made Simple

Shutter Speed Made Simple
by Gruntwork Outdoors


When shopping for a camera, one of the first things you look at are the tech specifications. Upon first
glance, this list can seem like it's written in another language, I mean, there's fractions, weird abbreviations, and a ton of numbers splashed across the page. All of these specs are important to your outdoor filming, but one that we've found extremely useful is shutter speed.

Simply put, shutter speed refers to the amount of time it takes for your camera's shutter to open. The shutter allows light into your camera. You can adjust the shutter speed based on the image you are trying to capture.

Shutter speed is measured in seconds, usually fractions of a second. For instance, the default shutter speed on most camcorders in 1/60; however, the speed can range from 1/10000 up to 1, 2 or 3 seconds. The smaller the fraction, the faster the shutter speed. This means that if your shutter speed is set at 1/2000, your shutter will be opening every 1/2000th of a second. That is very fast! Faster shutter speed will allow you to capture or "freeze" details of a fast-moving scene, such as the individual blades turning on a ceiling fan. If you change your shutter speed to something slower, such as 1/24, instead of seeing the individual blades on the fan, your image will look more like a blur of motion.

You may be thinking why you would ever want a slow shutter speed. The adjustment of your shutter speed should be based off of the image you want to capture. If you're filming a Nascar race and want to capture the speed of the cars driving around the track, a slower shutter speed is needed to convey that motion. If you want to film your arrow slicing through a water-filled balloon, you may choose to use a faster shutter speed so that each droplet is seen.

There are some important items to remember when adjusting your shutter speed. Always use a tripod when filming in a faster shutter speed because any camera movement will be very visible in your film. Also, be aware of your lighting. Changing the shutter speed, changes the amount of light entering the camera, so you will need to adjust your lighting accordingly.

Shutter speed is just one of the many options that vary from camera to camera and can sometimes be overlooked. But now that you know the basics, you can start to take your film to the next level.


Gruntwork Outdoors
Chris and Laurie