Mechanical vs Electronic Shutter - Which one is right for you?

In this video we talk about the differences between a mechanical shutter and an electronic shutter, and discuss which might be best for you.
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CHAPTERS
---------------------------------------------
00:00 - Intro
00:06 - Where the setting lives
00:38 - The difference between mechanical and electronic
03:54 - The advantages of an electronic shutter
06:30 - The disadvantages of the electronic shutter
10:41 - Outro
CONTACT INFORMATION
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Email (business inquiries only): [e-mail]
Mailing Address (for product reviews):
Attn: Forest Chaput de Saintonge
Rocky Mountain School of Photography
301 Expressway
Missoula, MT 59808
USA
#howto #photography #tutorial

[@alexmarnoch870]

Finally! someone has answered all my questions re. electronic shutters. Thank you!

[@forestchaput]

You’re welcome!

[@patrickmcmahon818]

Thank you! This has been the best explanation of how the electronic shutter works.

[@bittertruth6175]

Excellent. A born talented teacher. Lesson us more frequently. Thanks.

[@fredrogers4186]

This is one of those things I never tried to learn because I didn't think I'd ever understand it. Now I do thanks to you. THANKS!

[@forestchaput]

Glad to help!!

[@FrancoisdeMelogue]

I always have appreciated the way describe things - very clear. Thanks

[@forestchaput]

You are very welcome!

[@WalkingEpi]

Gr8 video. Thank YOU 🙏 very informative 🙂

[@adude394]

This was hugely helpful! Thanks for posting!

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful, thank you for watching!

[@sutv6754]

EXCELLENT LESSON. THANK YOU.

[@72Trainer]

All the info I needed, thank you.

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@_peterduncan]

Now i know. Thank you! You helped me so much 😊

[@ferdierej]

Thanks bud! really appreciate all the explanation. Good job!

[@forestchaput]

Glad it helped!

[@Henqi]

Thanks for the video! The demonstration really helps! :)

[@forestchaput]

Glad it helped!

[@user-jj5fq6ed9f]

asnwered all my questions. thank you bro!

[@forestchaput]

Happy to help!

[@IvoPavlik]

Thank you. You are a good teacher. PS: Electronic shutter can be pretty advantageous for time-lapse videographers because they tend to take enormous amounts of shots.

[@forestchaput]

Absolutely! Great point.

[@rainerramos89]

This video is so far the best ever comparing both technologies. Very nice! Subscribed ✅

[@forestchaput]

Thank you!

[@1stephenward]

great video, simple, clean and to the point

[@forestchaput]

Glad you liked it!

[@1Kenpatchi1]

Thank you thank you! I am learning photography (teaching myself through reading, videos and giving it a go) and this is the ONLY video I have watched that explained this in a way I could understand. Can't wait to see your other videos! Thank you again. :)

[@forestchaput]

You're very welcome! glad to hear that we can help!

[@jaykrishnan8716]

Best explanation on this topic I have ever heard 👋👌Thanks boss ☺️

[@forestchaput]

Thanks and welcome

[@alicarubanenko5529]

Such an awesome explanation. Thank you.

[@forestchaput]

You're very welcome!

[@cmalc8]

Good logical explanation and summary. Thanks !

[@forestchaput]

You are welcome!

[@juanlujano4895]

Great explanation

[@harddriverecordingandfilmsNY]

I'm new to mirrorless, thank you for this great explanation. subbed

[@forestchaput]

Awesome, thank you!

[@thilinaalagiyawanna3680]

Thank you very much

[@veesoho93]

Great video great precise info thank you

[@forestchaput]

You're welcome!

[@MrTmiket0007]

Thanks for sharing another wonderful video like always 👍🤗

[@forestchaput]

Thank you for watching!!

[@potatosalad68]

Very useful, thank you

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@esanford]

Nice Job!

[@esther1956]

Best explanation ever, thanks. Working wih my X-pro 2 now for a while, saw the choice I had, but now the mystery is solved…

[@forestchaput]

Thank you!

[@jasoncatlyn7331]

Thanks for the info.

[@forestchaput]

You bet!

[@SienbhaRymbai]

Thank You

[@yacko00]

Excellent video!

[@forestchaput]

Thank you!

[@fengshuischoolindonesia6161]

wow, good explanation ............... thankyou.

[@forestchaput]

You're welcome!

[@reviewerorg8040]

youtube is a valuable place because of people like you. Very informative and exactly what I needed to know! thanks! p.s. I have one question: why doesn't mechanical shutter also have the rolling shutter effect? since as you said the curtain moves from top to bottom the sensor should read the information from top to bottom as well, the same as what electronic shutter does.

[@forestchaput]

Thank you! That's a great question. You are correct! You actually can get very minor rolling shutter with very fast mechanical shutter speeds because of the two curtains moving together and exposing the different parts of the sensor at different times. The thing is, our cameras are so fast, we don't see or notice it in most use cases, where electronic rolling shutter is much more obvious. Here is a great forum post on Stack Exchange about it. The second answer addresses your question perfectly: electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/376797/why-is-there-no-rolling-shutter-when-using-a-mechanical-shutter#:~:text=Now%20when%20a%20mechanical%20shutter,appearing%20in%20the%20final%20image.

[@wilvan7778]

nice and clear explanation , thank you ( sony A7 IV user )

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@manharjethani2903]

Great Video, vvv informative

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@v4l4r_m0rghul15]

Thank you! Learnt a lot

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@usernamemykel]

"Learnt"? Learned.

[@v4l4r_m0rghul15]

@@usernamemykel get a life sad one! Learnt and learned are two spellings of the same verb. They're both common, but “learnt” is standard in British English and “learned” in American English.

[@Mscookiecruz]

Great educational video :) easily explained :) didnt even know electronic shutter was a thing haha

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@bobr7773]

Thanks for the clear explanation. I believe this will help me choose the correct setting. BTW, I’ve been using electronic shutter a lot for nature photography. Silent is often a better choice…

[@forestchaput]

True!

[@knowwork9]

Will not count right??not like the mechanical shutter lifespan 200k or something then die

[@MrDenniscrystal]

Tnq very much

[@forestchaput]

You are welcome!

[@planillas11]

Wow, thanks, thanks for help me.

[@forestchaput]

Happy to help

[@DavidMarx]

excellent excellent video!

[@forestchaput]

Thanks Dave!

[@Lautaro_Guindulain]

Thanks for this video. It is really a good help. Quick question: in 5:04 there is a cable coming for your camera. What is the purpose of that cable? Have you done a video on this? Thanks again !

[@forestchaput]

That is a tethering cable and is used to send images from the camera to the computer when shooting in the studio. Yep, we have videos on it, just search for "tethering" on our Channel Page.

[@1962maryse]

Thank you .

[@forestchaput]

You are welcome!

[@lilfourcreatives]

Thanks for this video , it's helpful.. however I am using a canon mirrorless R10 which is a hybrid of mechanical and electronic shutter.. not yet known how to switch between the two

[@forestchaput]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ludvigrigger]

Thank you for the excellent explanation. What about dynamic range? Is there a difference in image quality?

[@forestchaput]

Nope, there shouldn't be any difference in image quality or dynamic range. Great question.

[@DeFineAl]

Thanks cleared that up nicely, the question is does the electronic shutter contribute to shutter count ??

[@NikoRoma]

You, my friend, geta like and a comment. Thanks for the great explanation.

[@forestchaput]

Much appreciated!

[@marcusvaldes]

Great video and explanation. Earned a sub from me!

[@RichardRostant1]

Great explanation of shutter behavior. I wondered if you had a recommendation, mechanical or electronic, when shooting timelapse? It seems to me that electronic would be preferred to save wear and tear on the mechanical shutter mechanism. Do you know of any disadvantage? Thanks.

[@forestchaput]

It probably go with electronic. I think the pros would vastly outweigh the cons in that situation.

[@jamescaldwell5]

Re banding I set my shutter speed to 1/60 for indoor and my ISO to auto. I have yet to find an issue with banding at this shutter speed. (I think the shutter just has to be slower than the flicker rate) This is on my Electronic shutter only Sigma FPL. Great video BTW. But I am curious, the say you describe the Mechanical shutter. It too exposes a thin horizontal strip of the sensor from top to bottom. Why would this not also have the diagonal line issue with side to side motion?

[@newvillagefilms]

HEY! You touched the sensor repeatedly @1:16! 😂

[@forestchaput]

😂😂😂

[@richardbellomy5607]

Just an FYI... you've got a typo you might want to correct at 5:36. The graphic says Slient instead of Silent. Great info BTW!!

[@forestchaput]

Yeah, we noticed that after upload. No way to change it now unfortunately.

[@fuatargun]

Thanks for great video explaining many of my questions, except one; On a mirrorless camera, if I use mechanical shutter, how is it possible viewfinder (a display actually) continues to show what sensor sees.

[@forestchaput]

I believe that the camera is interpolating the missing frames that happen when the shutter curtains close. Honestly, I'm not 100% sure though. That's a really great question.

[@sherbaju]

Because the shutter remains open if I'm not mistaken

[@TMG363]

Nice video. I think at 6.25 you mentioned to electronic shutter?

[@forestchaput]

Yeah, I did. My mistake.

[@HoAnhTuan-hn2hg]

*Can you help me, my current need is to buy a microless that supports electronic shutter to silent, but I need fast shutter speed with HSS Flash, I don't know if electronic shutter with HSS Flash has a "banding" error with speed. around 1/2000 to 1/1800? have a good day bro*

[@responsibleliving6071]

Thank you, sir, for this video. Does electronic shutter affect the blur effect in portraits?

[@forestchaput]

Not at all!

[@responsibleliving6071]

@@forestchaput thank you sir

[@robbeythecarpenter8493]

Can you please check that at mechanical shutter in Astro-photography gives much less camera shake ^6.22 onward. I beg to differ ... surely you meant electronic shutterZ?? Thanks

[@zachryall2527]

With the solar eclipse coming, I'm wondering if using my XT-3's electronic shutter might allow me to reduce the tiny bit of vibration the mechanical (curtains) shutter might create at longer exposures. With an effective 1200mm lens on the camera, some of the exposures (on a good tripod with a star tracker employed) might be in the 1/30th to even longer range. Does the ES giver you a little more stability in terms of just the vibration once the wired release is depressed? Thanks much

[@ACitizenOfOurWorld]

Yes

[@jimmylovesbikes]

Thanks for the explanations! But I'm so confused about "rolling shutter". Would you not have this same issue with a mechanical shutter? As the curtains move and let light in, the subject can move as well. This should cause light poles to bend, bird wingtips to look weird, etc.. ??

[@forestchaput]

That's a great question! Very observant. You actually do get a bit of rolling shutter with mechanical, it's far less than electronic though. Here's a good article explaining it: www.canon-europe.com/pro/infobank/electronic-vs-mechanical-shutter/

[@user-id2bm9hw3i]

And to avoid dust sticking to the sensor, what is best?

[@forestchaput]

There really isn't a way to avoid dust getting on your sensor, but here's a sensor cleaning kit that we recommend!:bhpho.to/4523Wqd

[@salkinettid2270]

Hey cool video, I have a question does one of shutter methods drain more battery life?

[@forestchaput]

That's a great question. I'm not sure off the top of my head. Hopefully another commenter will have some insight.

[@salkinettid2270]

@@forestchaput okay thanks anyway

[@thaibinh1909]

It’s not that big difference but mechanical shutter needs more energy to run the curtains. On a mirrorless, the sensor is always on to record and send the image signal to the display/viewfinder. Taking picture means the sensor also sends the image signal to the camera memory. The camera has to do it in both shutter modes anyway but mechanical shutter needs energy to “run”. But again, it’s not that much affects to battery life. Usually reading the sensor and sending it to the viewfinder is the most power consumption thing. Depending on the settings, taking photos using viewfinder drains more battery than using display.

[@salkinettid2270]

@@thaibinh1909 thank you for the answer :)

[@MizanurRahman-pw5ne]

I am a beginner in the phase of moving from a mobile camera to a beginner mirrorless camera. I am confused between EOS R50 and R10. The second one has an electronic shutter. Which one would you suggest someone like me who is completely new? Thanks.

[@forestchaput]

I would get the R10.

[@RobertDaria1]

Thanks. I

[@forestchaput]

You're welcome!

[@manikarnika7750]

Are there any limits on how SLOW you can use an electronic shutter? (I like using silent shutter in the dark spaces)

[@forestchaput]

Nope!

[@dps6198]

Whichever one won't cost me a fortune to repair when one or the other breaks

[@rephaelreyes8552]

Electronic has no mechanical point of failure. But then again (because these camera companies are greedy), there will be a 2-30 cent electronic piece that could easily break after 5-7 years. It's unbelievable how a premium product just breaks like that. I've replaced a clicker on a mouse- the superior, gold plated clicker costs me roughly $1. The inferior clicker soldered by the manufacturer? That one costs 67 cents. These companies- I'm looking at you Sony, they think we're clowns and ignorant enough to buy $1-3 replacement parts for $40. Absolutely unbelievable.

[@Elisha_the_bald_headed_prophet]

Even if your camera has both and you're only using the electronic one, the curtain might break in the shut position.

[@spomiomi007]

Hi...I am using Nikon z6ii and shoot in aperture mode...i m receiving more light while shooting with electronic shutter in aperture mode...why it's so?

[@forestchaput]

Hmmm. That’s strange. Are you sure your exposure compensation is zeroed out in both scenarios?

[@spomiomi007]

@@forestchaput ya...my exposure is zero...

[@NARRASSAFilmes]

The banding at indoors killing me

[@user-lo9hj4tu1f]

Mechanical shutter vs electronic shutter which one is suitable for video shooting thank you

[@forestchaput]

Video will always be an electronic shutter. Great question!

[@user-dm2ko9mm5u]

i have sony a7cr what i should choose?

[@forestchaput]

Depends on the situation.

[@user-dm2ko9mm5u]

@@forestchaput I like landscape, macro

[@Zhurii]

I'm a Sony SALESMAN Thank YOU FOR THE I FORMATION

[@forestchaput]

You're welcome!

[@akshatgopalsoni5487]

What is the lifespan of an electronic shutter

[@forestchaput]

Usually longer than anyone would want to own a single camera.

[@rickfuzzy]

So the wear and tear gets mentioned a lot but surely the mechanical shutter should outlive the camera? I’d hate to think they are designed to fail under normal use.

[@forestchaput]

Shutters are one of the first things to wear out on most cameras - BUT - most people want a new camera well before they are at the point of the shutter wearing out.

[@tractorsmachinesro1405]

💖💖💪💪🔝🔝

[@forestchaput]

💪💪💪

[@TheSgyro]

I still don’t understand how the mechanical shutter avoids the rolling shutter.. if the curtains are still exposing just a slit of the sensor, isnt it similar to electronic?

[@forestchaput]

You are actually correct. Mechanical shutters do have a tiny, tiny, tiny bit of rolling shutter (particularly at faster shutter speeds). The mechanical curtains move so fast however that it's very minimal.

[@TheSgyro]

@@forestchaput idk man.. there’s still some thing which im not really understanding about the difference between mechanical and line by line electronic shutter.. the global shutter in the new A9iii makes sense.. it captures everything at once..

[@AQHackAQ]

I don't understand the comparison... Even with mechanical shutter, sensor readout is still using rolling shutter mechanism, that is reading line by line.

[@forestchaput]

Yes, the readout is still line by line, but the entire sensor is exposed to light at one time (when the shutter is open), then the data is read out line by line. With electronic, the shutter is exposed and read out line by line causing the rolling shutter issues.

[@newvillagefilms]

I guess you're screwed with rolling shutters if you purchased a Canon R8.

[@forestchaput]

Yep! But they are getting a lot better and my hunch is that electronic shutters are the future!

[@rednassie1101]

If Electronic shutters are so fast, why do they still have the rolling shutter effect?

[@fettfri]

Reading one line can be very fast but the whole sensor takes more time than when using mechanical.

[@zx8346]

If electronic shutter is faster why would it produce jello effect ? Wouldn’t mechanical shutter produce jello effect at lower shutter speed ?

[@forestchaput]

No, because a mechanical shutter captures the light in the scene all at the same time, where electronic shutter reads the sensor line by line.

[@zx8346]

@@forestchaput so essentially electronic shutter is slower because of slower readout time ?

[@henryhodgson7798]

Why doesn’t a mechanical shutter get rolling shutter when it is practically doing the same thing as the electronic one

[@forestchaput]

Because a mechanical shutter captures every pixel simultaneously instead of row by row.

[@HerreDePerre]

@@forestchaputhow’s that possible. I don’t get it

[@TeddyCavachon]

It does and is seen when fast moving rotating objects are captured. The moving slit of the shutter will make the blades appear curved and blurred not straight and frozen. The oldest pro SLR cameras like the Nikon F I used for PJ work back in the early 70s had shutter curtains which moved horizontally across the long dimension of the frame. The effect of that can be seen in Vietnam era photos of helicopters and why many PJs in that era stayed with the Leica rangefinder instead of SLR. The horizontal moving shutter worked to an advantage when panning to follow a moving subject and blurring the background if you could pan => in the same direction the shutter moved.

[@usernamemykel]

EXCELLENT tutorial. Now go iron your shirt.

[@forestchaput]

Hahaha glad you enjoyed it

[@VladOnEarth]

6:22 electronic, not mechanical. Rolling shutter: there is basically no difference as mechanical also will read out the same way just slower, just like you demonstrated int he beginning, shutters also move line by line, hence there should not be a difference.

[@ACitizenOfOurWorld]

Look at it again. At slow shutter speeds, the first curtain drops way ahead of the second, exposing the entire sensor at once. It's only a super fast shutter speeds that the two curtains form a slit and basically read line by line like the electronic does all the time. However, you'd have to really pan fast to get a bent shape with mechanical.

[@VladOnEarth]

@ACitizenOfOurWorld you are right, but at slow shutter speed, readout speed becomes nearly irrelevant due to the physics of the process. Any speed there will return same quality image, because both ways it will be milliseconds.