Skip to main content

Chapter 5: Camera Settings, Shutter Speed

  • The shutter speed, aka exposure time, is the time that the image sensor is exposed to light when capturing an image. The shutter is a mechanical window inside the camera that opens and closes to allow light into the sensor for a selected amount of time.
  • A fast shutter speed, such as 1/1000 of a second, will allow light into the sensor extremely briefly. This will work in bright lighting conditions, but may not allow enough light to impact the sensor in dimmer light.
  • An extremely slow shutter speed, for example ½ second, 1 second, or even more, will allow a lot of light into the sensor and can be useful in low light conditions. However, a lot can happen over a few seconds. Long exposure times may create “motion blur” for any moving object within the frame (or for the whole frame if the camera itself is moving). This may or may not be a desired artistic effect.

The Canon EOS 5D Mk IV shutter speed is set using the small dial located on the top right side of the camera. You will notice that this setting has different limits when shooting in video mode vs. still image mode. 

When shooting in video mode, you will usually want to leave the shutter speed setting around 30-60. Faster exposure times are possible if you set your ISO and aperture accordingly but will tend to introduce "flicker" into your video.

For a more in depth explanation, visit Chapter 4: Elements of Exposure, Shutter Speed

Back to top