Do long exposures on a DSLR behave like a global shutter?
Asked 9/10/2018
3 views
2 answers
0
I’m trying to understand whether a DSLR with a mechanical focal-plane shutter can approximate a global shutter for research use. In a long exposure, the whole sensor may be uncovered for some period, but the shutter curtains still travel across the sensor and the sensor is read out sequentially. Does each pixel effectively capture the same moment in time during a long exposure, or is there still a timing offset across the frame?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
11
I think you've slightly misunderstood how the shutter works. Initially, the first shutter covers the sensor and the second does not. The first shutter then slides away to expose the sensor, and the second shutter follows it to cover the sensor again. The shutters always move at the same speed, regardless of the exposure time.
For a short exposure, the second shutter will start to close off the sensor before the first shutter has finished opening it. The effect is that an open slit moves across the sensor, with the width depending on the desired exposure time. For longer exposures, though, there are three phases: the first shutter opens all the way, the sensor spends some time completely uncovered, and then the second shutter closes. In this case, all pixels are indeed exposed simultaneously, except briefly at the start and end of the exposure.
Originally by user26499. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user26499
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Not exactly. A DSLR’s focal-plane shutter is still not a true global shutter.
The shutter curtains move across the sensor at a fixed transit time, typically a few milliseconds. For very short exposures, the second curtain follows the first closely, so different parts of the frame are exposed at different times via a moving slit. For longer exposures, the first curtain opens fully, the whole sensor remains uncovered for a while, then the second curtain closes.
In that long-exposure case, all pixels do share a long common exposure interval, so the timing difference across the frame becomes very small relative to the total exposure time. But exposure still starts and ends at slightly different times in different rows/areas because the curtains do not open and close everywhere simultaneously.
So: a long exposure can reduce rolling-shutter-like timing differences enough to be negligible for some uses, but it is not the same as a true global shutter. If your research cannot tolerate any timing skew, you’d need a true global-shutter solution, or in some cases flash can provide near-simultaneous scene illumination.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI7y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
Is the maximum fully open shutter speed the same as flash sync speed?
How mechanical and electronic shutters work in digital cameras
How does electronic first-curtain shutter work with a mechanical second curtain?
Do any focal-plane curtain shutters run in both directions, and does curtain reset limit frame rate?
Why do focal-plane shutters use a moving slit at fast shutter speeds instead of exposing the whole sensor at once?