What is a leaf shutter, and how is it different from a focal-plane shutter?
Asked 6/6/2016
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I saw an ad for a Phase One medium-format camera that said it could synchronize flash at any shutter speed because it uses a leaf shutter. What is a leaf shutter, where is it located, and how does it differ from a focal-plane shutter in operation and flash sync behavior?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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A leaf shutter is located in the lens of a camera, rather than in front of the focal plane inside the body of the camera. They are made of several metal blades that fit together in a circular arrangement with the intersection of all of the blades overlapping in the center. When a leaf shutter opens the hole gets gradually larger from the center to the edges. When it closes the hole gets gradually smaller from the edges to the center. What this means is that light travelling through the center of the shutter falls on the film/sensor longer than light travelling through the edges of the shutter.
For more on the relative differences and advantages/disadvantages between leaf shutters and focal plane shutters please see What is the difference in purpose between a focal plane shutter and a leaf shutter on a camera?
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
10y ago
0
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A leaf shutter is a shutter built into the lens rather than in the camera body in front of the sensor/film. It uses several overlapping blades arranged in a circle. As it opens, the opening grows from the center outward; as it closes, it shrinks back inward.
A focal-plane shutter, by contrast, sits just in front of the sensor or film and typically works with curtains that travel across the frame.
The key practical difference is flash sync. Because a leaf shutter opens across the lens and can expose the whole frame at once, it can generally synchronize flash at very high shutter speeds. A focal-plane shutter often exposes the frame with a moving slit at higher speeds, which limits normal flash sync to slower speeds.
Leaf shutters have historically involved trade-offs in design and speed control, but their big advantage is high-speed flash synchronization. That’s why they are especially valued in some medium-format and studio-oriented systems.
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