Which direction do modern focal-plane shutters travel, and why?
Asked 4/7/2015
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In modern cameras with focal-plane shutters, is there a typical travel direction? Do they usually move vertically or horizontally, and is there any consistency in which side they start from?
Older references often say that most modern 35mm and digital SLRs use vertical-travel metal-blade shutters because the curtains only need to cross 24mm instead of 36mm, allowing faster traversal and potentially higher flash sync speeds. Is that still generally true today, and what are the practical reasons behind the common direction used?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
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The overwhelming majority of modern cameras with focal plane shutters go from the top to the bottom in the light box. Since the image projected by the lens onto the sensor is inverted, this means the landscape picture you view later was exposed from the bottom to the top. With portrait orientation all bets are off, since it depends on which way the photographer turns the camera. If the camera has a battery grip with vertical controls that forces you to rotate the camera 90º counter-clockwise (as viewed from behind the viewfinder), the portrait orientation photo when you look at it will be exposed from right to left.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
11y ago
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Yes. In modern digital cameras with focal-plane shutters, the usual arrangement is vertical travel across the sensor, typically top-to-bottom inside the camera. Because the lens projects an inverted image, the final image is effectively exposed bottom-to-top when viewed normally.
Older 35mm film SLRs commonly used horizontal-travel shutters. One reason was mechanical convenience: film advance and shutter cocking were linked, so having the shutter mechanism oriented with the film transport made the design simpler.
Why vertical in modern cameras? The key practical reason is distance. A vertical-travel shutter crosses the 24mm dimension of a full-frame gate rather than 36mm, so it can complete its travel faster. That supports higher shutter speeds and often better flash sync performance than older horizontal-curtain designs.
So, broadly speaking: film-era 35mm SLRs were often horizontal; modern digital focal-plane shutters are generally vertical.
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