Shutter Speed on Video Mode

Hey,

I've never quite understood why video mode has a shutter speed, what exactly is this for? All I can really think of is, if the area that you are filming at is too bright. Does it improve image quality? What are the benfits of a high/low shutter speed when recording.

Thanks!

Think of it as refresh rate like on a flat screen tv. Higher refresh means sharper images. The shutter is not actually actuating as in the old film cameras. At least that's how I think of it?
Anyone

OriginalProof wrote in post #14224550
...I've never quite understood why video mode has a shutter speed, what exactly is this for? All I can really think of is, if the area that you are filming at is too bright. Does it improve image quality? What are the benfits of a high/low shutter speed when recording....

Good question -- this is easy to misunderstand.

Originally, motion picture cameras had a fixed relationship between shutter speed and frame rate. Typically it was 2-to-1, or 1/48th sec for 24 frames/sec. This is sometimes called the "180-degree shutter rule", since the shutter was a spinning rotary disc open for 1/2 the rotation. More info: http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Rotary_disc_shu​tter.

This was needed to block the light while the film was advanced to the next frame. Just like a still camera, the shutter speed on a movie camera affects light intake and motion blur. The faster the shutter speed, the less light and less motion blur.

With DSLRs you have independent control of video shutter speed and frame rate. Frame rate choices are typically 24, 30 and 60 frames/sec. For any given frame rate you can adjust the shutter speed to whatever you want. However -- using 2x the frame rate (e.g, 1/60th sec for 30 frames/sec) is a good starting point. Deviating from this causes changes in motion blur, which can be distracting if not used properly.

The opening scene in "Saving Private Ryan" used a 45-degree (or 1/192th sec) shutter speed. This created a staccato-like feel, which was intentional. Of course light intake dropped by 4x, so he had to compensate for that to balance the exposure.

Two good videos discussing video shutter speed vs frame rate:

http://vimeo.com/19603​537

http://www.youtube.com …0279fXmcc&featu​re=related

The ability to choose shutter speed when shooting video can be really useful if you want to save sharp individual frames.

I recently wanted to capture some bird behaviour that was happening too fast to shoot even in burst mode with my 60D. By shooting video with a shutter speed of 1/1600 I was able to extract 1920x1080 frames that were quite acceptable for web use.

all you need to know http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=TNNqUm_nSXk