What is exposure

Exposure is the time that the camera captures an image. When photographing, light is read using the camera’s matrix or using a film. When we do not take a picture, the film or matrix is ​​closed by the shutter. During shooting, the shutter opens and the film or matrix receives an image from the lens. The amount of time until the shutter is open and there is an exposure.

Excerpt in photography, it is not the same as exposure of wine.

Excerpt in photography, it is not the same as exposure of wine.

No, the article is not about alcohol, the article is about the photographic concept of aging.  Exposure is easy. In phones and digital cameras (soap dishes) there is no mechanical shutter as such. There, the shutter is the on / off matrix. But the principle of operation is fully preserved with the only difference, instead raising the mirror and the shutter shutter - the soap dish matrix is ​​simply updated. Nowadays, there are trendy mirrorless cameras like Sony ILCE-7 They do not have a mirror, but they have a real mechanical shutter, which gives the very nice click of the shutter release.

Half a second slow shutter speed due to insufficient lighting

Half a second slow shutter speed due to insufficient lighting

What is the exposure measured

Exposure is measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days. Usually, even a second is a too long shutter speed, therefore, almost always the shutter speed is indicated in fractions of a second... For example, 1/60, 1/120, 1/500, 1/4000, they often add the word “sec” or “s” or “sec”, as was done in my photos in this article. If the shutter speed is indicated in seconds, then the second sign is written next to the number - 2 ′, 10 ′, or just 3 s, 15 s. The expression '1/20 s' reads as “one twentieth of a second”.

Very short shutter speed so that every drop of water is visible, not a whole stream

Very short shutter speed so that every drop of water is visible, not a whole stream

How to adjust the shutter speed in the camera?

The easiest way is to set the shutter speed in the camera in shutter speed mode or in manual mode. Shutter speed is usually indicated as S (shutter) or Sv (shutter value - shutter value, shutter speed), sometimes you can find the designation Tv (time value - time value). This mode is usually found on the shooting mode dial (more details here) Exposure affects the time that the shutter of the camera is opened. In these modes, just set the shutter speed that you need. How to do this will have to read the instructions.

Very slow shutter speed of 10 seconds when there is very little light

Very slow shutter speed of 10 seconds when there is very little light

Exposure is different

It happens very short (fast) excerpt, for modern digital SLR cameras, the exposure limit is usually 1 / 4000s, in advanced cameras 1 / 8000s, in specialized cameras the shutter speed can be 1 / 40.000. For example, my Nikon D5200 has a minimum shutter speed of 1 / 4000s, and Nikon D7000 - 1 / 8000s, and the old Nikon D1h and a new Nikon 1 J1 - 1 / 16.000s. Short shutter speeds are important when shooting very fast-moving subjects or when shooting on super fast lens in bright light. The difference in shutter speed is twice called stop (step). For example, the difference in shutter speeds of 1 / 20s and 1 / 80s is 2 steps (2 stops), or 4 times. How to achieve super short shutter speed on the camera you can read here.

Short exposure to catch a baby’s movement

Short exposure to catch a baby’s movement

There are also slow shutter speed. Usually, the limit in shutter speed on modern cameras is 30 or 60 seconds. For example, camera Nikon D3100, Canon 700D have the ability to get excerpts only up to 30 seconds. If you need a longer shutter speed, then there is excerpt "by hand", usually denoted as BULB (B)... In this mode, the first press of the shutter button opens the shutter, and the second press closes the shutter. In this way, very slow shutter speeds can be achieved. Typically, slow shutter speeds are taken using the remote control or camera cable from a tripod or stationary surface. The photo below was taken on Nikon D90 and remote control ML-L3 with a shutter speed of 1/13 s. Slow shutter speeds can be used to create unusual visual effects, for example, when shooting moving cars at night, or using light pen.

One Thirteen Second Shutter Speed

One thirteen second long exposure. Fog photography

Flash sync

There is one serious problem for short exposures... When using a camera with a flash, due to the specifics of the shutter operation, the camera cannot synchronize the flash and fast shutter speed. Synchronize means giving a flash of light and opening the shutter at the same time. Therefore, you can check that usually a camera with a built-in flash takes photos only at shutter speeds up to 1/200 s. This excerpt is called X-sync shutter speed. Some amateur cameras can sync with the flash up to 1/500 s - for example, Nikon D40, Nikon D70s.

Attention: no built-in flash, no camera can work with very fast shutter speeds. Another important note - when shooting with flash in really bad lighting conditions, some cameras will automatically set shutter speed to 1 / 60sas in the example below.

The picture was taken using 2 flashes. Automatics took a shutter speed standard in one sixtieth

The picture was taken using 2 flashes. Automatics took a shutter speed standard in one sixtieth

To use the camera with a fast shutter speed and flash, you need to use external flashes. In order for everything to work, you need to camera and flash supported fast sync mode. In quick sync mode, you can shoot with the flash at any shutter speed - from 30 seconds to 1/8000 s. Why do I need a flash with short exposures, you can read in my article 'How to take flash photography during the day'. Below is a snapshot in flash sync mode.

Photo using an SB-900 external flash. Shutter speed is very short, shot in FP mode - fast synchronization

Photo using external flash SB-900. Shutter speed is very short, shot in FP mode - fast synchronization

Exposure is very important when shooting handheld. When shooting with your hands, you always need to remember the shutter speed in order to get a sharp and blurry frame. How best take off you can also read in the section “how to remove from hands“. The shutter speed, aperture and ISO values ​​are interconnected; when you change one of them, one or two of the others will change.

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Very short shutter speed

Very short shutter speed

Conclusions

Exposure is time. In different situations, the camera needs a different time to take a picture. Exposure usually varies in fractions of a second. Shutter speed and aperture are the main parameters in photography. I highly recommend conducting your own experiments and tests.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

Add a comment: Tatyana

 

 

Comments: 227, on the topic: What is excerpt

  • Nick

    Try shooting in S mode

  • anonym

    Please tell me in BULB mode - is there a limit on exposure time?

    • BB

      Yes, the device may turn off, or block the trigger in case of matrix overheating

  • anonym

    Related

  • Victor

    You can read very unusual about exposure here.
    http://www.bestnewart.ru/about/lessons/cho_takoe_viderjka.html

  • Yuriy

    Arkady, tell me how to determine the difference in the readings of exposure. The articles indicate the exposure through a fraction, for example, 1/200, and a chamber without a fraction, for example, 200. Is this the same or not?

    • Jury

      I’m not Arkady, but I’ll answer, they don’t put a fraction in the camera, and just show 200 - 1/200 sec., 1000 - 1/1000 sec., 8000 - 1/8000 sec., and the shutter speed is from 1 to 30 seconds, they mark seconds ”for example 30 ″

  • Yuriy

    Thanks, namesake)

  • anonym

    in my modes M, A, S, P everything turns out black and white, what to configure? Help

    • Jury

      select Picture Control not monochrome

    • Yarkiya

      Specify, please, under-highlights - overexposures or lack of colors as in monochrome?

  • Oleg

    The question may be amateurish, but another would be inappropriate from an amateur in using a SLR camera (not understanding the basics, why other questions). There is an offer: either Canon 40D or Nikon D90. Canon has a shutter speed of 1/8000, Nikon “only” 1/4000, Canon has ISO 100, Nikon has only 200, but Nikon 3200, and Canon 1600. In my amateurish opinion, having 100, but 1600 is preferable, than 200, but at 3200, because at high ISO there will still be strong noises, therefore, it seems to me, ISO 100 is a more popular parameter than 3200. Or is it wrong? And the presence of a “screwdriver”. Nikon has it, Canon says it doesn't. Ergonomics, a better screen, this is already convenience, but not technical capabilities, therefore, in fact, the question is:

    1. Should I give preference to Canon 40D because of its 1/8000 shutter speed and ISO 100, but without a “screwdriver”, if I want to use manual Soviet lenses, or do other possible Nikon advantages outweigh the above?

    • Lynx

      1. Canon does not need a screwdriver, he does not have such lenses.
      2. both options are not so hot for yourself, or taking something is clearly cheaper, or obviously better.
      those. or Nikon D200 and other junior profs, or Nikon d7000, d7100 and above, or Canon new 100d, 650d, 550d (not the newest), 700d.
      for Soviet lenses, with the exception of Helios-81H, and others with a Nikon mount, it is still preferable to use canons.

      • Oleg

        Thanks for the answer (and thanks to the next responder too). I indicated these two models, because they are now at the same price in the region of 3,5-4 thousand hryvnia, both are bodysuits, and according to the description with the same mileage of 20-25 thousand. In general, I somehow (purely "in my head") recently tuned in to the Pentax, again based on the Internet information due to the internal stabilizer, compatibility with manual lenses and a good body (dust and moisture protection), but specifically the model that was going buy, sold earlier, and I have no other such models in my city yet. It was about the K10D (also an old model, but according to reviews it is quite good).
        The situation reminds me that when you want to buy something in a store, there is no specific preference, and you walk, walk, it seems that this is normal, and this is not bad, but maybe it’s all the same, or not ... And now it’s the same.

        • Arkady Shapoval

          For manual optics - Canon 40D due to metering and Live View, D90 does not have metering. I would also consider the Nikon D200 variant.

        • Lynx

          do not need any of them - crap will be more than happiness.
          Look D200, the same fuji s5Pro if Nikons, or new canons.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Nikon D90 has ISO LO1, equivalent to ISO 100, you will not find the difference between real and LO1, there are also intermediate values ​​LO0.7 (ISO 125), Lo0.3 (ISO 160). As for the screwdriver, Canon has no such concept, it is not correct to compare. Excerpt 1/4000 VS 1/8000 more a myth described by me here.
      If it's purely for the manual - take Canon, otherwise - Nikon.

      • Oleg

        It's just that you have written in one of the articles that 1/4000 may not be enough when shooting with high-aperture optics, in fact, having read this and asked the corresponding question.
        I now have a priority goal, to buy a DSLR and try it out, to learn in the field on the example of my own successful shots and mistakes. Therefore, I decided, even if used, but higher than the initial one.

        • Arkady Shapoval

          A very wise decision.

          • Oleg

            While I was thinking, those options were gone, but I came across a rather inexpensive, even very inexpensive, old Nikon D70s, in very good condition. I bought it and took for the first time a manual Arsat 50/2 and an autofocus Nikon 28-80 f / 3.3-5.6. Now, by typing, I select the working segments in different lighting conditions. And then it will be seen where the “first camera: expectations and reality” will lead)

            • anonym

              working distance usually means a completely different

            • Pastor

              Cool camera and a great lens to get you started. I have the same equipment and it does not cease to please me, especially recalling its small price.

            • Yarkiya

              What do you mean when you say, “I select flanges in different lighting conditions”?

              • Oleg

                A combination of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to produce a normal rather than overexposed / underexposed shot or white / black square. That is, if I need a photograph with aperture priority (for blurring or not blurring the background), then under a certain lighting condition there will be certain working shutter speed segments, beyond which it makes no sense. Or vice versa, if I need shutter priority, if the photo is a moving object, then the aperture will not be all the aperture values; accordingly, having typed my hand, you already understand what aperture value will fit the required shutter speed. I consider ISO an auxiliary value when the shutter speed and aperture that are available for taking a picture are not combined, and then by increasing the ISO you can get, if not excellent, then a satisfactory result (by the principle: either this way or not). You can of course entrust everything to automation by choosing automatic priority modes, but when you set them yourself, you remember better.

              • Oleg

                I would not call ISO an auxiliary value. Each cell has its own value above which it is not necessary to rise unnecessarily, noises begin to climb. When shooting on manual optics, the camera may not produce the correct ISO value in auto mode. For example, when shooting on Mir-1v, for example, I had terrible overexposures until I realized that the camera automatically sets ISO-1600. Installed iso-100 and everything is fine

  • Oleg

    In the era of digital photography, you can easily choose the settings you need by yourself using the “scientific poke” method. Set the ISO and aperture to minimum, and shooting at different shutter speeds, determine the shutter speed that allows you to get a good photo. You write it down. Rearrange the aperture to the next position, and again, by the selection method, determine the shutter speed, which at this ISO and this aperture will give the desired picture, and not a white / black spot or overexposure / underexposure. If you can't get rid of the lack of light at the selected aperture at any shutter speed, raise the ISO and see what happens. And so on for different lighting conditions. Further, you will simply check with your recordings, and then completely remember under what conditions, which ISO / aperture / shutter speed range will be working, which is tolerable (available for post-processing), and which are completely inoperative.

    And then, in manual mode, you will still shoot in some priority, only the values ​​will be set not by the computer, but by yourself. For example, a person is standing and a carousel is spinning behind him. At one exposure range, the person will be clear, and the carousel is blurred, if you need to “freeze” the carousel too, this will be a different exposure range, with which the aperture you set will already give an inoperative picture, which means that with a change in exposure you will need to change the aperture ...

    Or the task is to blur the background, or so that everything is equally clear. So you will set the values ​​in the priority of the aperture, and already from the set aperture, select the necessary shutter speed and ISO.

    All this will be written down in a notebook (or head) and you will easily begin to set the necessary values.

    If, on each occasion, you ask which values ​​to choose, then it will take a very long time to “fill your hand”.

    In fact, everything is both complicated and simple at the same time. The fact is that, as already noted, in manual mode, you will still proceed from the priority: you want to shoot a fast-moving car, splashing water, a portrait with a bokeh, a person against the background of a pyramid without blurring the background ... and from this first business to set either a certain aperture, or a certain shutter speed, and already from these set parameters, set others, and they will be in a fairly narrow range, and if you set the aperture to 2,0 you will not have to think that from the range of 30 sec - 1 / Set 4000 seconds of exposure, since the working period will be very short. The same is true for the shutter speed, having set the right one for a certain scene, you do not have to think about which of all the available aperture values ​​to set, because the flange distance will be short enough, and the rest of the values ​​will not be working, and you will know this perfectly.

    And of course, getting the right photo (in contrast, brightness, etc.) doesn’t mean getting a beautiful photo at all, it’s not the camera that comes into operation, but you yourself, this is your vision, your perspective, your plot, etc.

    • Oleg

      The namesake, in our case, the working segment denotes the optical characteristic of the lens.

      The working segment of the lens (or camera) is equal to the distance from the supporting surface of the frame (mounting plane) of the lens to the focal plane (film plane or photosensitive matrix). (c) Wikipedia®

      • Oleg

        Thanks for clarification, I am not strong in terminology. The main thing is that we understand what we are talking about, because you can speak the same language and not understand each other, but you can speak different, but understand.

  • Charles

    Capercaillies talk - each about his own :)

  • Oleg

    Oleg
    29.09.2016 in 20: 12
    There is no function to answer, probably, with the same nicknames, the system perceives messages as from one person ... I think ISO is auxiliary because of the noise. Therefore, you start increasing it only if the required aperture and shutter speed do not give the desired result, and all that remains is to raise the ISO. In addition, I'm now talking about purely manual settings, without involving automatic or semi-automatic modes.
    PS I write all this from a amateurish position, as I see it now, and not after years of practice. Reasoned criticism and professional advice, of course, are welcome.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Great nesting of comments.

    • Yarkiya

      Naturally, you do not take into account the camera model. Full-frame noise is significantly less at high ISO than crop. But crop also vary greatly in terms of noise. And also depends on the quality of lighting. Street or building, camera flash or studio all-in-one, subject or distant portrait. In short, the ISO must be selected in each case.

      • Oleg

        This is understandable, because other parameters, except for ISO, will be different depending on the lighting. If you turn the glades into the thick of the forest with the bright sun, you will not add the ISO to the set values, but first change the aperture and / or shutter speed, and then increase the ISO if the first two values ​​do not stretch the image.

        After all, I'm not talking now about how the pros who have filled their hands see it (the pros have gone through this a long time ago and know all or almost all the necessary values ​​for all shooting conditions), but those who are beginning to master a SLR camera. After all, if you start doing everything at once - to shoot in the sun, and in cloudy weather, at night, and indoors, and with a flash, and ... your head will be a mess of different settings (the option to put a machine gun and not to steam is not an option). For me, it's better to start with one type of lighting, get your hands on it, remember the settings, and then move on to another type of lighting.

        Here, it would seem that different topics come out: 1) I bought the first SLR camera to study, 2) I bought the first SLR camera, because finances allow me to take photos right away, like on a soap box / phone, only on a DSLR.

        • Yarkiya

          But why remember these settings then? It is enough to understand the essence of the expo plug, and set yourself the settings according to the conditions, plus the camera will help, otherwise why is it so tricked out. If you understand the meaning of the exposition, you do not need to write down or remember the parameters and settings. Most often, there is no time to dig in the back streets of memory, you need to quickly remove, otherwise the moment may pass. This is where understanding of the exposure and good knowledge of your camera are needed, because if you pay that much money for the device, you will agree that it’s sad not to know what it is capable of.
          In short, to summarize, examine your camera and make friends with exposure, and everything else will come with experience, and don’t worry about this ISO, in most cases it can be easily suppressed in the editor.

          • Oleg

            I generally said, in the course of the rule 1 stop x2 shutter speed, of course, that you don’t need to directly check everything from the beginning to the end.

            I’m leading to the fact that at the training stage, by manually setting parameters, you better remember and understand what’s what. Here, who has what interest. You can learn to drive a car with automatic transmission, and learn to steer, drive, brake, and let the automatic switch gears, why delve into this process, what gear is needed for what? And why do you need to know what speed to slow down or go into a turn in order not to go into a skid if ABS, ESP, EBD and other systems adjust the speed themselves so that the car moves with the desired dynamics. But if you learn to drive in mechanics, in cars without ABS and other systems, you'll better understand what's what. If this is not necessary, then it is not necessary, and if this understanding is needed, then learning to drive a car with all the electronic gadgets will be very difficult to come to an understanding.

            • Yarkiya

              Here you are another fan of comparing incomparable, auto-comparison is not suitable here, because even using non-automatic PASM modes, except for M, you still trust the automation. And even in “fully mechanical” :)) M mode, you still have a wonderful screen that will tell you what to change if the frame does not suit you. This is on film cameras without an exposure meter, you need to record and remember everything where each frame is registered.

              • Arkady Shapoval

                in M you can shoot with auto-iso, or with a flash in i-TTL (auto mode) while it is not M at all :)

            • Valery A.

              It seems to me that in addition to exposes, there is also a large field for memorizing when photographing - forecasting (selection) depth of field, here the automation will not help. There are also three parameters - aperture, lens FR, distance to the focusing plane, and what will the depth of field be - 5cm or 50? There is nothing to do with automatic transmission, or have a tablet with you, or somehow put it in your head.

  • Oleg

    When I catch on to the Soviet lens, my semi-automatic modes do not work, probably because there is no metering, so the camera logically cannot choose the shutter speed for the desired aperture, or vice versa. Accordingly, there are no other options except how to enter all this data manually (but what if you do not remember them or do not have a record at hand?). If it is possible to shoot with Soviet manual optics on a semiautomatic device, tell me, I will use it.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Take an older camera with a diaphragm rheostat to measure with anything. Can such a miracle still.

      • Oleg

        Tell me, are not Soviet manual lenses for Nikon will work in priority modes, or only M too?

  • Oleg

    Another moment. The native whale lens of the cropped camera 18-55 visually gives the same picture (in angle, not in quality) as the AF Nikkor 28-80 mm f / 3.3-5.6 G lens, which seems to be native to the full format. It turns out that the lens with the full format on the crop gives an analog not to be multiplied by 1,5, but divided by 1,5. That is, 28-80 on crop did not become the same as it would be native (for crop) 42-120, but became the same as 18-55.

    • Arkady Shapoval

      on crop by 1.5 you need to multiply ALL lenses installed there. And Nikon DX 18-55 and Nikon FX 28-80. All information on measurement is on the site as well as all the questions about which you write here. By measurement here.

  • Michael

    Good afternoon. Tell me how to write the shutter speed range correctly, 1/50 - 1/10000 s, or 1/10000 - 1/50 s? On Nikon's website, they write in the second way, but mostly in the first. Is there a GOST for this?

    • Oleg

      And how and what does this affect? There would be an understanding of the process and the meaning of these figures.

    • Michael

      people are used to writing from less to more (second way). You don't say "give me 10-5 tomatoes."

      • Valery A.

        You are right (about tomatoes), it is even more revealing: “give one, no better than two bottles”.

        • Michael

          Especially on holidays))

    • anonym

      In old textbooks they wrote from 1 to 1/1000 sec.

  • Alexey

    In this case, a controversial analogy. Then how to write correctly: - aperture from f2,8 to f16, or vice versa?

    • Oleg

      It depends on what you will do with it: open or cover.

    • Michael

      From 2.8, because this is the number, not the denominator of the fraction. Physically, yes, the smallest diaphragm is the most open. But mathematically 2.8 <16, like 1/1000 <1/50.

      • Alexey

        The principle from smallest to largest with a quantitative characteristic of the phenomenon is correct. It is important to determine to which phenomenon we are applying it. Photography is taking an image using light, as the name suggests, and aperture and shutter speed control the amount of light. My opinion is that the writing should reflect the physical essence of the process, this simplifies understanding, that is, the aperture is from larger to smaller (2,8-16), and the shutter speed from larger to smaller (1/50 - 1/1000), since these are reciprocal values to the amount of transmitted light.

        • anonym

          Exactly

    • Nicholas

      exactly right from 2,8 to 16

  • Andrei

    Good afternoon Arkady. Your advice is very necessary.
    Soap dishes have a vile feature, a significant amount of time elapses from the moment the shutter button is pressed until it actually works, usually the object escapes from the frame.
    Actually speaking what the question is, I'm looking for a camera for my daughter, she is 9 years old and she is very interested in the process of photography. But while she can not drag a SLR. Initially, I want to instill in her the right attitude towards the process. You do not tell a small camera with the ability to choose the shutter speed and aperture value.
    Thanks in advance for your reply.

    • Valery A.

      Hello. Proceeding from the fact that you have not limited the budget, I will not offer the so-called. premium soap dishes (such as Nikon P7000 or Canon G10), which have relatively fast focusing (less than a second) and rich control functions, and I will refer you to a serious sensor size (crop) and applied lenses technology, today in this niche there is almost no competition for mirrorless Sony. Sony Nex - without a viewfinder (sighting across the screen), there is a review of the Nex-5, and, even more serious and more expensive, a Sony-ilce (A5000, A6000, etc., there is a review of the A6300), they have an electronic viewfinder and serious control and shooting capabilities.

  • Tatyana

    Arkady, thank you very much for your work, for such interesting, detailed and accessible articles. I'm just starting to take pictures and your site is just a storehouse of information in an accessible language for me as a beginner. Every evening I read your articles! Thanks!

  • anonym

    Thanks! For the girl, everything is accessible and understandable! Very easy to write, easy to digest material!)

  • anonym

    Short and clear. thanks.

  • Dmitriy

    Very, very helpful information. Especially for beginners like me.

  • Glory

    Thank you very much for the article.

  • Sveta

    Super! Very intelligible!

  • anonym

    something for a long time there were no new comments))

  • Vladimir

    Tell me, please, which cameras have an infinite shutter speed?

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Everyone who has a 'BULB' hand excerpt

  • hax

    Tell me some normal application for a phone for a photo with a long exposure, please.
    Sony XPERIA XA2 Ultra

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