Help me understand shutter speed?

Question

I found a camera i like but i want a camera where you take a picture and its just about done no standing around for 10 seconds or so. anyways this camera I found has an 8 second shutter speed what does that mean and is it fast? or do you have to stand around for a while

here is the link to the camera I like

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5684239

i realized that the Minimum shutter speed is 8 seconds the maximum shutter speed is 1/2000 of a second but im still a little unclear is that good?

Answer 1

My guess is that all of the previous responses missed the point. You seem to be interested in shutter LAG. Not shutter SPEED. Those are different things.
The shutter SPEED has been explained pretty extensively by now (and 8 seconds to 1/2000th is perfectly fine.)
The shutter LAG tells you how responsive the camera is.
Most point & shoot models have a lag of about 0.1 second. That means that when you press the shutter button, the camera doesn't do ANYTHING for the first 1/10th second, and THEN it captures the shot (with whatever shutter speed is most appropriate).
And there are two more factors that create a delay.
If the camera has an electronic viewfinder or an LCD screen to compose the shot, that's another 0.1 second. It takes that long to transmit the picture. So 0.1 second transmission delay plus 0.1 second shutter lag delay means that you're constantly 0.2 seconds behind the action.
The third factor is autofocus time. Point & shoot cameras generally require 0.4 seconds and up. In low light the AF system can seem to hunt forever before it locks on. This is the one factor that you can influence yourself. You can make it a habbit to pre-focus - press the shutter button half way to focus, and then wait a second for the right moment to snap the shutter button all the way to capture the shot.
Most camera manufacturors are a bit embarrased by their shutter lag and AF times, so they won't advertise the numbers in the specs. You'll have to read about the responsiveness of individual models in in-depth reviews. Here are two very good sites:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/default.asp?view=alpha
Unfortunately, neither of these list the Norcent you're interested in.
Since this Norcent is a relatively inexpensive model, I'd expect about average times - good enough for most stuff but too sluggish to track kids and sports. (And for THAT, no point & shoot is good enough - you'd require a digital SLR.)

Answer 2

Shutter speed is the amount of time the film (or digital plate) is exposed to the light. So in darker surroundings you need more light and a longer exposure.

But it doesn't end there.....

Another setting, the aperture, also controls the amount of light. Look in to the lens and change the 'aperture' and you will see a circular plate. That circular plate reduces the amount of light entering through the lens.

Why?

It helps to control focus. A large aperture will throw the background of your subject out of focus. A small aperture will help ensure the entire image is sharp. (Called 'depth of field')

So for (say) a portrait, you may only want just the face in focus so use a larger aperture. For a landscape, use a small aperture and keep everything clear.....

Of course if you use a small aperture then you need a longer exposure.....

Here's the rub: The camera has to be perfectly steady for the entire length of the exposure or the image will be blurred. Anything over a 60th of a second and you probably wont be able to hold the camera steady enough. That's why we use tripods....or just sit the camera on something steady.

Why have such long exposures? Put the camera on a wall (or us a tripod) and take a shot of cars passing at night. Take an 5 second exposure of a mountain stream....or someone waving those hand held fireworks....You get some really good effects.

Good luck and have fun.

Answer 3

Shutter Speed is the amount of time it takes for the camera's shutter to open (to allow light to the sensor) and close. So basically a fast shutter speed like 1/500th of a second can take a picture a basketball player as if he's frozen mid-air and on the other end a slower shutter speed like 1/6th of a second will create "motion blur" when you take a picture of the same player.

Anyway pardon me for criticizing your pick but that camera blows. Megapixel is certainly not the only factor for purchasing one. You have shutter lag, frame rate, sensor quality, lens, etc. in addition to it. They have to work as a whole to make a decent or great camera.

I'll give you some entry level cameras to buy. So that you wont basically just throw your money away. I personally suggest the Canon A550 but check the selections that I'll give you and decide for yourself.

Nikon Coolpix 7600

http://reviews.cnet.com/Nikon_Coolpix_7600/4505-6501_7-31322217.html?tag=pdtl-list&ar=o

Canon PowerShot A550

http://reviews.cnet.com/Canon_PowerShot_A550_digital_camera/4505-6501_7-32314543.html?tag=pdtl-list

HP Photosmart R817

http://reviews.cnet.com/HP_Photosmart_R817/4505-6501_7-31411745.html?tag=pdtl-list

Hope these help.

Answer 4

Shutter speed is how long the film is exposed to the light. An 8 or ten second shutter speed is very slow. You will probably get very blurry pictures unless you use a tripod. Faster shutterspeeds are measured in1000ths of seconds faster than your binking eye. You should look for a camera that has a wide range of shutter speeds for various light and action situations

Answer 5

That camera has slowest speed of 8 seconds with fastest 1/2000 sec.
The fast speeds can stop motion, i.e. photograph a fast car or plane without blurring.
The slow speed does the opposite, i.e. make a waterfall blend instead of seeing the individual streams and ripples. Slower speeds allow the camera to gather more light, so can photo in low light. The slowest speeds need a tripod.

Answer 6

Longer shutter speeds mean the sensor is exposed to light for a long period of time. This is good for low light shots but you should have a tripod when using long shutter speeds. Fast shutter speed allows little light to be exposed to the sensor. This is good when there is lots of light and you want to freeze action.

Edit: Nice whose the jerk who gave everyone a thumbs down. Everyone above me gave a good answer.

Answer 7

complicated subject. check out from google. it will help!

Answer 8

This might help