Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Do digital point & shoots use actual electro-mechanical shutters or do they just turn the sensor on and off?

Question by Mere Mortal: Do digital point & shoots use actual electro-mechanical shutters or do they just turn the sensor on and off?
Do you know which digital point & shoot cameras just toggle the sensor on and off to capture the image?


Best answer:

Answer by screwdriver
Only the cheap no name cameras have no mechanical shutter, they just scan the sensor, its like a 'screen grab' on a camcorder. Higher quality ones do, you can often hear it working. Its needed to accurately control the light falling on the sensor.

Look into the cameras lens if you can see the sensor it doesn't have a shutter if you can't then it does.

Chris



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1 comment:

  1. All of the (Canon) point and shoots I've used have a shutter. In fact you can hear the very faint clicking sound the shutter makes. Ones that probably don't are those off-brand cheap <$ 50 cameras sold in stores. Also, cell phone cameras don't have shutters.

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