Shutter Speeds (Page 2): Since the exposure changes with the shutter speed, there is obviously a difference between 1/4000 and 1/8000. There's no way of knowing if those numbers are...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

JayHT wrote:

I find it impressive that today's cameras can achieve such high shutter speeds, but I wonder how accurate are these speeds. When cameras are represented to achieve speeds of 1/8000th of a second just how close do they get? Is it perhaps "close, but not quite" or are they 100% on spec? Are you aware of lab tests that verify the manufacturer's claims?

Regards,
JayHT

Since the exposure changes with the shutter speed, there is obviously a difference between 1/4000 and 1/8000. There's no way of knowing if those numbers are accurate, though. Just like f/2.8 vs f/8. Does it really matter if the aperture calculations made by the manufacturer are 100% accurate? Shutter and Aperture are two ways to adjust exposure. They could just as well use numbers from 1 -20 for A and S.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

JayHT wrote:

I find it impressive that today's cameras can achieve such high shutter speeds, but I wonder how accurate are these speeds. When cameras are represented to achieve speeds of 1/8000th of a second just how close do they get? Is it perhaps "close, but not quite" or are they 100% on spec? Are you aware of lab tests that verify the manufacturer's claims?

Regards,
JayHT

Is 1/7999th of a second close enough, how about 1/7998th or 1/7997th? How close is close enough? I doubt if an exposure at 1/7997th or 1/7990th will make much of a difference in the final print. Or will it?

Nikonman44

Like many other comments you are reading, the thought never crossed my mind about the true accuracy of that high number.

My Nikons are right in there with the other quality cameras and so I ,like I said< have never given it thought. 1% 0r 5% or 10% if our equipment can capture the likes of the thunderbirds below I think its a safe bet they are pretty close.

Dont worry about it, capture the moment and enjoy the results.

TucsonDave Loc: Tucson, Arizona

Techies have to be careful not to get too lost in details that have meaning relative to each other but have much less meaning with the absolute number itself. The issue is simply the result. If the result was not visually acceptable, did an adjustment (in shutter speed for example) improve the quality of the picture?

Overthinking details can drive you crazy. Just go outside and take a lot of pictures.

Enjoy!

fourg1b2006 Loc: Long Island New York

dsmeltz wrote:

I timed mine. (Using an old egg timer) My 1/8000 was really only 1/7999!!! I was robbed!!!!

I'm sure the one you are missing would really make for a better image lol.

WessoJPEG Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

dsmeltz wrote:

I timed mine. (Using an old egg timer) My 1/8000 was really only 1/7999!!! I was robbed!!!!

😅😂😄

cthahn

The best thing to do is to not worry about it. Spend you time taking pictures.

blackest Loc: Ireland

BebuLamar wrote:

They will tell you that they actually aimed for 1/8192 as the perfect value!

Funny you should say that try timing a 30 second exposure, it will be closer to 32 seconds than 30. numbers marked are only approximate anyway.

Ball park is good enough.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Check it with a stop watch.

BebuLamar

blackest wrote:

Funny you should say that try timing a 30 second exposure, it will be closer to 32 seconds than 30. numbers marked are only approximate anyway.

Ball park is good enough.

That's according to the service manual of the Nikon F3 and F5 that I have. It makes sense because 32 seconds is 5 stops from 1 second and not 30 seconds. I guess they labelled as such because cameras are conventionally marked that way. Of course if the shutter speed is exactly as marked it's well within specs.

DaveC1 Loc: South East US

It seems like I remember reading somewhere that modern electronic shutters were controlled by a feedback loop that took its timing information off the camera's clock. We all do realize that these things are computers and not really cameras, right. So if your camera works as it should and keeps the correct time and date in memory my guess is that the shutter speed is as the maker wanted it to be. Or else you'd get an error message.

BebuLamar

DaveC1 wrote:

It seems like I remember reading somewhere that modern electronic shutters were controlled by a feedback loop that took its timing information off the camera's clock. We all do realize that these things are computers and not really cameras, right. So if your camera works as it should and keeps the correct time and date in memory my guess is that the shutter speed is as the maker wanted it to be. Or else you'd get an error message.

The shutter in most DSLR is still mechanical and is spring driven although it's electronically controlled. Cameras like the Nikon F5 and newer do have a feed back circuit to check for the accuracy but it only display the error message when the speed is off by 1 stop.

blackest Loc: Ireland

BebuLamar wrote:

That's according to the service manual of the Nikon F3 and F5 that I have. It makes sense because 32 seconds is 5 stops from 1 second and not 30 seconds. I guess they labelled as such because cameras are conventionally marked that way. Of course if the shutter speed is exactly as marked it's well within specs.

yes it should go

32 16 8 4 2 1 seconds

1/2 1/4 1/8 1/16 1/32 1/64 1/128 1/256 1/512 1/1024 1/2048 1/4096 1/ 8192 of a second in full stops.

so 1/8192 = 0.0001220703125 seconds 1/8000 is 0.000125 seconds about 0.03 mS slower. 2.4% difference.

rjriggins11 Loc: Colorado Springs, CO

They are very accurate if the technician setting them up is doing his job right. I've been in the repair business for 30 years now and have set up tens of thousands of cameras. There are test equipment that reads high speeds as well as curtain balance into the micro seconds.

JayHT wrote:

I find it impressive that today's cameras can achieve such high shutter speeds, but I wonder how accurate are these speeds. When cameras are represented to achieve speeds of 1/8000th of a second just how close do they get? Is it perhaps "close, but not quite" or are they 100% on spec? Are you aware of lab tests that verify the manufacturer's claims?

Regards,
JayHT

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

This is not really something with which we should be concerning ourselves.
--Bob

JayHT wrote:

I find it impressive that today's cameras can achieve such high shutter speeds, but I wonder how accurate are these speeds. When cameras are represented to achieve speeds of 1/8000th of a second just how close do they get? Is it perhaps "close, but not quite" or are they 100% on spec? Are you aware of lab tests that verify the manufacturer's claims?

Regards,
JayHT