shutter, in photography, device through which the lens aperture of a camera is opened to admit light and thus expose the film (or the electronic image sensor of a digital camera). Adjustable shutters control exposure time, or the length of time during which light is admitted. Optimum exposure time varies according to lighting conditions, movement of the subject, and other factors, and it may be either selected in advance by the photographer or, in the case of automatic cameras, set by the camera itself on a signal from a built-in exposure-metering system. The mechanical shutter can usually be set only for indicated speeds throughout its range; some electronic shutters have a continuous operating range.
Modern camera shutters are of two principal types. The leaf shutter, positioned between or just behind the lens components, consists of a number of overlapping metal blades opened and closed either by spring action or electronically. The focal-plane shutter, located directly in front of the image plane, consists of a pair of overlapping blinds that form an adjustable slit or window; driven mechanically by spring or electronically, the slit moves across the film in one direction, exposing the entire frame in its sweep. The width of the slit determines exposure time; the narrower the slit, the shorter the exposure. The actual travel time is fairly constant for all exposure times; a mechanism triggers the release of the second blind. Exposures as brief as 1/12,000 of a second are possible with the focal-plane shutter.
Most digital cameras also employ mechanical shutters, though some, especially small “point and shoot” cameras and cell-phone cameras, use electronic “shutters” that briefly turn off the light-reading capability of the image sensor so that the captured image can be stored and the sensor cleared for the next exposure. The use of mechanical shutters in higher-quality digital cameras allows more sensor capacity to be used for gathering and storing the image, thus improving the quality of the photograph. Some digital cameras feature the combined action of both mechanical and electronic shutters.