Mechanical Shutter vs Electronic Shutter

Electronic shutter is quieter compared to mechanical shutter. The shutter speed determines how long the sensor exposed to light. The longer the shutter speed, the more light can be captured by the sensor.

Mechanical shutter consists of two metal curtains. Each made of several blades. When we shoot, we can hear the clicks of the mechanical shutter.

In contrast, electronic shutter does not move any parts. It works by turning the sensor on and off. That’s why it does not have the clicks sound.

Why electronic shutter still has sound? It’s an artificial sound played through camera’s speaker.

Advantages of mechanical shutter:

• Flash works better with mechanical shutter
• No rolling issues

Advantages of electronic shutter:

• Silent shooting
• Faster burst rate
• Good for static subjects in the bright sun.

Disadvantages of electronic shutter:

• Flickering or banding particularly in under LED lighting.
• Can cause warping or skewing (rolling shutter effect) because the sensor takes time to read the whole image.
• Can’t use flash

But for landscapes or portraits in natural light, the difference is indistinguishable.

Why does it cause rolling shutter if electronic shutter allows a very fast exposure time like 1/32000 sec? Because exposure time is different not readout speed. Exposure time is how fast the camera collecting light. But readout speed is how long the camera takes to read pixels row by row from the sensor. In Fuji cameras, roughly 1/20 to 1/60 seconds.

It can cause distortion because if the object moves very fast, when the sensor already read the top row pixel and then the object is physically moved, it could cause distortion when the sensor is reading the bottom row.