In terms of photography, shutter speed refers to the length of time that the camera shutter is open. Shutters speed is also known as exposure time because it refers to the amount of time the light is exposed to the film or the sensor.
In video, the shutter speed is the length of time that each individual frame is exposed for. Usually the shutter speed will be a fraction of a second. With the GH5 II, the shutter speed will be listed in whole numbers, such as 60. The 60 actually means that each frame will be exposed for 1/60th of a second.
How does shutter speed affect the look of my footage?
Photography:
In photography, slow shutter speeds will blur motion while fast shutter speeds will freeze action. If you’ve ever seen photos where ocean waves seem to be smooth and silky, most likely the photographer used a slow shutter speed to produce the image.
Videography:
With video, a slower shutter speed (smaller denominator) produces more blurring, and the video will appear smoother. A faster shutter speed (bigger denominator number) will have more crisp images, and objects in motion will appear more jittery. In addition to objects in motion, this also applies to when you’re panning the camera.
The general rule of thumb for setting the shutter speed for video is to double your frame rate to get the denominator of the shutter speed. So if your frame rate was set for 24 frames per second, you’d use the shutter speed that’s closest to 1/48 since 24 x 2 = 48. This is called the 180 degree shutter rule. As always, rules are meant to be broken. If you’re going for a certain aesthetic you can always play with the shutter speed. You might want to set the shutter speed higher for a more stuttered look or lower your shutter speed for a more blurred effect.
Additionally, if you’re filming lights and notice some flickering or if you’re filming a monitor or television set and see scan lines, adjusting the shutter speed will help reduce the light flicker or monitor scan lines. Whatever the case, you should generally use the same shutter speed throughout your entire video project.
