Shutter speed.

The precisely-calibrated amount of time that a camera shutter stays open, usually measured in fractions of a second.

The shutter speed and the lens aperture are the principal forms of control that a photographer has over the amount of light which hits the film or image sensor of a camera. To be more accurate, this should really be known as “shutter time,” but “shutter speed” is the traditional name.

cf. exposure, shutter, shutter speed priority.

Entry last updated 2002-04-29. Term 1100 of 1487.

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