Where does the term SHUTTER SPEED come from?

[webestang64]

Found this on the web......

Shutter speed is a commonly used synonym for exposure time. The term shutter speed originated at least as long ago as 1923, but the original definition is not known. Primary research papers may mention shutter speed as a convenience, but it is only exposure time that is used for any analysis.

 

[marmle]

This thread reminds me of terms like fast lenses which refer to a lens with a larger aperture of 1.8 or less, or should I say larger? Yes when I was starting out in photography many years ago it took me a while to get my head round the idea of a film with a low ISO being "faster" than one with a higher ISO. The same with f# until someone explained to me exactly where the f# came from, and that it had more meaning than just a number.

I have always just accepted the term shutter speed, although the OP does make a valid point, exposure time does make more sense since it is the length of time the film or sensor is exposed to light.

 

[petrochemist]

This thread reminds me of terms like fast lenses which refer to a lens with a larger aperture of 1.8 or less, or should I say larger? Yes when I was starting out in photography many years ago it took me a while to get my head round the idea of a film with a low ISO being "faster" than one with a higher ISO.

The film in that case is slower, it's the LENS that's faster

 

[Original katomi]

The way I was thought f stops was f2=1/2 ....f16=1/16 whilst not technically correct it helped me rem

 

[marmle]

The film in that case is slower, it's the LENS that's faster

Sorry, got a little confused for a second, not sure where I got the low ISO being faster idea from. TBO I have not heard of film being reffered to as fast or slow since my Dad taught me about photography over 30 years ago so I blame my bad memory, and since I have been using digital for the past 15 or so years I have just thought of it as the sensitivity rather than speed.

 

[Sharpshooterr]

The term ss(vs SS which is me!) is actually extremely accurate in English...., well, at least until now, with the dawning of the Mirror Less camera of which most don't even have a shutter, hence 100% quiet shooting.
The camera world is now on the brink of going into a totally confused funk about ss!!!
SS

 

[Sharpshooterr]

If the scene was dimly lit, he could take his time replacing the cap.

Ahhh, that must be what all those Brady Stands were for!?!? LoL
SS

 

[TWX]

The term ss(vs SS which is me!) is actually extremely accurate in English...., well, at least until now, with the dawning of the Mirror Less camera of which most don't even have a shutter, hence 100% quiet shooting.
The camera world is now on the brink of going into a totally confused funk about ss!!!
SS

Seems a bold statement. Can you support it? Granted, my experience is with Canon, but it looks like Canon mirrorless cameras have mechanical curtain shutters in them, and it appears that at least some Sonys and Fujifilms have mechanical shutters as well. Some of these cameras may allow use of just an electronic "shutter" but they're still equipped with the mechanical one for normal operation.

 

[zulu42]

Maybe the term speed came from the engineering process, where the designers had to compute the actual velocity of the shutter mechanism. Not just for time but time versus the distance the little bits and pieces have to travel. Their velocity, or speed, results in the critical time of opening.

 

[Sharpshooterr]

The term ss(vs SS which is me!) is actually extremely accurate in English...., well, at least until now, with the dawning of the Mirror Less camera of which most don't even have a shutter, hence 100% quiet shooting.
The camera world is now on the brink of going into a totally confused funk about ss!!!
SS

Seems a bold statement. Can you support it? Granted, my experience is with Canon, but it looks like Canon mirrorless cameras have mechanical curtain shutters in them, and it appears that at least some Sonys and Fujifilms have mechanical shutters as well. Some of these cameras may allow use of just an electronic "shutter" but they're still equipped with the mechanical one for normal operation.

Hmmmmm, now you got me thinking....., I’m gonna disassemble my iPhone...., see if there’s no mirror in there somewhere!!!! LoL
SS

 

[TWX]

The term ss(vs SS which is me!) is actually extremely accurate in English...., well, at least until now, with the dawning of the Mirror Less camera of which most don't even have a shutter, hence 100% quiet shooting.
The camera world is now on the brink of going into a totally confused funk about ss!!!
SS

Seems a bold statement. Can you support it? Granted, my experience is with Canon, but it looks like Canon mirrorless cameras have mechanical curtain shutters in them, and it appears that at least some Sonys and Fujifilms have mechanical shutters as well. Some of these cameras may allow use of just an electronic "shutter" but they're still equipped with the mechanical one for normal operation.

Hmmmmm, now you got me thinking....., I’m gonna disassemble my iPhone...., see if there’s no mirror in there somewhere!!!! LoL
SS

If you'd like to redefine common terms like mirrorless, then have a nice day.

 

[Derrel]

Shutter speed is self-defining in English...it's like "heat setting"for a clothes iron, or "television channel"...as a native English speaker it makes perfect sense.

 

[Derrel]

For about 100 years cameras had what was called the shutter speed dial or shutter speed control ring. The allegation that shutter speed is somewhat misleading is incorrect. The shutter speed is quite logical to me as a native English speaker. While the term exposure duration might be more accurate, it seems pedantic. The term shutter speed seems logical to me. The word "speed" also has a meaning that is akin to "setting" or "value", especially when we have a numbered Control, either a dial or a scale. A car's speedometer would be an example; one might ask the driver, "What is our speed?" But is unlikely that one might ask , "What is our velocity?"

Shutter speed often refers to the dial position on the camera. The term shutter speed also has a direct correlation to the interval value that the film or sensor is exposed for.

Early Kodak folding cameras used numerical values for shutter duration, such as 1,2, and 3... I am not sure when fractional second values were adopted, but on my great-grandfather's early Kodak I remember seeing speeds of 1,2, and 3... I believe that camera was made in 1908. The last time I handled the camera was probably in 1974.

 

[limr]

Now in the european languages;

What most of us dumb A-Merikans forget is that latin languages use connotation of ideas rather than direct words to make a statement. The word in German the word as pointed out in the OP is "Belichtungszeit" that translates as stated to "exposure time" to whit is exactly what it is.

Neither English nor German is a latin langauge. Also "connotation of ideas" vs "direct words" ..??? Doesn't really make any sense.

 

[petrochemist]

The term ss(vs SS which is me!) is actually extremely accurate in English...., well, at least until now, with the dawning of the Mirror Less camera of which most don't even have a shutter, hence 100% quiet shooting.
The camera world is now on the brink of going into a totally confused funk about ss!!!
SS

Seems a bold statement. Can you support it? Granted, my experience is with Canon, but it looks like Canon mirrorless cameras have mechanical curtain shutters in them, and it appears that at least some Sonys and Fujifilms have mechanical shutters as well. Some of these cameras may allow use of just an electronic "shutter" but they're still equipped with the mechanical one for normal operation.

Hmmmmm, now you got me thinking....., I’m gonna disassemble my iPhone...., see if there’s no mirror in there somewhere!!!! LoL
SS

If you'd like to redefine common terms like mirrorless, then have a nice day.

I think he's been guilty of that before, in exactly this sort of situation.
@Sharpshooterr 'mirrorless' is a term that's been accepted to mean those interchangeable lens cameras that use the signal from the sensor to provide a viewfinder image. Other cameras that don't have a reflex viewer are not automatically classed as mirrorless, any more than all small cameras are classed as compacts - a term used for 'point & shoot' models.
I'm not aware of ANY mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras that don't have a physical shutter. Most if not all of the current generation can use an electronic shutter instead but that's usually with significant drawbacks (severe rolling shutter effects, inability to use flash...).