Meanings
nounshutter speed (countable and uncountable, plural shutter speeds)
plural shutter speeds
- countableuncountableartsThe duration of time for which the shutter of a camera remains open when exposing photographic film or other photosensitive material to light for the purpose of recording an image.
Shutter speeds are usually measured in seconds or fractions of a second, and are typically arranged in a sequence that includes 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 and 1/500.
1993 November 21, Charles Hagen, “CAMERA: For Film Exposure, Timing Is the Key”, in New York Times, retrieved 04 Apr 2009
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 快門速度 /快门速度
- 快門速度 /快门速度 (kuàimén sùdù)time during which the shutter of a camera remains open
Finnish valotusaika
- valotusaikatime during which the shutter of a camera remains open
French vitesse d'obturation
- vitesse d'obturationtime during which the shutter of a camera remains open
Hungarian zársebesség, záridő
- zársebességtime during which the shutter of a camera remains open
- záridőtime during which the shutter of a camera remains open
Japanese シャッタースピード
- シャッタースピード (shattā supīdo)time during which the shutter of a camera remains open
Māori huranga kōpani
- huranga kōpanitime during which the shutter of a camera remains open
Norwegian Bokmål lukkertid
- lukkertidtime during which the shutter of a camera remains open
Russian выдержка
- выдержка (vyderžka)time during which the shutter of a camera remains open
Spanish velocidad de obturación
- velocidad de obturacióntime during which the shutter of a camera remains open
Swedish slutartid
- slutartidtime during which the shutter of a camera remains open
Cite this entry
APA
shutter speed. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shutter%20speed
MLA
“shutter speed.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shutter%20speed. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shutter speed,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shutter%20speed.
Source: shutter speed on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.