Hybrid Mechanical/Electronic Shutter

[johnbuckley]

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I’m reading everything - Jono’s write up (great, natch), the Verge, etc. Until we have the camera in hand, we read. Reading Sean Reid, I came across a sentence that filled me with joy. He says that you can shoot with either a mechanical or electronic shutter - or a hybrid where after 1/8000th it uses the latter.

For those of us who at times like shooting wide open in daylight, that seems ingenious. I don’t know whether this is something other cameras have, but given both fast SL lenses like the 50 Summilux and all the fast M lenses, what a delight this seems to be, and what good thinking.

[jaapv]

It would be surprising if the SL2 would not have this feature. Not only the Q and CL, a whole range of Panasonic cameras can function this way, as do multiple other brands.

I wonder whether the camera has post-focus. That is a great tool for focus stacking, very useful for landscape and macro.

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[Mr.Q]

Yes, as long as you know it's limitations, e-shutters work quite well.

[frame-it]

24 minutes ago, johnbuckley said:

you can shoot with either a mechanical or electronic shutter - or a hybrid where after 1/8000th it uses the latter.

the SL1 has that option too?

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[johnbuckley]

Good lord, all this time I could have done this with the SL...

[evikne]

2 hours ago, frame-it said:

the SL1 has that option too?

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1/6000 should perhaps be 1/16000 sec? Not much of an extension otherwise.

Edited November 8, 2019 by evikne

[NigelG]

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1 hour ago, evikne said:

1/6000 should perhaps be 1/16000 sec? Not much of an extension otherwise.

Or maybe higher still? The TL2 goes to 1/40,000 in hybrid mode...

[Mr.Q]

3 hours ago, johnbuckley said:

Good lord, all this time I could have done this with the SL...

Yes, just don't use it under artificial lighting or against moving subjects. Otherwise you're good.

[SrMi]

The technical specification mentions mechanical shutter 30 min to 1/8000 and electronic shutter: 1s to 1/40000. There is no mention of the EFC shutter. S1R and most other mirrorless cameras must use the EFC shutter to prevent blur. SL (601) did not have an EFC shutter either. 
Does anybody know why Leica SL/SL2 does not need EFC shutter?

[jaapv]

According to this article EFCS does not offer a decisive advantage on EVF cameras (no mirror slap to disturb the next shot)

https://photographylife.com/mechanical-electronic-shutter-efcs

[LocalHero1953]

5 hours ago, Mr.Q said:

Yes, just don't use it under artificial lighting or against moving subjects. Otherwise you're good.

That advice is too broad:

- Only some artificial lighting gives problems: that in which the brightness is controlled directly by the mains frequency. Anything which has adequate current buffering (which includes all older incandescent lighting and a lot of modern lighting) will be fine. In practice the only way to tell is take a few shots and check for brightness/colour banding.

- Only fast moving subjects have this problem badly (golf swings, fast arm movements, runners), but it tails off as the subject slows down. Normal walking and similar human activity are not normally a problem.

I use the electronic shutter a lot for theatre and musical performances. Movement is rarely a problem; banding sometimes is.

[Mr.Q]

Agree that my post was too broad, thanks for elaborating.

[SrMi]

5 hours ago, jaapv said:

According to this article EFCS does not offer a decisive advantage on EVF cameras (no mirror slap to disturb the next shot)

https://photographylife.com/mechanical-electronic-shutter-efcs

That article is misleading.

EFCS is not needed for DSLRs as it fixes shutter shock, not mirror slap. Sony A7, Nikon Z, Fuji they all need EFCS (if available) to work optimally.