Now that we are firmly in the age of mirrorless cameras, many photographers have discovered the silent magic of the electronic shutter, but that is not without its drawbacks. Filmmakers have known about the dangers of rolling shutter for years, and it is now something photographers need to be aware of as well. This excellent video tutorial will explain what rolling shutter is, why it happens, and how to avoid it.
Coming to you from David Bergman with Adorama TV, this great video tutorial explains the concept of rolling shutter. If you have ever used your electronic shutter to take a picture of something moving quickly or while the camera was in motion, you might have noticed objects in the frame curved or angled in ways that did not match their actual physical form. This is an example of rolling shutter, which is a consequence of the fact that most cameras are unable to read all the data from the sensor at the same time, if an object moves across the frame significantly while different parts of the image are being recorded, its final rendering can be distorted. Rolling shutter can actually occur with a mechanical shutter as well, but it is significantly less obvious than with most electronic shutters, so if you are having issues with it, try switching back to the mechanical shutter. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Bergman.
The issue isn't new.
Henri Lartigue's iconic 1913 photo of a car in ‘Car Trip, Papa at 80 kilometers an hour’ showed oval wheel distortions from the focal plane shutter in his Ica Reflex camera. (It was a contributing factor for the common trope in animation of having cars and wheels leaning forward to show speed.)