What does "max and min shutter speed mean" for a digital camera?

Question

and which of these is better?

canon

Max Shutter Speed: 1/1500 sec

Min Shutter Speed: 15 sec

sony

Max Shutter Speed: 1/1600 sec

Min Shutter Speed: 1 sec

Answer 1

The Canon is better, you have a 15" shutter speed ( minimum ) whereby the Sony only has a 1" shutter speed ( minimum ) which on all levels sucks. If you don't want to use the flash, you won't be able to take a photo. However, with the Canon, you can mount it on a tripod, and lengthen the exposure by far, and get more creative with your shots.

Also, i think only Sony's DSLR cameras are good, i don't like their point and shoot cameras that much. They are too puny, and fuzzy quality to me. I'd rather Canon for point and shoot any day. I had a canon point and shoot camera, and it was a very good little camera with a lot of features.

Now, i have a bridge canon camera, still a point and shoot camera, but it's more advanced, and the images come out very good. Get the Canon, only consider the Sony name if you're going to get a digital SLR camera.

Answer 2

The shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter is opening, allowing the camera to gather light to make a picture.  Longer shutter speeds are necessary for darker situations, shorter ones are necessary for brighter situations.

It sounds like this is a point and shoot camera, in which case the 1 sec minimum shutter speed of the Sony are fine.  

Larger cameras often have shutter ratings from several minutes to 1/8000th of a second.  

At 1 second your pictures would come out extremely blurry if you were holding the camera without a tripod, and even with a tripod, your subject (the thing youre taking a picture of) is likely to move.  

The difference between 1/1500 and 1/1600 are insignificant.  

Most of the time point and shoot cameras are used between 1/25th of a second and 1/500th of a second.  Anything below 1/25th can result in blurry photos.  

Get whichever camera you prefer, don't worry about the min/max shutter speed ratings on a point and shoot (compact) camera.

Answer 3

It means the maximum and minimum time you can have the shutter open for when taking a picture.

Leaving the shutter open longer lets more light in, so you can take pictures in darker conditions.  But, if stuff is moving, then your pictures will be blurry.

Of the two you listed, I'd go for the Canon, personally.  But for everyday pictures, the vast majority of stuff you take will be 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, or 1/100.

Anything slower than 1/4 will require a tripod (or setting the camera on a table, etc.) to not be blurry.  I disagree with what the person above said regarding a flash and "you won't be able to take a picture".

I honestly can't think of what 1/1500 might be useful for.  Maybe taking pictures at a race track?  15sec would be good for pics in almost complete darkness, or pictures of stars.  I like taking pictures of stars, and I'll admit I wish mine would go longer than its max of 30sec for that purpose, but can't think of anything else that would be useful for.

If you want, go to flickr.com and look at the details of a lot of pictures.  You will find that hardly any use the really fast or really slow shutter speeds.

Answer 4

Shutter speed is how long the shutter stays open. The longer it stays open, the more light that comes through the lens and onto the film.

Fast shutter speeds are good for capturing (freezing) fast moving objects. Since they let in so little light, though, you usually need to open the aperture (f stop) to compensate and let in more light.

Slow shutter speeds are for long exposures, and rarely used except for special effects. You'll need a tripod to keep the camera steady.

So... bottom line: the difference between 1/500 and 1/1600 is infinitesimal. The maximum depends on your intended use, but is impractical for mostl people.

Decide based upon comfort, ease of use, other features, and of course... price.