p.1 #1 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
Funny, I've been evaluating my Sony glass over the summer -- my 55 and FE 85 -- to compare against my ART glass for my Nikon and a lot of the time I've had Silent Shooting on...Apparently I've always had EFCS on too, as I just turned it off yesterday. Lots of my Portraits are at F1.8 / 2.2 so pretty fast shutter counts. Ha, so now I'm sort of laughing because I saw lots of murmurings on this forum about these affecting bokeh quality in a different discussion. My assumption was that SS / EFCS will get issues with fast-moving objects, but that made no difference to me bc I do portrait work. Ha!
p.1 #2 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
Silent shooting with causing some "bending" effects from the sensor unless you have an A9. Only shoot on silent when everything is stationary, tbh I never have it on.
EFCS will make the bokeh look worse if you have your shutter higher than 1/2000th.
There are much more scientific articles out there, but thats the basics.
p.1 #3 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
Wanny wrote:
Silent shooting with causing some "bending" effects from the sensor unless you have an A9. Only shoot on silent when everything is stationary, tbh I never have it on.
EFCS will make the bokeh look worse if you have your shutter higher than 1/2000th.
There are much more scientific articles out there, but thats the basics.
Thanks. So SS won't affect bokeh? What is the reason to even have EFCS on? Thanks!
p.1 #4 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
It can reduce vibration in some circumstances because you only have the “slam” of one curtain. But with wide apertures and fast shutter speeds the e-curtain can’t keep up so you see the bokeh get “clipped.” It’s mostly noticeable in that bokeh balls become bokeh crescents, but you can notice other ugly shapes appearing in out of focus areas as well under those conditions.
crashwins wrote:
Thanks. So SS won't affect bokeh? What is the reason to even have EFCS on? Thanks!
p.1 #5 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
Only shoot Silent outdoors with natural light. Indoors will cause the banding, incandescent light etc.
You also need silent shooting off to trigger flashes.
I have EFCS off all the time,there’s already enough to keep track of on a regular shoot.
Wanny wrote:
Silent shooting with causing some "bending" effects from the sensor unless you have an A9. Only shoot on silent when everything is stationary, tbh I never have it on.
EFCS will make the bokeh look worse if you have your shutter higher than 1/2000th.
There are much more scientific articles out there, but thats the basics.
Sep 05, 2019 at 09:19 AM
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p.1 #6 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
I have SS on 95% of the time. The other 5% is when shooting under certain artificial light (LED, for instance) where it causes banding, and at shutter speeds of 1/1000 and faster (wide open in full sun) where it chops up the bokeh. Neither of these can be fixed in post- you're screwed when they show up.
Other than that, it's SS all the way.
crashwins wrote:
Funny, I've been evaluating my Sony glass over the summer -- my 55 and FE 85 -- to compare against my ART glass for my Nikon and a lot of the time I've had Silent Shooting on...Apparently I've always had EFCS on too, as I just turned it off yesterday. Lots of my Portraits are at F1.8 / 2.2 so pretty fast shutter counts. Ha, so now I'm sort of laughing because I saw lots of murmurings on this forum about these affecting bokeh quality in a different discussion. My assumption was that SS / EFCS will get issues with fast-moving objects, but that made no difference to me bc I do portrait work. Ha! ...Show more →
p.1 #7 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
crashwins wrote:
Thanks. So SS won't affect bokeh? What is the reason to even have EFCS on? Thanks!
EFCS means only the first shutter curtain is electronic, whereas for the SS both shutter curtains are electronic. The bokeh effects are specific to EFCS and caused by the asymmetry of peripheral light rays reaching the sensor between the first electronic shutter curtain and the second mechanical shutter curtain. I described this here:
p.1 #8 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
KarmaKramer wrote:
Only shoot Silent outdoors with natural light. Indoors will cause the banding, incandescent light etc.
You also need silent shooting off to trigger flashes.
I have EFCS off all the time,there’s already enough to keep track of on a regular shoot.
Great, thanks. Yeah, I knew that about SS -- never use it indoors, but I had no understanding of EFCS. As I said, it was on, so now looking back at some of my portraits where the shutter speed was high, I'm questioning the bokeh quality for sure...especially on the 55. Well, glad I learned!
So my understanding is:
SS won't affect bokeh -- only banding indoors and high movement -- but EFCS will affect bokeh with higher shutter speeds. So leave it off.
Sep 05, 2019 at 09:23 AM
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p.1 #9 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
Not necessarily. Some indoor lighting is ok. But even if it's mixed lighting and any of them have a "strobe* effect, it will happen. Best to chimp if uncertain.
KarmaKramer wrote:
Only shoot Silent outdoors with natural light. Indoors will cause the banding, incandescent light etc.
You also need silent shooting off to trigger flashes.
I have EFCS off all the time,there’s already enough to keep track of on a regular shoot.
Sep 05, 2019 at 09:24 AM
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p.1 #10 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
No - unless I'm mistaken - SS *will* effect bokeh because it's fully electronic, but only at 1/1000 and higher, same as EFCS.
crashwins wrote:
Great, thanks. Yeah, I knew that about SS -- never use it indoors, but I had no understanding of EFCS. As I said, it was on, so now looking back at some of my portraits where the shutter speed was high, I'm questioning the bokeh quality for sure...especially on the 55. Well, glad I learned!
So my understanding is:
SS won't affect bokeh -- only banding indoors and high movement -- but EFCS will affect bokeh with higher shutter speeds. So leave it off.
p.1 #12 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
imagesfromobjects wrote:
I have SS on 95% of the time. The other 5% is when shooting under certain artificial light (LED, for instance) where it causes banding, and at shutter speeds of 1/1000 and faster (wide open in full sun) where it chops up the bokeh.
Silent shutter doesn't chop up the bokeh. Only the EFCS does.
p.1 #14 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
Best to just test all scenarios yourself on a toy bear...like I do. The “advice” on here turns into correcting at every turn and you’ll be more confused.
crashwins wrote:
Now I'm hearing conflicting things, I think.
If I have SS on and EFCS off, will it affect the bokeh on a shot that's say at f2 1/2000?
p.1 #15 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
crashwins wrote:
Now I'm hearing conflicting things, I think.
If I have SS on and EFCS off, will it affect the bokeh on a shot that's say at f2 1/2000?
It will not affect the bokeh.
Only EFCS can affect the bokeh at fast shutter speeds. So both the silent (fully electronic) shutter and mechanical shutter will not harm the bokeh.
p.1 #16 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
EFCS = chopped up bokeh at large apertures and shutter speeds of 1/1000 or higher
Silent Shutter = banding (bands of dark light across the frame because of certain types of artificial light) and, except for the A9 I believe, distortion in fast moving subjects because of the slow read of the sensor
crashwins wrote:
Now I'm hearing conflicting things, I think.
If I have SS on and EFCS off, will it affect the bokeh on a shot that's say at f2 1/2000?
Silent shutter does not affect bokeh but sensor is read slowly despite fast exposure. So if anything is moving significantly during scan time within image it will be distorted. A9 has scan time of 1/160s which is almost like sync speed of mechanical shutters, but a7 mk3s have between 1/15 and 1/28 depending on mode. So unless you have a9, the silent shutter cannot be used for many types of photography.
Efcs has advantage that it is faster than full mechanical shutter. There is less delay before taking picture so for moving subject that are af-tracked there is better chance that they are focused accurately.
Sep 05, 2019 at 10:15 AM
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p.1 #18 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
Ahh, I stand corrected!
I just remember reading up on it from ppl who know their stuff (Kasson etc) and deciding to only use full mechanical or SS in the above mentioned scenarios to avoid issues. Jochenb wrote:
It will not affect the bokeh.
Only EFCS can affect the bokeh at fast shutter speeds. So both the silent (fully electronic) shutter and mechanical shutter will not harm the bokeh.
Sep 05, 2019 at 10:21 AM
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p.1 #19 · Bokeh and EFCS / Silent Shooting - can someone explain?
I've used SS (a7S) on moving toddlers without ever seeing any weirdness. Vehicles, yes, kids no.
Silent shutter does not affect bokeh but sensor is read slowly despite fast exposure. So if anything is moving significantly during scan time within image it will be distorted. A9 has scan time of 1/160s which is almost like sync speed of mechanical shutters, but a7 mk3s have between 1/15 and 1/28 depending on mode. So unless you have a9, the silent shutter cannot be used for many types of photography.
Efcs has advantage that it is faster than full mechanical shutter. There is less delay before taking picture so for moving subject that are af-tracked there is better chance that they are focused accurately.
