Compound shutter

The Compound shutter is a mechanical leaf shutter for photographic cameras introduced in the late 19th century, usually used between lens components. It was produced by Friedrich Deckel AG, Munich (Germany). A typical Compound shutter may have settings for T (Time), B (Bulb), and times from 1 second down to 1/100th or less.

Unlike later mechanical shutters such as the Compur which use a clockwork mechanism, shutter timing is achieved by releasing air from a small cylinder typically mounted horizontally at the top of the shutter through a small aperture. A cam turned by the shutter speed dial positions a piston in the cylinder to provide the correct exposure. When the shutter release is pressed the shutter opens and air in the cylinder is gradually released, letting the piston move; it closes the shutter when it reaches the end of its travel. The piston travels for a very short distance at the higher speeds, making the accuracy of these shutters very sensitive to the precise manufacturing of the cam; lower speeds are more reliably accurate.

Compound shutters were manufactured for 65 years, the last one being made in 1970.[1]

References

  1. Klaus-Eckard Riess. "Up and Down with Compur - The development and photo-historical meaning of leaf shutters". www.kl-riess.dk. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019.

S K Grimes. "Compound Shutters for Large Format Photographers". www.skgrimes.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.