What is shutter speed?
Shutter speed is the amount of time a shutter remains open to allow light to reach the digital camera sensor. Shutter speed is measured in seconds, or fractions of seconds.

Using very fast shutter speeds "freeze" fast-moving subjects, such as birds in flight. Slow shutter speeds are used to intentionally capture the movement of a subject.

How an image is exposed is determined by the combination of the lens aperture and shutter speed. A fast shutter speed will use a larger aperture to avoid an under-exposed image. A slow shutter speed requires a small aperture to avoid over-exposure.

Typical shutter speeds are: 1/2000 second, 1/2000 sec, 1/500 sec, 1/250 sec, 1/125 sec, 1/60 sec, 1/30 sec, 1/15 sec, 1/8 sec, 1/4 sec, 1/2 sec and 1 second.
Most cameras offer longer and shorter shutter speeds going as long as 30 sec. to 1/8000 sec.

Shutter speeds also work in stops. From 1 sec to 1/2 sec is one stop; From 1 sec to 1/4 sec is two stops. Each shutter speed allows twice as much light as the previous and half as much as the next one. Slower shutter speeds allow more time for the light to expose the film.

A tripod should be used when taking long exposures to prevent camera shake. When using shutter speeds below 1/60th of a second, a tripod or other camera support is recommended.

Shutter speeds control motion. To freeze a subject you need faster shutter speeds. To create blur use slower speeds. 1/500 sec shutter speed can freeze a race car. 1/2 sec speed will blur a waterfall to give a sense of motion

Shutter Priority Mode

Shutter Priority mode is a semi-automatic exposure mode which lets you select the shutter speed and the camera automatically sets the aperture for a proper exposure.

For digital cameras without Shutter Priority, use Sports or Fast Shutter mode.