shutter

Definition: Device which controls the time of exposure of a light-sensitive material or detector. * May be mechanical device e.g. curtain or series of blades or electronic e.g. based on Kerr cell. Note that 'electronic shutters' in cameras are almost always mechanical devices under electronic control. * In digital cameras, 'shutter' in inter-frame devices is electronic in the sense that each pixel shunts its charge under a light-shield to 'take' or expose the shot.

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