Menu Position MENU ο* 4 ο* e-Front Curtain Shut.
What it Does Obviates the need for the shutter to close first before initiating the exposure
Recommended Setting On, unless you’re experiencing overexposures with older A-mount lenses
Constraints None
Here’s what happens each time you take a picture:
0. The shutter is already open to enable live view.
1. The shutter release button is pressed.
2. The shutter closes (and the sensor is reset).
3. The shutter opens (starting the exposure).
4. The shutter closes (terminating the exposure).
5. The shutter opens again (enabling Live View again).
That’s a lot of shuttering!
You can actually hear what all this sounds like by setting this e-Front Curtain Shutter variable to βOffβ and taking a single picture.
It sounds like you’re taking two consecutive shots.
This is extra wear and tear on the shutter, too. While there are still some technical hurdles to tackle before we can get to the day when the shutter is eliminated altogether, Sony has made some progress toward that goal by borrowing a technique pioneered by Canon in the previous decade: eliminating the need to block out all light to the sensor at the beginning of the exposure (to βresetβ the sensor).
This technique is called βe-Front Curtain Shutter.β
With this new feature enabled (which is the factory default), the shutter sequence is shortened to this:
0. The shutter is already open to enable live view.
1. The shutter release button is pressed.
2. The sensor is reset electronically. The exposure begins immediately.
3. The shutter closes (terminating the exposure).
4. The shutter opens again (enabling Live View again).
That’s right β ONE cycle of shutter-close-then-open.
That is much more efficient, and I keep e-Front Curtain Shutter set to On all the time.
The user manual does offer some obscure warnings about this feature, though, which I really should explain.
When using some older A-mount lenses (and some modern third-party lenses), especially if they have large maximum apertures (the aperture blades have a greater distance to travel) the lens might not be able to close its aperture blades quickly enough to coincide with the beginning of the exposure.
(In the old days the mirror had to flip up and the shutter open and the f/stop blades had more time to close all the way). If this happens to you, you’ll occasionally see overexposed images, especially at fast shutter speeds and on bright days.Turning the EFront Shutter Curtain setting to Off is the sure cure.