Silent or electronic shutter issue?

[Mack]

Seems at higher speeds, the electronic/silent shutter is tearing off the hummingbird's wings in flight. Guess it's time to go back to mechanical shutter, and at least I can use flash with it too.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[scb]

The electronic shutter shouldn't be used for subjects that are moving quickly because of the way it works. The sensor is exposed to light in a manner like pulling down or raising a window shade. I took the attached photo of a passing train using the electronic shutter and the diagonal shift makes it apparent that the sensor was exposed to light starting at the bottom and moving upward.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[scb]

The train was traveling from left to right!

 

[Mack]

What puzzles me is why it is inconsistent as to when it happens. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. This time I was doing it in a burst mode so maybe something there. I've done single-shots up to 1/32,000 sec. before without issues, but maybe some luck being and single-shots instead of a burst where it may happen in one in five shots. I've seen as many as three separate wings off the bird at times and usually on shots where the AF missed. Maybe timing between sensor and where the bird's wings sync at. Dunno.

Shooting up to 1/32,000 second (Single shot mode.). I may have been mechanical mode up to 1/8,000 and then into electronic beyond for faster ones:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Still unclear as to how the silent or electronic shutter actually works given the sensor scan speeds seem to vary from 1/60 (E-M1X) to 1/20 second (Pens and cheaper E-series.) from web info by Robin Wong (in the video below) even with the shutter running at 1/32,000 second. Must be some random pixel scanning or something going on to account for the higher speed which probably accounts for why it doesn't work with flash either.

Doesn't seem to affect the large slow flying birds. Hummers are another matter as I've seen up to 3 sets of wings at times in Silent Shutter (Using that mode since I was close and the mechanical sound freaks them a bit.).

 

[SrMiPhoto]

What puzzles me is why it is inconsistent as to when it happens. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. This time I was doing it in a burst mode so maybe something there. I've done single-shots up to 1/32,000 sec. before without issues, but maybe some luck being and single-shots instead of a burst where it may happen in one in five shots. I've seen as many as three separate wings off the bird at times and usually on shots where the AF missed. Maybe timing between sensor and where the bird's wings sync at. Dunno.

Shooting up to 1/32,000 second (Single shot mode.). I may have been mechanical mode up to 1/8,000 and then into electronic beyond for faster ones:

View attachment 881070

Still unclear as to how the silent or electronic shutter actually works given the sensor scan speeds seem to vary from 1/60 to 1/10 second from web info even with the shutter running at 1/32.000 second. Must be some random pixesl scanning or something going on to account for the higher speed which probably accounts for why it doesn't work with flash either.

The readout speed is always the same for a given camera.

 

[scb]

This video by Robin Wong is where I learned about the silent shutter.

The speed of the silent shutter has improved with newer Olympus camera bodies. It really boils down to the shutter speed setting and when the speed of the subject exceeds what the silent shutter operation can handle...at least that's what I'm understanding.