Sony A7R II: Assessing Shutter Vibration with the Electronic First Curtain Shutter (EFC Shutter) at 280mm
Related: Electronic First Curtain Shutter, Electronic Shutter, shutter, shutter shock, Sony, Sony A7R, Sony A7R II, Sony A7R III, Sony mirrorless, technique
Get Sony A7R II at B&H Photo.
What EFC means is that because Live View already has the shutter open, the picture starts recording with zero vibration, then the shutter closes to finish the exposure: no “first curtain” of the shutter.
The predecessor of the A7R II (the A7R) ruined a huge amount of my work. Thus the addition of the EFC shutter option in the Sony A7R II is for me at least, the #1 feature to be gained. See Sony A7R Shutter Vibration / Shutter Shock.
So naturally it was a high priority to verify that the EFC shutter actually performs with no vibration as one would expect. I used the Leica 280mm f/4 APO-Telyt-R as the acid test; it was hopeless on the A7R.
Sony A7R II: Electronic First Curtain Shutter Vibration Assessment
A series of exposures are presented showing the results from 1/200 to 1/40 second (the “danger zone” with the A7R). Also shown are what can happen in outdoor shooting (wind and refraction by air).
The lack of shutter vibration possible with an EFC shutter means that any ultra high performance but physically awkward or large lens like Zeiss Otus or even long teles like the Leica 280mm f/4 APO-Telyt-R can be shot with superb results and no fear of damage to sharpness by shutter vibration.
