Why do digital SLR (single lens reflex) cameras have shutters?

In analog days, the shutter let light in for some determinant time. That caused the film to be exposed for that duration. But in the digital age, why doesn’t “setting the shutter speed” just tell the internal computer how long it should record data from the sensor? What good does it do to actually open and close a physical shutter?

Just curious. And probably misinformed.

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PC Magazine has a useful guide to taking your digital camera off automatic.

David Sifry’s 2007 guide to buying a digital camera still gives good guidelines, although the particular models he recommends are of their day.

ABetterBounceCard.com tells you how to use a piece of paper to vastly improve the results of flash photos. (via Tim Bray) And here’s a way to make a diffuser for your built-in popup flash. (I haven’t tried it.) Here’s one for $20, which I also have not tried.

[Tags: photography digital_photography cameras flash_diffuser ]

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