Your camcorder takes 1/60 second to record an image. That's called "normal shutter speed." Because rapid motion blurs at normal speed, some camcorders can be set to record each image at anywhere from 1/250 to over 1/10,000 second. (This will freeze the motion of, say, a golf or tennis swing.) Some camcorders program both shutter speed and lens opening, to offer settings like "portrait," "outdoors," and "sports."

Last update: 09:23 PM Monday, October 17, 2005