What are the shutter settings during focus bracketing with the Canon R7?

[MarkSturtevant]

This is a follow up question that arose from recent question I'd asked about possible rolling shutter effects when doing hand held focus bracketing. I had asked about the same problem in a different photography forum, and the discussion there branched off into different opinions about the shutter settings when doing focus bracketing with this camera. I had read somewhere (and some had claimed on the other forum), that when focus bracketing is enabled, and run, that the camera automatically sets itself to using a full electronic shutter at 30 frames per second. Others claimed that you can adjust these things for focus bracketing. Indeed, you can set the shutter speed to whatever, and the shutter to , say, electronic first curtain. The exif data from the frames even state that "other" shutter speed. But still there is the statement that it's electronic shutter, 30 frames per second if the pictures are taken during focus bracketing. 

Does anyone know what they really are?

[Anonymous]

What does the camera manual have to say?

https://cam.start.canon/en/C005/manual/c005.pdf 

Set it to mechanical shutter and try it. I would think that if it is silent, it would be electronic shutter. If you hear the shutter, it would be mechanical shutter. Am I missing something or not understanding the question?

[Waddizzle]

It seems the R Series bodies switch to electronic shutter.  They probably do this to minimize mechanical vibrations because the images are captured at the maximum frame rate.  

There does not appear to be any allowance for changing or controlling the frame rate during a focus bracketing sequence.

[FloridaDrafter]

Hello, Mark.

What mode are you shooting in, M, Av, Tv, etc.? What info is shown in the EVF or on the rear LCD when bracketing is enabled?

Although I do a lot of focus stacking, I don't have the R7 but I do use the R5, R6, and R6 II and they also focus bracket using the electronic shutter. But I can control the Av, Tv, and ISO when shooting stacks just like I would for normal photography.

Newton

[MarkSturtevant]

Reply to all: Thank you for your responses. I accept that they switch to electronic shutter. During a focus bracketing run there is a rapid buzz sound that simulates a super fast shutter, but that is an artificial sound that I suspect can be switched to silent shutter (I've never bothered to try since I like the feedback. Insects don't react to sound). Silent shutter is not the default mode. I always set the camera to manual since that is what instructions on YouTube say to do. Of course you can fiddle with ISO and aperture and you can enter "a" shutter speed in the quick menu. But the shutter speed may be 30 frames per second anyway during a focus bracketing run. There seems to be belief out there that you can control the mode of the shutter (ie electronic first curtain) and shutter speed, bc you can set them in the camera But I am not convinced that those things actually happen when you press the shutter.

[Waddizzle]

Yes, they do happen.  As I noted above, the Electronic Shutter is probably used to minimize vibrations.  AFAIK, you cannot change this behavior.  

The sequence is executed at the maximum frame rate.  Again I do not believe the user has any means to change it.

I have not expirmented with it to determine if there is a minimum shutter speed that must be used because of the high frame rate used to capture a sequence.  Must the shutter speed be faster than the high speed frame rate?  I dunno.  I would need to run some tests.

[MarkSturtevant · Accepted solution]

You've been very helpful! Anyway, let's consider this one closed unless someone wants to add more. 

Cheers!