Shutter button

In <a href="/facts/Photography/ezLPT43M">photography</a>, the shutter-release button (s just shutter release or shutter button) is a <a href="/facts/Push-button/ezRenR1v">push-button</a> found on many <a href="/facts/Cameras/j4uqsfJQ">cameras</a>, used to record photographs. When pressed, the <a href="/facts/Shutter_(photography)/83Y5rsB0">shutter</a> of the camera is "released", so that it opens to capture a picture, and then closes, allowing an exposure time as determined by the <a href="/facts/Shutter_speed/5CMJNBop">shutter speed</a> setting (which may be automatic). Some cameras also utilize an electronic shutter, as opposed to a mechanical shutter. 
The shutter-release button is one of the most basic features of a dedicated handheld camera. Mobile devices such as modern <a href="/facts/Smartphone/cSIrBMWG">smartphones</a> have a <a href="/facts/Touchscreen/zpSKDFpe">touchscreen</a> button for capturing photos, but also have a physical shutter button as well, as the sound volume buttons are used as such, with exception of some phones having a dedicated shutter button. 
The term "release" comes from old mechanical shutters that were "cocked" or "tensioned" by one lever, and then "released" by another. In modern or <a href="/facts/Digital_photography/a2UfweJh">digital photography</a>, this notion is less meaningful, so the term "shutter button" or simply "capture button" is more used.

Shutter button open-in-new

Shutter button