film speed

American  

noun

Photography.

1. speed.

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film speed British  

noun

1. the sensitivity to light of a photographic film, specified in terms of the film's ISO rating

2. the rate at which the film passes through a motion picture camera or projector

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Etymology

Origin of film speed

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

“My job was to come up with songs and cheap ways of filming them. I said, ‘Why don’t we do something like ‘A Hard Day’s Night’? Black-and-white film, speed it up, very simple.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 30, 2019

During a clip of Presley’s first TV performance on Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey’s “Stage Show,” Zimny slows the film speed and the song is replaced by a divine interlude.

From Washington Post • Apr. 13, 2018

These can range from aging film, film speed, light, the developing process and, most obviously, the limited number of exposures.

From Washington Times • Jul. 16, 2017