A variety of means have been utilized for securing the necessary variation in speed in focal-plane shutters. Their success is to be measured by the actual speed range and by the uniformity of speed attained. In aerial cameras at present in use we find variable tension of the curtain spring, the aperture being fixed; variable opening with fixed tension; multiple curtain openings with fixed spring tension; and combinations of two or all of these methods of speed control. The problem of covering the aperture during the operation of winding up or setting the shutter has led to further elaborations of shutter mechanism. These take the form of lens or shutter flaps, auxiliary curtains, and shutters of the self-capping type. Shutters embodying all these features are briefly described below.