Cameras with short shutter lag time?
 

While talking with my wife about selection criteria for a proposed
new camera, I was surprised to hear that her main problem with our
aging Canon A60 was the long delay in releasing the shutter.

The A60's size and control layout suit both of us well enough, and I
need the full manual control that it offers (I got it as a field
"notebook" of sorts and it drifted into general photo use only
incidentally).

In consumer-grade, non-SLR cameras in the 5+ megapixel range, does
any one maker's camera have an advantage in quick response time? Or,
has this problem been eliminated generally in current camera models?
Any brands to stay away from?

Is there a Web site that does camera reviews where this sort of info
can be seen for a lot of cameras in one place?

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

Cameras with short shutter lag time?
 

Bert Hyman writes:
While talking with my wife about selection criteria for a proposed
new camera, I was surprised to hear that her main problem with our
aging Canon A60 was the long delay in releasing the shutter.

What's surprising about that? Shutter lag is one of the most annoying
misfeatures of small digicams.

In consumer-grade, non-SLR cameras in the 5+ megapixel range, does
any one maker's camera have an advantage in quick response time? Or,
has this problem been eliminated generally in current camera models?
Any brands to stay away from?

The newer Canons are a bit more responsive than the older ones, but if
you want to really fix the problem, get a DSLR.

There are some Ricoh non-DSLR's that also fix it, but they're hard to
find in the US.

Cameras with short shutter lag time?
 

Bert Hyman wrote:
While talking with my wife about selection criteria for a proposed
new camera, I was surprised to hear that her main problem with our
aging Canon A60 was the long delay in releasing the shutter.

Can I just say that if I hadn't had a reliability
problem (faulty CCD connection at 13 months)
I'd probably still be using my A60.

GREAT camera.


The A60's size and control layout suit both of us well enough, and I
need the full manual control that it offers (I got it as a field
"notebook" of sorts and it drifted into general photo use only
incidentally).

In consumer-grade, non-SLR cameras in the 5+ megapixel range, does
any one maker's camera have an advantage in quick response time? Or,
has this problem been eliminated generally in current camera models?

I think compacts still have "an issue".

Of course, in a manual camera (like you A60) you
can get the lag very low indeed.

I *think* most of the lag is focus, so if you lock
the manual focus at infinity it should be quick;
I'd use aperture priority mode.

If this still isn't quick, full manual is;
I've used it.

BugBear

Cameras with short shutter lag time?
 

On 11 Oct 2006 13:44:27 GMT, Bert Hyman wrote:

While talking with my wife about selection criteria for a proposed
new camera, I was surprised to hear that her main problem with our
aging Canon A60 was the long delay in releasing the shutter.

The A60's size and control layout suit both of us well enough, and I
need the full manual control that it offers (I got it as a field
"notebook" of sorts and it drifted into general photo use only
incidentally).

In consumer-grade, non-SLR cameras in the 5+ megapixel range, does
any one maker's camera have an advantage in quick response time? Or,
has this problem been eliminated generally in current camera models?
Any brands to stay away from?

Is there a Web site that does camera reviews where this sort of info
can be seen for a lot of cameras in one place?

Bert,
As was already suggested by another, you can manually set a
focus distance (infinity would not be "my" choice) but that will
depend on how far away your subject(s) are likely to be.

Unfortunately your A60 (2MP) P&S does not have a "C" (Custom)
mode to that would allow you to use it to create a hyperfocal mode of
your choice. Several Canon P&S cameras have this feature begriming
with the A80 but so do many other brands too. So you may want to
consider 1 of them that has it & yes most newer P&S cameras also have
noticeably shorter shutter lag times.

This was not my idea, so I will give credit were it's due &
post the web address where I 1st found it:

http://albert.achtung.com/cameras/A80/index7.html#SNAP

Note this refers to the Canon A80, however the basic principle
will work with most newer Canon P&S cameras as well as many other
brands & models with this feature. Because P&S cameras have a great
deal of DOF (Depth Of Field), this works very good & can also be very
useful in very low light situations where AF may have problems.

Rather then explain it all here, I'll let you go to the link
where it's explained in more detail. You need not make it a true
hyperfocal mode where the picture is in acceptable focus from x
distance to infinity. You can program in a manual focus distance that
will yield good focus from x distance to x distance.

That's what works best for me because I don't care if the
background is in focus & in fact, I would rather that it not be.

I also have an A60 & thus far have not had any problems with
it & it certainly takes some very nice pictures, which proves that
more MP is not always needed or best. Frankly I think the sweat spot
for most P&S cameras is between 4 to 6MP, but most people seem to
think that more is better without regard to the physical sensor size.

Best of luck in whatever you choose to do.

Respectfully, DHB


"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President,
or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong,
is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable
to the American public."--Theodore Roosevelt, May 7, 1918

Cameras with short shutter lag time?
 

Cameras with short shutter lag time?
 

Paul Rubin wrote:

There are some Ricoh non-DSLR's that also fix it, but they're hard to
find in the US.

Indeed, I heard that Ricoh P&S cameras have a reputation for very short
shutter lag.

Cameras with short shutter lag time?
 

Cameras with short shutter lag time?
 

(Ed Ruf) wrote in
:

On 12 Oct 2006 16:01:07 GMT, in rec.photo.digital Bert Hyman
wrote:

Is this particular statistic for various makers and models
collected and reported more or less in one place by somebody,
somewhere?

http://www.dpreview.com the reviews there have this info. I believe
if you use the shopping guide to compare various model you might
get this info in the table., but am not sure.

Thanks; even if it's not in a single table, just avoiding having to
visit each maker's Web site and look at each of their models would be
a great help.

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

Cameras with short shutter lag time?
 

Bert Hyman wrote:

_trim (bugbear) wrote in
:

I *think* most of the lag is focus, so if you lock
the manual focus at infinity it should be quick;
I'd use aperture priority mode.

The manual settings are for -me to use, but this camera is also
intended to be used as a general-purpose recreational camera by me
and my wife, so a camera that works well in normal "auto-everything"
mode is what we're really looking for.

So, I'll expand the question to ask which non-SLR digital cameras
have short(er/est) shutter lag time when operating in auto-focus,
auto-exposure modes?

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |


Hello, Bert:

The Imaging Resource http://www.imaging-resource.com has a review of
the Kodak P712:

The Imaging Resource - Kodak EasyShare P712 Overview
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/P712/P712A.HTM

Here's some relevant, quoted material, from the above Web page:

"In promotional literature, Kodak brags about the camera's speed
capabilities, claiming the P712 has 'best-in-class, click to capture
rate.' Though we don't normally do those sorts of one-to-one category
comparisons, the camera did present very little shutter lag,
particularly at wide-angle to normal focal lengths. Without
prefocusing, the Kodak P712 took 0.14 seconds to capture an image
when the zoom lens was at the wide-angle position. At the full
telephoto position, it was 0.71 seconds to capture, still faster
than many long-zoom models.

"Though these numbers were good, when the camera was prefocused, it
was a veritable rocket. We clocked it capturing a shot in a blazing
fast 0.086 seconds when half-pressing and holding the shutter button
before the shot itself. Very impressive."


Cordially,
John Turco