Shutter Lag for AA's Vs. Proprietary

"the6carrules" wrote in message
om...
snip
Anyway, the guy at Best Buy told me that I should stay away from
cameras that use AA battery because it drastically increases Shutter
Lag (time from when you hit the shutter button to the time it actually
takes the picture).

So my question is; Is the Best Buy guy goofy or he right?

He's absolutely right. AA batteries use low-quality electrons purchased on
the international surplus market; if you have access to a scanning neutrino
microscope, you'll notice that each electron coming out of every AA cell is
clearly marked with a red dot.

heh heh heh

Arty

"Paul H." wrote in message
...

"the6carrules" wrote in message
om...
snip
Anyway, the guy at Best Buy told me that I should stay away from
cameras that use AA battery because it drastically increases Shutter
Lag (time from when you hit the shutter button to the time it actually
takes the picture).

So my question is; Is the Best Buy guy goofy or he right?

He's absolutely right. AA batteries use low-quality electrons purchased
on
the international surplus market; if you have access to a scanning
neutrino
microscope, you'll notice that each electron coming out of every AA cell
is
clearly marked with a red dot.

heh heh heh

Arty

"Paul H." wrote in message
...

"the6carrules" wrote in message
om...
snip
Anyway, the guy at Best Buy told me that I should stay away from
cameras that use AA battery because it drastically increases Shutter
Lag (time from when you hit the shutter button to the time it actually
takes the picture).

So my question is; Is the Best Buy guy goofy or he right?

He's absolutely right. AA batteries use low-quality electrons purchased
on
the international surplus market; if you have access to a scanning
neutrino
microscope, you'll notice that each electron coming out of every AA cell
is
clearly marked with a red dot.

Anyway, the guy at Best Buy told me that I should stay away from
cameras that use AA battery because it drastically increases Shutter
Lag (time from when you hit the shutter button to the time it actually
takes the picture).

Absolutely NO RELATION to shutter lag times. The guy should be fired.

It is possible that he might be idiotically confused with flash recharge
times, but this still has no relation to whether the battery is proprietary
or not. There is just no excuse for someone in the camrea department to
peddle this nonsense.

Anyway, the guy at Best Buy told me that I should stay away from
cameras that use AA battery because it drastically increases Shutter
Lag (time from when you hit the shutter button to the time it actually
takes the picture).

Absolutely NO RELATION to shutter lag times. The guy should be fired.

It is possible that he might be idiotically confused with flash recharge
times, but this still has no relation to whether the battery is proprietary
or not. There is just no excuse for someone in the camrea department to
peddle this nonsense.

the6carrules wrote:

Thanks all. For the record I didn't go to BB to ask questions, just
to hold the camera's in my hand, the smart-arse felt the need to spew,
so I politely listened, while thinking he was full of it.

But since I'm not a battery expert, wasn't sure if it is was BS. I
appreciate the help....well except for the smart-arse at the
end...lol.

I can't resist correcting these idiots when they come out with something
like that. It's even worse at the computer counter...

the6carrules wrote:

Thanks all. For the record I didn't go to BB to ask questions, just
to hold the camera's in my hand, the smart-arse felt the need to spew,
so I politely listened, while thinking he was full of it.

But since I'm not a battery expert, wasn't sure if it is was BS. I
appreciate the help....well except for the smart-arse at the
end...lol.

I can't resist correcting these idiots when they come out with something
like that. It's even worse at the computer counter...

Greetings CArules,

You have done your homework and gotten a mixed bag it appears.

The batteries that are used do not determine the 'lag' time at all. Rather,
the issue that I believe you are referring to is before taking the picture,
and not the processing time after the picture is taken. If that is the case
then the brief time it takes to flush the CCD is key and relates to the time
just prior to the actual taking of the picture, the CCD is flushed - cleared
for lack of a better term - so it is ready to take the exposure of the
picture you have composed. This is all done in a split second, but there is
a brief 'lag' when compared to traditional film cameras.

If this is the issue you refer to, then check the specs on the cameras you
have chosen for that feature. I will seek out that prep time reference with
some engineering friends. Once the CCD is flushed, however, you then have
consider the time it takes to process the image so you can take another.
For the Kodak LS753 the click to capture speed is 0.7 seconds (wide, preview
on), 0.8 seconds (wide, preview off). For a shot to shot comparison, the
LS753 is 1.6 seconds. You can also do a burst mode that works out to be 4
pictures in 3 seconds.

Remember, the camera shutter will operate at 1/2 second to 1/1400th second
the references above the digital issues with preparation, storing in a
buffer, then processing the data (all done in very short times). You should
be able to find this information on others as well.

Talk to you soon, CA, enjoy your choices.

Ron Baird
Eastman Kodak Company

I'm in the market for a new digital camera (currently have a 5 year
old Kodak DC280). I've narrowed my choices to a handful of various
sizes/features trying to further narrow that field down. I decided to
head to the stores to check out how a few of them felt in my hands to
see if that would remove them from the list. I first stopped at Best
Buy, not normally one of my favorite stores because of their prices,
but at least you can put your hands on the merchandise.

Anyway, the guy at Best Buy told me that I should stay away from
cameras that use AA battery because it drastically increases Shutter
Lag (time from when you hit the shutter button to the time it actually
takes the picture). Now this is a particularly important issue for me
because my current DC280 is really bad with shutter lag and with a 2yr
old and a 5yr old, I end up missing shots because of this. I don't
want to spend cash on something that isn't better than what I have.

So my question is; Is the Best Buy guy goofy or he right?

Keep in mind that he kept trying to steer me to the camera he
purchased the Sony DSC-V1 or a Nikon or Canon and away from all
others. I asked about the Sony DSC-W1, which is what prompted him to
tell me about the shutter lag issues with AA batteries and a 10 minute
diatribe on why the W1, Canon A80, etc.. were horrible cameras. (as
an aside, it is funny to talk with these people because the circuit
city guy told me to stay away from Sony and to go with AA batteries
and that a 1.5" LCD was optimal - everyone has their own opinions I
guess, but after having a 1.8" on my camera and a 3.5" on my
camcorder, 1.5 is way too small if you know what I mean)

Any wisdom anyone can impart will be greaty appreciated.

Greetings CArules,

You have done your homework and gotten a mixed bag it appears.

The batteries that are used do not determine the 'lag' time at all. Rather,
the issue that I believe you are referring to is before taking the picture,
and not the processing time after the picture is taken. If that is the case
then the brief time it takes to flush the CCD is key and relates to the time
just prior to the actual taking of the picture, the CCD is flushed - cleared
for lack of a better term - so it is ready to take the exposure of the
picture you have composed. This is all done in a split second, but there is
a brief 'lag' when compared to traditional film cameras.

If this is the issue you refer to, then check the specs on the cameras you
have chosen for that feature. I will seek out that prep time reference with
some engineering friends. Once the CCD is flushed, however, you then have
consider the time it takes to process the image so you can take another.
For the Kodak LS753 the click to capture speed is 0.7 seconds (wide, preview
on), 0.8 seconds (wide, preview off). For a shot to shot comparison, the
LS753 is 1.6 seconds. You can also do a burst mode that works out to be 4
pictures in 3 seconds.

Remember, the camera shutter will operate at 1/2 second to 1/1400th second
the references above the digital issues with preparation, storing in a
buffer, then processing the data (all done in very short times). You should
be able to find this information on others as well.

Talk to you soon, CA, enjoy your choices.

Ron Baird
Eastman Kodak Company

I'm in the market for a new digital camera (currently have a 5 year
old Kodak DC280). I've narrowed my choices to a handful of various
sizes/features trying to further narrow that field down. I decided to
head to the stores to check out how a few of them felt in my hands to
see if that would remove them from the list. I first stopped at Best
Buy, not normally one of my favorite stores because of their prices,
but at least you can put your hands on the merchandise.

Anyway, the guy at Best Buy told me that I should stay away from
cameras that use AA battery because it drastically increases Shutter
Lag (time from when you hit the shutter button to the time it actually
takes the picture). Now this is a particularly important issue for me
because my current DC280 is really bad with shutter lag and with a 2yr
old and a 5yr old, I end up missing shots because of this. I don't
want to spend cash on something that isn't better than what I have.

So my question is; Is the Best Buy guy goofy or he right?

Keep in mind that he kept trying to steer me to the camera he
purchased the Sony DSC-V1 or a Nikon or Canon and away from all
others. I asked about the Sony DSC-W1, which is what prompted him to
tell me about the shutter lag issues with AA batteries and a 10 minute
diatribe on why the W1, Canon A80, etc.. were horrible cameras. (as
an aside, it is funny to talk with these people because the circuit
city guy told me to stay away from Sony and to go with AA batteries
and that a 1.5" LCD was optimal - everyone has their own opinions I
guess, but after having a 1.8" on my camera and a 3.5" on my
camcorder, 1.5 is way too small if you know what I mean)

Any wisdom anyone can impart will be greaty appreciated.