Fast-focusing/firing digicam?

Using my Powershot S50 for street photography I found I was missing a lot of
shots because the shutter/focusing lag allowed subjects to move- a lot-
before the picture was taken. I'm told this is standard stuff for digital
conpacts. But I wonder- is there any small digital camera comparable to the
S50 that has fast response times? And as an afterthought- would the G5 be any
better in this respect? Any other makers making anything faster-reacting an a
pocketable or near-pcoketable size?

--
Joe B. (remove composer for email)

"Joe B." wrote in message
s.com...
Using my Powershot S50 for street photography I found I was missing a lot
of
shots because the shutter/focusing lag allowed subjects to move- a lot-
before the picture was taken. I'm told this is standard stuff for digital
conpacts. But I wonder- is there any small digital camera comparable to
the
S50 that has fast response times? And as an afterthought- would the G5 be
any
better in this respect? Any other makers making anything faster-reacting
an a
pocketable or near-pcoketable size?

No. Not that I have found. I have ended up putting a 45mm Tessar pancake
on my E-1, to just make the darn thing fit in a pouch, for the same use.

"Joe B." wrote in message
s.com...
Using my Powershot S50 for street photography I found I was missing a lot
of
shots because the shutter/focusing lag allowed subjects to move- a lot-
before the picture was taken. I'm told this is standard stuff for digital
conpacts. But I wonder- is there any small digital camera comparable to
the
S50 that has fast response times? And as an afterthought- would the G5 be
any
better in this respect? Any other makers making anything faster-reacting
an a
pocketable or near-pcoketable size?

No. Not that I have found. I have ended up putting a 45mm Tessar pancake
on my E-1, to just make the darn thing fit in a pouch, for the same use.

"Joe B." wrote in message
s.com...
Using my Powershot S50 for street photography I found I was missing a lot
of
shots because the shutter/focusing lag allowed subjects to move- a lot-
before the picture was taken. I'm told this is standard stuff for digital
conpacts. But I wonder- is there any small digital camera comparable to
the
S50 that has fast response times? And as an afterthought- would the G5 be
any
better in this respect? Any other makers making anything faster-reacting
an a
pocketable or near-pcoketable size?

No. Not that I have found. I have ended up putting a 45mm Tessar pancake
on my E-1, to just make the darn thing fit in a pouch, for the same use.

I found I was missing a lot of
shots because the shutter/focusing lag allowed subjects to move- a lot-
before the picture was taken.

Joe-

I tried many small digital cameras at a couple of stores. All seem to have the
problem to some extent.

The fastest of those I tried, was the Pentax Optio S4i. I bought it, and now
find that it may have some lens flare. I wish I had read the test reports
first.

One other thing I didn't expect, was that the LCD screen freezes for an instant
while focusing takes place. Consequently, what you see on the screen is a
slightly older view of the scene than when exposure takes place. This is a
major pain when you are following a moving subject!

Lets say the camera you have is typical. You may find one that is a little
better, but not much. Either way, you can minimize the effects of the delay by
pre-focusing.

To do this, you need to practice it on every shot so it becomes second nature.
You press the button part way down, wait for an indication that focusing has
been done, wait for the right moment to take the picture and then press the
button the rest of the way down. At that point the shutter should fire almost
instantly.

Another practice that may help, is to use the optical finder with the LCD
screen turned off. On some cameras, that slightly reduces the time required to
focus. It certainly eliminates the bother of a freezing LCD screen.

Fred

I found I was missing a lot of
shots because the shutter/focusing lag allowed subjects to move- a lot-
before the picture was taken.

Joe-

I tried many small digital cameras at a couple of stores. All seem to have the
problem to some extent.

The fastest of those I tried, was the Pentax Optio S4i. I bought it, and now
find that it may have some lens flare. I wish I had read the test reports
first.

One other thing I didn't expect, was that the LCD screen freezes for an instant
while focusing takes place. Consequently, what you see on the screen is a
slightly older view of the scene than when exposure takes place. This is a
major pain when you are following a moving subject!

Lets say the camera you have is typical. You may find one that is a little
better, but not much. Either way, you can minimize the effects of the delay by
pre-focusing.

To do this, you need to practice it on every shot so it becomes second nature.
You press the button part way down, wait for an indication that focusing has
been done, wait for the right moment to take the picture and then press the
button the rest of the way down. At that point the shutter should fire almost
instantly.

Another practice that may help, is to use the optical finder with the LCD
screen turned off. On some cameras, that slightly reduces the time required to
focus. It certainly eliminates the bother of a freezing LCD screen.

Fred

I found I was missing a lot of
shots because the shutter/focusing lag allowed subjects to move- a lot-
before the picture was taken.

Joe-

I tried many small digital cameras at a couple of stores. All seem to have the
problem to some extent.

The fastest of those I tried, was the Pentax Optio S4i. I bought it, and now
find that it may have some lens flare. I wish I had read the test reports
first.

One other thing I didn't expect, was that the LCD screen freezes for an instant
while focusing takes place. Consequently, what you see on the screen is a
slightly older view of the scene than when exposure takes place. This is a
major pain when you are following a moving subject!

Lets say the camera you have is typical. You may find one that is a little
better, but not much. Either way, you can minimize the effects of the delay by
pre-focusing.

To do this, you need to practice it on every shot so it becomes second nature.
You press the button part way down, wait for an indication that focusing has
been done, wait for the right moment to take the picture and then press the
button the rest of the way down. At that point the shutter should fire almost
instantly.

Another practice that may help, is to use the optical finder with the LCD
screen turned off. On some cameras, that slightly reduces the time required to
focus. It certainly eliminates the bother of a freezing LCD screen.

Fred

On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 18:32:12 +0100, Fred McKenzie wrote
(in message ):

I found I was missing a lot of
shots because the shutter/focusing lag allowed subjects to move- a lot-
before the picture was taken.

Joe-

I tried many small digital cameras at a couple of stores. All seem to have
the
problem to some extent.

As I feared.... Someone will produce a fast-focusing digital compact sometime
though. It has to happen.

The fastest of those I tried, was the Pentax Optio S4i. I bought it, and now
find that it may have some lens flare. I wish I had read the test reports
first.

One other thing I didn't expect, was that the LCD screen freezes for an
instant
while focusing takes place. Consequently, what you see on the screen is a
slightly older view of the scene than when exposure takes place. This is a
major pain when you are following a moving subject!

Lets say the camera you have is typical. You may find one that is a little
better, but not much. Either way, you can minimize the effects of the delay
by
pre-focusing.

To do this, you need to practice it on every shot so it becomes second
nature.
You press the button part way down, wait for an indication that focusing has
been done, wait for the right moment to take the picture and then press the
button the rest of the way down. At that point the shutter should fire
almost
instantly.

Good suggestion! But, I already use pre-focusing all the time, pretty much,
where applicable. It is my default method when using AF cameras. The problem
is that for many moving subjects it isn't possible to pre-focus, since by the
time it is locked in they have moved and that setting is now incorrect. So
I'm really looking for faster focusing. And when it arrives, i think I will
really appreciate it.

Another practice that may help, is to use the optical finder with the LCD
screen turned off. On some cameras, that slightly reduces the time required
to
focus. It certainly eliminates the bother of a freezing LCD screen.

Fred

Another good suggestion. I do that already too.

Thanks anyway though! I might take a look at that Pentax Optio- flare-prone
or not, if it is appreciably faster it might be handy to have one anyway.


--
Joe B. (remove composer for email)

On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 18:32:12 +0100, Fred McKenzie wrote
(in message ):

I found I was missing a lot of
shots because the shutter/focusing lag allowed subjects to move- a lot-
before the picture was taken.

Joe-

I tried many small digital cameras at a couple of stores. All seem to have
the
problem to some extent.

As I feared.... Someone will produce a fast-focusing digital compact sometime
though. It has to happen.

The fastest of those I tried, was the Pentax Optio S4i. I bought it, and now
find that it may have some lens flare. I wish I had read the test reports
first.

One other thing I didn't expect, was that the LCD screen freezes for an
instant
while focusing takes place. Consequently, what you see on the screen is a
slightly older view of the scene than when exposure takes place. This is a
major pain when you are following a moving subject!

Lets say the camera you have is typical. You may find one that is a little
better, but not much. Either way, you can minimize the effects of the delay
by
pre-focusing.

To do this, you need to practice it on every shot so it becomes second
nature.
You press the button part way down, wait for an indication that focusing has
been done, wait for the right moment to take the picture and then press the
button the rest of the way down. At that point the shutter should fire
almost
instantly.

Good suggestion! But, I already use pre-focusing all the time, pretty much,
where applicable. It is my default method when using AF cameras. The problem
is that for many moving subjects it isn't possible to pre-focus, since by the
time it is locked in they have moved and that setting is now incorrect. So
I'm really looking for faster focusing. And when it arrives, i think I will
really appreciate it.

Another practice that may help, is to use the optical finder with the LCD
screen turned off. On some cameras, that slightly reduces the time required
to
focus. It certainly eliminates the bother of a freezing LCD screen.

Fred

Another good suggestion. I do that already too.

Thanks anyway though! I might take a look at that Pentax Optio- flare-prone
or not, if it is appreciably faster it might be handy to have one anyway.


--
Joe B. (remove composer for email)

On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 18:32:12 +0100, Fred McKenzie wrote
(in message ):

I found I was missing a lot of
shots because the shutter/focusing lag allowed subjects to move- a lot-
before the picture was taken.

Joe-

I tried many small digital cameras at a couple of stores. All seem to have
the
problem to some extent.

As I feared.... Someone will produce a fast-focusing digital compact sometime
though. It has to happen.

The fastest of those I tried, was the Pentax Optio S4i. I bought it, and now
find that it may have some lens flare. I wish I had read the test reports
first.

One other thing I didn't expect, was that the LCD screen freezes for an
instant
while focusing takes place. Consequently, what you see on the screen is a
slightly older view of the scene than when exposure takes place. This is a
major pain when you are following a moving subject!

Lets say the camera you have is typical. You may find one that is a little
better, but not much. Either way, you can minimize the effects of the delay
by
pre-focusing.

To do this, you need to practice it on every shot so it becomes second
nature.
You press the button part way down, wait for an indication that focusing has
been done, wait for the right moment to take the picture and then press the
button the rest of the way down. At that point the shutter should fire
almost
instantly.

Good suggestion! But, I already use pre-focusing all the time, pretty much,
where applicable. It is my default method when using AF cameras. The problem
is that for many moving subjects it isn't possible to pre-focus, since by the
time it is locked in they have moved and that setting is now incorrect. So
I'm really looking for faster focusing. And when it arrives, i think I will
really appreciate it.

Another practice that may help, is to use the optical finder with the LCD
screen turned off. On some cameras, that slightly reduces the time required
to
focus. It certainly eliminates the bother of a freezing LCD screen.

Fred

Another good suggestion. I do that already too.

Thanks anyway though! I might take a look at that Pentax Optio- flare-prone
or not, if it is appreciably faster it might be handy to have one anyway.


--
Joe B. (remove composer for email)