Need a low shutter lag point and shoot digital

On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 19:11:46 -0500, Roy Smith wrote:

In article ,
"David J. Littleboy" wrote:


Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something contrasty in
the background instead of your subject.

I've seen my Canon PS-400 do exactly the opposite; focus on something in
the foreground when my subject was further away.


Remember the camrera doent know what the subject is, only the
photogrpaher does.

On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 19:11:46 -0500, Roy Smith wrote:

In article ,
"David J. Littleboy" wrote:


Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something contrasty in
the background instead of your subject.

I've seen my Canon PS-400 do exactly the opposite; focus on something in
the foreground when my subject was further away.


Remember the camrera doent know what the subject is, only the
photogrpaher does.

"YAG-ART" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 19:11:46 -0500, Roy Smith wrote:

In article ,
"David J. Littleboy" wrote:


Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something contrasty
in
the background instead of your subject.

I've seen my Canon PS-400 do exactly the opposite; focus on something in
the foreground when my subject was further away.

Come to think of it, My S85 used to do that for landscape shots. It would
focus on the pavement at my feet even though the center 1/3 of the image was
all a long way away.

Remember the camrera doent know what the subject is, only the
photogrpaher does.

Yes, but that's not the only/major problem. You careful place the (single)
AF point over the subject but the camera finds something in the background
or foreground to focus on. The focus area in a lot of P&S cameras is just
too large.

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 10:28:33 +0900, "David J. Littleboy"
wrote:


"YAG-ART" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 14 Nov 2004 19:11:46 -0500, Roy Smith wrote:

In article ,
"David J. Littleboy" wrote:


Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something contrasty
in
the background instead of your subject.

I've seen my Canon PS-400 do exactly the opposite; focus on something in
the foreground when my subject was further away.

Come to think of it, My S85 used to do that for landscape shots. It would
focus on the pavement at my feet even though the center 1/3 of the image was
all a long way away.

Remember the camrera doent know what the subject is, only the
photogrpaher does.

Yes, but that's not the only/major problem. You careful place the (single)
AF point over the subject but the camera finds something in the background
or foreground to focus on. The focus area in a lot of P&S cameras is just
too large.

I didn't know that. Shooting a DSLR I guess the p&s just don't come
close.

David J. Littleboy wrote:
[]
The P&S cameras use the CCD for AF and have to read out several
frames to focus. So the fastest P&S is going to be a lot slower than
the slowest dSLR.

Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something
contrasty in the background instead of your subject. This makes the
EVF cameras attractive, since you can see when the AF is messing up.

The Nikon 8400 includes an additional focus sensor in addition to contrast
detection and is much faster in focussing.

In the Nikon 990 (IIRC) the logic is to focus on the nearer part of the
scene. On the Nikon 5700 and 8400 you can get a red rectangle showing to
highlight the actual area of the scene which has been used for focus - I
always have this enabled and find it invaluable.

Later cameras offer you the optional choice of scene area to focus on,
just like an SLR.

David

David J. Littleboy wrote:
[]
The P&S cameras use the CCD for AF and have to read out several
frames to focus. So the fastest P&S is going to be a lot slower than
the slowest dSLR.

Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something
contrasty in the background instead of your subject. This makes the
EVF cameras attractive, since you can see when the AF is messing up.

The Nikon 8400 includes an additional focus sensor in addition to contrast
detection and is much faster in focussing.

In the Nikon 990 (IIRC) the logic is to focus on the nearer part of the
scene. On the Nikon 5700 and 8400 you can get a red rectangle showing to
highlight the actual area of the scene which has been used for focus - I
always have this enabled and find it invaluable.

Later cameras offer you the optional choice of scene area to focus on,
just like an SLR.

David

"David J Taylor" wrote:
David J. Littleboy wrote:
[]
The P&S cameras use the CCD for AF and have to read out several
frames to focus. So the fastest P&S is going to be a lot slower than
the slowest dSLR.

Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something
contrasty in the background instead of your subject. This makes the
EVF cameras attractive, since you can see when the AF is messing up.

The Nikon 8400 includes an additional focus sensor in addition to contrast
detection and is much faster in focussing.

It seems you are wrong on this.

"A half-press of the shutter release results in focus lock in just under
half a second in most cases. It can take around a second or so in more
difficult focusing situations. Low light focusing was better than average
(thanks to the AF-assist lamp), but not the best I've seen."

In other words, a lot slower than the slowest dSLR.

In the Nikon 990 (IIRC) the logic is to focus on the nearer part of the
scene.

That only works if some sensor area actually finds the nearest part of the
scene. The problem is that contrast detection finds contrast in the
sensitive area, and the sensitive areas tend to be too large. The general
recommendation (even with dSLRs) is to only use one AF sensor, point at the
subject, half press, and recompose.

On the Nikon 5700 and 8400 you can get a red rectangle showing to
highlight the actual area of the scene which has been used for focus - I
always have this enabled and find it invaluable.

Later cameras offer you the optional choice of scene area to focus on,
just like an SLR.

If you think there is _anything_ about small-sensor cameras that is "just
like an SLR", I've got a bridge to sell you.

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan

"David J Taylor" wrote:
David J. Littleboy wrote:
[]
The P&S cameras use the CCD for AF and have to read out several
frames to focus. So the fastest P&S is going to be a lot slower than
the slowest dSLR.

Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something
contrasty in the background instead of your subject. This makes the
EVF cameras attractive, since you can see when the AF is messing up.

The Nikon 8400 includes an additional focus sensor in addition to contrast
detection and is much faster in focussing.

It seems you are wrong on this.

"A half-press of the shutter release results in focus lock in just under
half a second in most cases. It can take around a second or so in more
difficult focusing situations. Low light focusing was better than average
(thanks to the AF-assist lamp), but not the best I've seen."

In other words, a lot slower than the slowest dSLR.

In the Nikon 990 (IIRC) the logic is to focus on the nearer part of the
scene.

That only works if some sensor area actually finds the nearest part of the
scene. The problem is that contrast detection finds contrast in the
sensitive area, and the sensitive areas tend to be too large. The general
recommendation (even with dSLRs) is to only use one AF sensor, point at the
subject, half press, and recompose.

On the Nikon 5700 and 8400 you can get a red rectangle showing to
highlight the actual area of the scene which has been used for focus - I
always have this enabled and find it invaluable.

Later cameras offer you the optional choice of scene area to focus on,
just like an SLR.

If you think there is _anything_ about small-sensor cameras that is "just
like an SLR", I've got a bridge to sell you.

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan

"David J Taylor" wrote:
David J. Littleboy wrote:
[]
The P&S cameras use the CCD for AF and have to read out several
frames to focus. So the fastest P&S is going to be a lot slower than
the slowest dSLR.

Even worse, the CCD-based AF systems often focus on something
contrasty in the background instead of your subject. This makes the
EVF cameras attractive, since you can see when the AF is messing up.

The Nikon 8400 includes an additional focus sensor in addition to contrast
detection and is much faster in focussing.

It seems you are wrong on this.

"A half-press of the shutter release results in focus lock in just under
half a second in most cases. It can take around a second or so in more
difficult focusing situations. Low light focusing was better than average
(thanks to the AF-assist lamp), but not the best I've seen."

In other words, a lot slower than the slowest dSLR.

In the Nikon 990 (IIRC) the logic is to focus on the nearer part of the
scene.

That only works if some sensor area actually finds the nearest part of the
scene. The problem is that contrast detection finds contrast in the
sensitive area, and the sensitive areas tend to be too large. The general
recommendation (even with dSLRs) is to only use one AF sensor, point at the
subject, half press, and recompose.

On the Nikon 5700 and 8400 you can get a red rectangle showing to
highlight the actual area of the scene which has been used for focus - I
always have this enabled and find it invaluable.

Later cameras offer you the optional choice of scene area to focus on,
just like an SLR.

If you think there is _anything_ about small-sensor cameras that is "just
like an SLR", I've got a bridge to sell you.

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan

When I bought my Minolta Dimage A1 it was reviewed as having the shortest
lag of any digital non-SLR. I was very disappointed with it. Although it was
indeed faster than any other camera I had owned to that point, it focuses
too softly, defaults to 72 dpi for jpeg compression, and has a lot of
digital noise. The A2 supposedly corrected all these faults and was even
faster.

The smallest cameras are going almost entirely to SD cards. I really love
Jane's Nikon 5200. It is very fast, too, but uses only the SD cards.