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Shutter Lag in Point and Shoot compacts



 
 
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  #1  
Old April 6th 06, 01:27 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
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Default Shutter Lag in Point and Shoot compacts

I had a Yashica T5 but lost it one drunken night and decided it would be a
good time to switch to digital. After a brief daliance with a couple of
digital cameras I've not been overly impressed with the end results, so have
decided to come back home. Love have a good quality camera around but was
frustrated by the Yashica's long shutter lag (the time taken from pressing
the button to the photo being taken)(don't mean to be patronising but just to
clarify). I have noticed recently that the high end compacts have started to
become very affordable second hand but I need your advice as to which ones
suffer the least from shutter lag. The creative options that the high end
compacts offer are desirable but most importantly for me is a good lens and
fast reaction times.

I've been looking at the following Contax T2/T3, Nikon 35Ti, Rollei 35TE/SE,
Fujifilm Natura, Ricoh GR1v but if you can add any other suggestion I'd be
grateful for any input. I haven't mentioned any Leica's because they all seem
too pricey or are the size of bricks. I'd appreciate your advice....
  #2  
Old April 6th 06, 03:26 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
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Default Shutter Lag in Point and Shoot compacts

I have a Yashica T5, and I once bought my wife an Olympus Mju II
special edition (ie, it's dark brownish, not black) for her birthday,
many years ago before we were married. Frustratingly, this Mju totally
and confidently outperformed the Yashica T5 in almost every respect.
It's a superb little unit.

  #3  
Old April 6th 06, 03:32 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
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Default Shutter Lag in Point and Shoot compacts

"Hannu" u20546@uwe wrote in message news:5e58b2302541b@uwe...


which ones [P&S] suffer the least from shutter lag.
The creative options that the high end compacts offer
are desirable but most importantly for me is a good
lens and fast reaction times.


I don't know of a responsive enough (for me) P&S.

P&S sometimes offer pre-focus but this is a PITA unless the
subject is stationary -- and who cares about reaction time
when photographing a mountain. Some pre-focus systems measure
the focus in advance but don't move the lens until you press
the shutter, this isn't really pre-focus but focus lock and
is no help.

A non-autofocus camera will have the fastest reaction times.

Think about getting one of the superb small Japanese rangefinders
from the ~70's: Canon Cannonet QL17 GIII, Olympus SP or RD,
Minolta Hi-Matic [don't know the model #'s], Konica something
or other... The lenses on these cameras are typically f1.7
[some 1.4's] and are a match for anything on a NikCan SLR or
Leica.

Not Leica M class in shutter response, but pretty good,
these compacts often have long shutter stroke as they use
'trapped needle' auto-exposure systems: the stroke on the
shutter release is used to set the shutter speed and
lens aperture.

The best shutter response I know of is an MD10 motor drive
on a Nikon F3, but it's sort of bulgy carried in a pant's
pocket.


--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer: Electronics, Photonics, Informatics.
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  #4  
Old April 6th 06, 03:44 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
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Default Shutter Lag in Point and Shoot compacts

"Ian Tindale" wrote

this Mju totally and confidently outperformed the
Yashica T5 in almost every respect. It's a superb little unit.


And I had just the opposite result ... quality control on
P&S's isn't all that good. Everything is molded plastic
and a little burr and lens elements don't seat, AF sensor's
are off center, cams and gears bind, etc. etc. etc.


--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer: Electronics, Photonics, Informatics.
Remove blanks to reply: n o lindan at ix . netcom . com
f-Stop enlarging timers: http://www.nolindan.com/da/fstop/


  #5  
Old April 6th 06, 06:50 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
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Default Shutter Lag in Point and Shoot compacts

Add a Canon MC to your list; a good one will set you back about £5, the
lag is very short and the aspherical lens is excellent, mine is better
than my mju-1's was (which I got fed up with and sold, there's only so
much redeye I can take). Also one of the few compacts that leaves the
film tongue out slightly after rewinding.

But you have to keep them secret.

  #6  
Old April 6th 06, 06:52 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
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Default Shutter Lag in Point and Shoot compacts

"Nicholas O. Lindan" wrote in message
k.net...

Think about getting one of the superb small Japanese rangefinders
from the ~70's: Canon Cannonet QL17 GIII,



I have the Canonet QL19 and I have noticed that it takes a rather long
stroke when pushing the shutter release before the shutter actually fires.
It does not have the precise feel that I get when firing the shutters on my
Pentax Spotmatics or ES bodies.

The shutter button requires relatively more pressure to push it down also.
The combination of a long stroke, with more pressure than normal, often
results in some slight camera shake. I have experience with only the
particular camera that I own, and I can't know whether this issue is common
to all Canonets, but I have found the QL19 to be rather unpleasant to use.
Too bad, because the shutter is quiet and the body is smaller than my
Spotmatic SLRs.

I also have the Olympus Infinity Stylus (the original model) and the Nikon
Lite Touch 140 and both of them give me a feeling of detachment from the
camera when I use them. There is no provision for polarizers, no means of
overriding the exposure and, worst of all, no means of controlling
depth-of-field because the aperture is set automatically. I dislike the
feeling that all I can do is to "Point And Shoot," with no control over the
outcome. Either one likes what the camera sets or one does not . . .
Bummer, at least for me.

About a year ago I got my first Pentax SLR with automation--the P3n. Sure,
it's somewhat bigger than the 70s rangefinders (it is virtually identical in
size to the Olympus OM-1--just one millimeter taller), and the lens is
obviously larger and sticks out farther (not much that can be done about
that--the mirror box requires larger optics). And there is more noise when
firing the shutter, due to mirror slap. A Leica it is not . . . But is IS
"small enough," and at 500g it is certainly light enough to carry without
inconvenience. And it doesn't require new batteries every 8 or 10 rolls,
due to the power drain of the film advance/rewind motor.

BUT, the camera can be set to full manual, or full program, or aperture
priority for those that want to control depth-of-field or shoot at the lens'
sweet spot. The viewfinder shows what the lens sees, without the need for
the brain to judge what the final image will look like from a rangefinder
camera, based on what appears in the viewfinder lines. The automation is
very fast, with no appreciable lag time from the moment that the shutter
button is depressed until the shutter actually fires--I judge it to be less
than 1/10 of a second--and the camera reads the exposure and sets the
shutter speed and the lens aperture during that very short period of time.
Pretty impressive, I think.

I once read that most photographers tend to gravitate toward one particular
system, and I believe that to be true--at least in my own case. I've played
with P&S, TLRs, Rangefinders, Instamatics--but nothing gives me the sense of
control that a good SLR does. I bring this point up because the OP may have
a similar tendency to SLRs, and not know it. If that is the case for him,
then virtually no P&S will afford him the kind of satisfaction he'll get
when using an SLR.


  #7  
Old April 6th 06, 09:42 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
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Default Shutter Lag in Point and Shoot compacts

Nicholas O. Lindan wrote:

A non-autofocus camera will have the fastest reaction times.

Think about getting one of the superb small Japanese rangefinders
from the ~70's: Canon Cannonet QL17 GIII, Olympus SP or RD,
Minolta Hi-Matic [don't know the model #'s], Konica something
or other... The lenses on these cameras are typically f1.7
[some 1.4's] and are a match for anything on a NikCan SLR or
Leica.

Not Leica M class in shutter response, but pretty good,
these compacts often have long shutter stroke as they use
'trapped needle' auto-exposure systems: the stroke on the
shutter release is used to set the shutter speed and
lens aperture.


I second or third the Canonet. The Olympus XA is another option,
it has the form factor of a P&S (it is very small) but is
aperture-priority AE and manual focus RF, and short shutter lag.
35/2.8 lens of reasonable quality. Soft touch button means almost
zero release stroke, but you can't use a cable release (use the
self-timer). Occasionally in low light I wish it had manual
exposure though.

The shutter response on any of these RFs, though possibly
not up to the repeatability of an SLR, is worlds different from
any AF P&S or digital P&S that I have used.

I think most good cameras are a bit too functional to qualify
as "pretty" as in your other thread, but the XA is quite an
elegant design.

  #8  
Old April 7th 06, 12:14 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
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Default Shutter Lag in Point and Shoot compacts

Thanks for the suggestions, although perhaps the rangefinder tips are
slightly misleading. I really do need a compact so I can just slip it in my
pocket (I've got an SLR for the heavy duty stuff). So a retractable lens is
also pretty high on my list of priorities. Great suggestions mind, I now have
an every extending shopping list!

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  #9  
Old April 7th 06, 12:40 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
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Default Shutter Lag in Point and Shoot compacts

I don't think you want a 70s rangefinder, simply because it is hard
to find one in perfectly good condition. They are old.

However google "Olympus 35RC" and you will see that it is one of the
smallest 35mm cameras ever made.

The Olympus Stylus Epic line of cameras are small and well-regarded.


Thanks for the suggestions, although perhaps the rangefinder tips are
slightly misleading. I really do need a compact so I can just slip it in my
pocket (I've got an SLR for the heavy duty stuff). So a retractable lens is
also pretty high on my list of priorities. Great suggestions mind, I now have
an every extending shopping list!


  #10  
Old April 7th 06, 07:29 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.35mm
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Default Shutter Lag in Point and Shoot compacts

I think the OP was trying to find a camera without shutter lag; the
stylus is pretty bad on this count.

 




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