Digital camera delay?

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nickanderson

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 18, 2004
Messages
425
Hello,

Does anyone know if there is a digital camera made, that you do not have to hold the button down for a few seconds before it takes the picture. Do they make any that are like film cameras where you press the button and picture is taken?
 
Some digital camera take the picture very quickly if you've already focused the lens (i.e. pressing the shutter button down halfway), like the Fuji E900 I use. If that is what you want, look for cameras that have a low shutter delay.

If you're talking about the time it takes to auto-focus and take the picture, I'm not sure that there are too many digicams with really fast AF performance. That's something that you'd need a Nikon or Canon DSLR with an AF-S or USM lens for (they use hypersonic motors to focus extremely quickly).
 
On my SD500 and GF's SD800, I purchased a high-speed SD card and the delays were noticeably less. It's strange since I've read that it shouldn't really make a difference but I decided to try it out and it did definitely speed things up. I went from an ATP normal speed SD card (1gb) to a Transcend High Speed SD card (2gb). The SD800 was new so I tested it with the supplied SD card from the factory.
 
Most point and shoots are very slow in terms of shutter delay.

Mid-to-high end DSLRs have no delay whatsoever typically, and can usually "burst" for upwards of 20 pics before the camera has to wait for the buffer to write to the card.

Here's an MP3 of a Canon 20D (I have this camera and I love it!) firing continuously until the buffer fills

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonEOS20D/Samples/20d_d70_10d.mp3

Is that fast enough for you? :D
 
Are you describing "shutter lag" where there is a delay from the time you press the button to take the picture before the picture is actually taken, or "focus lag" where you press the button down half-way and there is a delay before the camera focuses? Or both? Both exist to some degree on automatic film cameras as well. About the fastest you can get is a fully manual SLR, or the manual focusing mode where you can focus by eye/hand. I used to be able to do it real well with my ancient Leica IIf.
 
Clearly a good DSLR will address the lag issues you face. If you're willing to use a full bodied camera (not a compact) Canon (as referenced above) or Nikon are the kings. Personally, I went with a Konica Minolta 5D 1.5 yrs ago, and am sad to report a fair amount of buyers remorse. Am personally looking at the Nikon D80, although they make a more entry level version the D40 which is also well received...and again Canon is solid.

If you head down that path, keep in mind that there are lots of fan-boys for the major brands. Photography folks can get even more opinionated than some computer folks.
:)
 
FWIW, I've found Canons to suffer less from this than other digitals (not count DSLRs). My brother's older Nikon coolpix was horrible in this regard.
 
Blackburn said:
Personally, I went with a Konica Minolta 5D 1.5 yrs ago, and am sad to report a fair amount of buyers remorse.
Click to expand...

You won't have to worry about making that mistake again - Konica-Minolta no longer makes cameras and sold the lens business to Sony.
 
I'm a pro photographer and I will give you the facts:

Point and shoot is all most people need.
Shutter lag is gone with SLRs
Shutter lag on some PnS is worse than others i.e. Nikon PnS typically have shutter lag, but good pics
The D40 is a joke for a dSLR and I have a D50 which is the best price to performance
The D80 is overkill for any non professional.
Canon makes excellent bodies and very good lenses (IF lenses).
Nikon makes excellent lenses (VR) and very good bodies.
Both are good, but the Canon thumb wheel makes me hate them--it's awkward compared to a nikon.
The new Sony dSLR takes Nikon F mount lenses with antivibration built into the body. I like it the best. Nikon lense + good body = awesome
The IF and VR lenses are made to reduce vibration and cost a shit load of money, but rock :)
With the sony you don't need those lenses :)



In all, look for a PnS that has a larger CMOS/CCD and shorter lag.
 
The newer Canon point-and-shoot cameras with DIGIC II have very fast shutter speeds (less than a second, even with auto-focus enabled).

My A700 has under a half-second delay (or less) using AF, and almost no delay if I prime the focus first (hold down the button halfway).

Canon's DSLRs also make use of DIGIC II, and soon DIGIC III.
 
defaultluser said:
The newer Canon point-and-shoot cameras with DIGIC II have very fast shutter speeds (less than a second, even with auto-focus enabled).
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All modern cameras have shutter speeds of less than a second; good ones will have speeds of 1/4000th or 1/8000th of a scond. What the OP is asking about here is lag, not speed.
 
mikeblas said:
All modern cameras have shutter speeds of less than a second; good ones will have speeds of 1/4000th or 1/8000th of a scond. What the OP is asking about here is lag, not speed.
Click to expand...

You know what I meant. God, you replace one word with a synonym and suddenly you get the phtography pedants jumping all over you.

DID I NOT SAY DELAY IN MT POST? Delay = lag.

Get off your high-horse already. It's people like you that make me not want to even bother getting deeper into photography. Now the poor original poster is even more confused, because you've derailed this thread with another topic.
 
defaultluser said:
You know what I meant.
Click to expand...
Not specificially: I had to guess.

defaultuser said:
jumping all over you
Click to expand...
That would take a note far longer than the one I wrote. I'm just trying to make sure whoever reads this thread gets the right facts, since you couldn't bother to get it right your own bad self.

defaultuser said:
Delay = lag.
Click to expand...
Speed != Delay.

defaultuser said:
Now the poor original poster is even more confused, because you've derailed this thread with another topic.
Click to expand...
More confused because I corrected your botched post? That's absurd.
 
ray4389 said:
I'm a pro photographer and I will give you the facts:

Point and shoot is all most people need.
Shutter lag is gone with SLRs
Shutter lag on some PnS is worse than others i.e. Nikon PnS typically have shutter lag, but good pics
The D40 is a joke for a dSLR and I have a D50 which is the best price to performance
The D80 is overkill for any non professional.
Canon makes excellent bodies and very good lenses (IF lenses).
Nikon makes excellent lenses (VR) and very good bodies.
Both are good, but the Canon thumb wheel makes me hate them--it's awkward compared to a nikon.
The new Sony dSLR takes Nikon F mount lenses with antivibration built into the body. I like it the best. Nikon lense + good body = awesome
The IF and VR lenses are made to reduce vibration and cost a shit load of money, but rock :)
With the sony you don't need those lenses :)



In all, look for a PnS that has a larger CMOS/CCD and shorter lag.
Click to expand...

Ray, I don't believe you are a pro. However your general advice accurate.

Here are some clarifications: Canon calls their vibration reduction IS (Image Stabilization). IS or VR does not equal a good lens. The Sony has a maximum 1/4000th shutter speed, and supports the Konica/Minolta A Mount. I could not find any reference to the Sony supporting the Nikon F mount lenses. I believe this is untrue and you misread that sony is making lenses for Nikon F mount to mean the Sony DSLR uses the f-Mount. Finally the Sony lenses cost significantly more than the Nikon/Canon counterparts which have VR/IS. Meaning, although you don't have to buy IS in the lens, you still pay more for the lens. And now you have another complex mechanism in the camera to fail.
 
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