Digital cameras: shutter delay?

[LeoCreek]

Hi all!
I've only used a couple of digital cameras before. While they both take nice photos, they both have a noticeable delay before the shutter closes once I've depressed the release button. This makes it really hard to take photos of anything that might move (like a fish), at least for me.

I don't like to keep fish out of water or laying on the bank just so I can get a photo, so my attempts to photograph fish with a digital camera, while fishing alone, have been met with failure. I know, I know....I shouldn't go fishing alone, but sometimes it just works out that way.

Anyway, to the point: Do all digital cameras have this noticeable shutter delay? I've thought of getting a nice waterproof/water resistant digital camera like the Pentax Optio WR series, but am reluctant to spend that kind of money on something that cannot take action shots due to the shutter delay issue.

If this is an inherant "feature" of digital cameras, maybe I'll resort to just using a water resistant disposable camera for fishing. I've owned a couple of nice 35mm SLR's years ago, with multple lenses and filters, etc., and became fairly accomplished with them, but they're not what you'd call compact, and the ease of sharing photos is much nicer with a digital camera.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and expertise related to digital cameras.

[Normand]

Anyway, to the point: Do all digital cameras have this noticeable shutter delay?

yes! they all do!

http://www.dphotojournal.com/how-to-...e-shutter-lag/

more info

http://www.google.com/search?q=Do+al...ient=firefox-a

[LeoCreek]

Thanks for the links Norman. That's what I was starting to think as well, with the searching I've been doing. I've played around with pre-focusing, having the shutter button half way depressed, and so on, but these have only helped a little bit, and only some of the time.

This does seem to confirm for me that a full digital camera (not a digital SLR) is not a very good tool for one handed action shots of fish when there's nobody else around to hold the fish steady.

[DG]

The delay on most digital cameras is a small fraction of a second. If you hold still when you push the button, the picture should still work. Yes, a fish will wiggle once in a while, but most cameras, especially newer ones, will let you shoot another frame in a second or two.

[Marco]

I could be wrong BUT I'm under the impression the shutter delay has to do, to some degree, with the light available. Bright light= fast shutter, Low light=slow shutter. (?)(?)


Mark

[FISHN50]

If I Take a picture on the highest resolution I notice a little longer delay in the time between pictures. I also had to reset the time that the camera shows the last picture to 5 sec so I can take the next one sooner. As for the
actual time delay when yoiu press the button I think that's due to the time the camera takes to focus on the object. You can try the Manual focus setting & see if that makes any difference....

Neil

[Martin McFly]

I had a sonny Cyber Shot (6 mega pixels) and it took a long time for it to actually shoot, it broke and bought a Canon Power Shot A1100is and it is the quickest camera I have owned, one snap and it's done, 12.1 megapixels and the price is not bad either. Target has it (not sure if they still do) for $150.
I've used it on my kids and they move pretty quick, no time for delays lol.
Good luck

[Normand]

If I understand your question - NO, there is no noticeable shutter delay in taking a picture.

Shutter Lag - What is it?

One of the most frustrating problems some people run into with digital cameras is the characteristic known as shutter lag. How many times have you waited for the right moment to take a shot, only to spend the next second waiting for the camera to take the picture, if at all? Meanwhile, your perfect shot has vanished from view. This is shutter lag.


The time from when you press the shutter release button (ie. the trigger) until the camera actually takes the photo is known as total shutter lag. Total shutter lag is the combination of two processes at work: the autofocus lag and the shutter release lag.

• Autofocus Lag - As soon you press the shutter button, the camera generally attempts to search for an appropriate focus point. This autofocus mechanism is often very slow, and contributes most to the overall lag. In point and shoot cameras, the physical lens is focused back and forth with a motor until the camera determines that the focus is correct. Obviously since we have to wait for a motor to move in both directions, the delay is going to be considerable. With digital SLR cameras, an advanced closed-loop control circuit allows a fast estimate of appropriate focus distance, without having to slowly move the lens back and forth. Note that all cameras will take longer to autofocus if the environment is dark or the photographed object exhibits poor contrast (which makes it harder for the camera to lock-on to).
• Shutter Release Lag - Once the camera has determined the appropriate focus distance, the camera triggers the electronic or physical shutter mechanism. On some cheaper cameras this process can take a moderate amount of time, but it is usually not as significant as the autofocus lag. The shutter release lag is the time it takes to take the photo if one has "pre-focused" (ie. held down the shutter button half-way) or used manual focus mode.
• Total Lag - The sum of Autofocus Lag and Shutter Release Lag. This is the delay most often seen when "pre-focusing" is not done, or in times when one is trying to take a picture quickly (ie. without setting it up).

Obviously, the larger the total lag time for a camera, the more noticeable and frustrating the delay becomes. In purchasing a new camera, one should carefully compare the differences in total lag between different models, as some cameras are much faster than others in this respect. Make sure that you are comparing the time it takes to shoot the same object (as different objects will lead to different autofocus lag delays).


so, your Olympus 850SW doesnt do this?? i want one!

shutter lag vs recycle time (the time it takes the camera to take another photo) are 2 different things

[DG]

The several digital cameras I have owned or used at work all focused with the shutter button halfway down, and the actual shutter lag when you finally took the shot was a very short one. It is still up to the photographer to take the photo.

[Big Bad Wulff]

The newer Sonys are pretty fast now.