Digital cameras: shutter delay?

[TyroneFly]

If you wish to reduce shutter lag, turn off the 'in focus' function. The drawback being that you will have a higher rate of bluried pictures. Shutter lag is a function of all the systems being 'ready' before the shutter is allowed to release. Of all the systems, auto focus, flash, and memory are the ones to cause the most delay (shutter lag). DSLRs have larger memory and faster circuitry thereby reducing shutter lag over their p/s counterpart. To get the least amount of shutter lag, you will have to buy the most expensive equipment there is. Shutter lag becomes an issue for those photographing fast action. In that case choose your system wisely or train yourself to anticipate where your subject will be are be doing a second or two in advance.

[Brian Moffitt]

"Shutter lag" and "number of shots per second" are two totally different things.

Actually my comparison is valid. As I noted most DSLRs have no "perceptible" shutter lag, which is a correct statement. Most point and shoot digital cameras have a perceptible lag between the user depressing the shutter and the actual picture being taken; a correct statement. As the parent of two small very active children I can confirm this is the difference between a good shot and junk.

My point was that the shutter lag on my wife's digital camera is around 1 second. On my DSLR the shutter lag, measured in milliseconds (which is imperceptible), ensures that in the time she takes one shot I've taken 6; which is a valid comparison. I will freely admit these are two different things, but they do point to the major difference between point and shoot and DSLR cameras in the realm of shutter lag.

[JohnScott]

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

Normand -

I took the liberty of deleting a couple previous posts on this thread pending some current and more closely observed picture taking with my Olympus 850SW.

I took a bunch of pics today, trying to "notice" any shutter lag. There was NO noticeable shutter lag. I took the pics in the "Landscape" mode. I don't do any of that prefocusing stuff. I just "point and shoot". And the camera takes pics with no noticeable shutter lag.

I think you should get yourself one !! I'm sure you will be delighted with the pics as well as how quickly the camera takes them ( except, of course, for the "recycle time" which I did describe as noticeable in one of my original posts, but not to the point of causing a problem by taking multiple pics of a lightly hooked, quickly landed and gently handled fish that was released, with revival if necessary, quickly. )

John

P.S. Maybe the number of times the camera has been used in below freezing temps, and to take underwater shots, and banged around or dropped on streamside rocks has caused any shutter lag originally inherent in the design to disappear ??

[rainbowchaser]

John, I think you may have eliminated the auto focus lag by putting the camera in landscape mode which probably means focus is locked at infinity. This would be the same setting as most cheap disposable cameras with no adjustable focus have. This may still be a good solution to the disappearing fish quandry though. If the picture is not quite as sharp as one focused prercisely on the fish it is better than no picture at all.

[JohnScott]

John, I think you may have eliminated the auto focus lag by putting the camera in landscape mode which probably means focus is locked at infinity. This would be the same setting as most cheap disposable cameras with no adjustable focus have. This may still be a good solution to the disappearing fish quandry though. If the picture is not quite as sharp as one focused prercisely on the fish it is better than no picture at all.

I wonder about the "infinity" thing since a LOT of the pics taken on "Landscape" are taken at somewhere around 18", maybe a bit more or less depending on the fish. For example.



I do suspect that the mode setting may predispose, if I may use that word, the camera to an almost immediate response to depressing the shutter release ?? Here's another example using the same mode in very similar lighting conditions but with a very different subject.



There was no shutter lag taking these or the other dozen or so shots I took today.

John

[rainbowchaser]

My bad... I should have said out to infinity. A fixed lens camera will usually shoot pictures from it's minimum focal distance out to infinity and I think that may be what happens when you set the camera on landscape. Instead of focusing on something the camera takes a picture with that set focal range. The manual for my Optio w20 only says that the depth of field encompasses a wide area in landscape mode so that is not much help in figuring out exactly what is happening and still might vary with your camera anyway. It would be interesting to see if you have a shutter delay in auto focus mode. I would guess that you probably will.

[Normand]

I think you should get yourself one !! I'm sure you will be delighted with the pics as well as how quickly the camera takes them ( except, of course, for the "recycle time" which I did describe as noticeable in one of my original posts, but not to the point of causing a problem by taking multiple pics of a lightly hooked, quickly landed and gently handled fish that was released, with revival if necessary, quickly. )

if you have success with whatever camera you are using, then i'm glad for you.

i'll stick with my nikon d40 dslr and my pentax optio w30 point and shoot for now.

[Sully]

Actually my comparison is valid. As I noted most DSLRs have no "perceptible" shutter lag, which is a correct statement. Most point and shoot digital cameras have a perceptible lag between the user depressing the shutter and the actual picture being taken; a correct statement. As the parent of two small very active children I can confirm this is the difference between a good shot and junk.

My point was that the shutter lag on my wife's digital camera is around 1 second. On my DSLR the shutter lag, measured in milliseconds (which is imperceptible), ensures that in the time she takes one shot I've taken 6; which is a valid comparison. I will freely admit these are two different things, but they do point to the major difference between point and shoot and DSLR cameras in the realm of shutter lag.

I agree...BIG difference between the newer DSLR's and most of the point -n-shoot digital cameras.

I, myself, will start looking for a pocket sized digital for vacation in the fall of 2010. Some are only about .7 thick...and thats what I want to carry in my vest pocket and I want it to be able to record live action VS JUST still pics. I GOT TO have a few live action clips of the wife landing a trout!

[Big Bad Wulff]

The only thing that needs to be focused is anything from 20 ft on in. If you are taking a photo of anything past 20 feet and the focus is set at infinity, there is no need for the camera to focus. Thus turning it off for distant photos should elicit faster shutter reaction time.

20 feet and beyond is "opitcal infinity".

Bill, the eye doc and too many optical physics courses later......................................

[DickM]

The only thing that needs to be focused is anything from 20 ft on in. If you are taking a photo of anything past 20 feet and the focus is set at infinity, there is no need for the camera to focus. Thus turning it off for distant photos should elicit faster shutter reaction time.

20 feet and beyond is "opitcal infinity".

Bill, the eye doc and too many optical physics courses later......................................

Big Bad Wolf ..........
"Optical infinity" would also depend on the f-stop used.
It could be as low as inches to infinity if a high enough f-stop was used. Not just twenty feet.
DickM.