Another Noob Digital Camera Question (no delay when you press the picture button)

[drakethib]

I am looking for a digital camera for my wife that does not have a delay when you press the button to take the picture (ok I told you I was a camera noob).

We have a Kodak digital camera that takes good picture but we have missed some good pictures as there seems to be a delay when you hit the picture button.

Would like to keep it under $1000.00 but cheaper would be better. Not real big on changing lenses and stuff.

Help a camera noob please.

Thanks

 

[Master Mason]

What you are experiencing is called shutter lag.

To really get rid of it, your looking at a DSLR. Some of the Bridge cameras might be better as well, but I don't have any experience with them.

When your looking at cameras, that should be one of the stats they list.

 

[Amy]

Most cameras have a short delay due to the auto-focus. If you're talking about the delay between pictures, that's usually either the flash recycling (can't do much about that) or the delay while the camera display shows the picture you just took. You can probably shorten the amount of time that the picture is displayed, but you'll probably still have a bit of lag time.

I recently got a Canon S3 IS (under $400), and when it's set in certain modes (like the Sports mode) it has a continuous shutter - as long as you hold the shutter button, it'll take a picture every 1.5 seconds. It doesn't waste time displaying the last picture taken, just keeps on taking pictures. I've only used it outdoors; I very much doubt that it'll work indoors with a flash due to the time needed for the flash to recycle.

 

[drakethib]

The issue I have is when you first take a picture.

I am guessing shutter lag as one responder mentioned.

 

[drakethib]

What you are experiencing is called shutter lag.

To really get rid of it, your looking at a DSLR. Some of the Bridge cameras might be better as well, but I don't have any experience with them.

When your looking at cameras, that should be one of the stats they list.

DSLR? Is that a type of camera?

Sorry I really dont know anything about cameras

 

[Master Mason]

DSLR is Digital Single Lens Reflex. They are the cameras that allow you to change lenes, but they also have the faster shutter speeds, quicker refresh times etc.

There are several makers, canon, nikon, pentax, sony etc. It seams to me that the vast majority of folks that have them have either Nikon or Canon. The couple of people here that have the Pentax seam to be very happy with them as well.

Take a look at the Canon Rebel XT or XTi the i is the latest and greatest. The xt can be had a little cheaper. The Nikon, I would think your looking at the D50 or D70. In the pentax look at the I think it is K100 but I could be wrong.

These are entry level dSLRs they are very good cameras and will let you shoot most anything you ever want. They all have auto modes on them that will let you get a lot out of them without having to learn a lot about cameras if you don't want to.

If you go that route, don't buy it with the kit lens. Just get the body only and then get a lens that will give you some range. either an 18-125 or even an 18-200. When and if you have decided on a body then we can offer some recomendations on the lens as every maker is a little different on what they have availible to them. But this will give you a nice walk around lens so you won't have to worry about changing them and you can get most any shot you would want to take.

 

[drakethib]

DSLR is Digital Single Lens Reflex. They are the cameras that allow you to change lenes, but they also have the faster shutter speeds, quicker refresh times etc.

There are several makers, canon, nikon, pentax, sony etc. It seams to me that the vast majority of folks that have them have either Nikon or Canon. The couple of people here that have the Pentax seam to be very happy with them as well.

Take a look at the Canon Rebel XT or XTi the i is the latest and greatest. The xt can be had a little cheaper. The Nikon, I would think your looking at the D50 or D70. In the pentax look at the I think it is K100 but I could be wrong.

These are entry level dSLRs they are very good cameras and will let you shoot most anything you ever want. They all have auto modes on them that will let you get a lot out of them without having to learn a lot about cameras if you don't want to.

If you go that route, don't buy it with the kit lens. Just get the body only and then get a lens that will give you some range. either an 18-125 or even an 18-200. When and if you have decided on a body then we can offer some recomendations on the lens as every maker is a little different on what they have availible to them. But this will give you a nice walk around lens so you won't have to worry about changing them and you can get most any shot you would want to take.

Thank you

 

[brack]

I have the Canon Rebel(original) and the XTi. Both are great cameras for under $1,000. You'll never regret the investment.

When I bought the XTi I handed down my Rebel to my wife. She is hooked now.

 

[jann1033]

Thank you

you can go to here: http://www.steves-digicams.com/best_cameras.html and read the reviews, they also have a glossary of digispeak words

there are a couple point and shoots with pretty good lack of shutter lag ..i know he mentions that point in most reviews. that is however one of the main reasons i got a dslr but it does have more of a learning curve if you have never used a slr camera before and the lenses can add up the $$

 

[extreme8]

DSLR is Digital Single Lens Reflex. They are the cameras that allow you to change lenes, but they also have the faster shutter speeds, quicker refresh times etc.

Take a look at the Canon Rebel XT or XTi the i is the latest and greatest. The xt can be had a little cheaper. The Nikon, I would think your looking at the D50 or D70. In the pentax look at the I think it is K100 but I could be wrong.

The D50 has a shutter lag time (focus lock to shutter release) of 114 milliseconds. The D70 is no longer in production but is still a great camera and can be found at really reasonable prices right now - 106 milliseconds and the latest D80 is right at 80ms. It also has a faster auto focus system than the others.
All 3 of these will shoot at 3 frames per second.

 

[ukcatfan]

The couple of people here that have the Pentax seam to be very happy with them as well.

In the pentax look at the I think it is K100 but I could be wrong.

I am one of the Pentax users that is very happy with it. It has less megapixels than the Canons, but at 6MP, it is more than enough for my needs. I also like the "feel" of the Pentax in my hands better than the other brands. They are also on the less expensive side for a DSLR, but still very good. In general, all DSLRs are better than point & shoot cameras. Currently Pentax offers the K110D, K100D, and the K10D in ascending price order. The K100D and K110D are basically the same camera, but the 100 has image stabilization which helps reduce camera shake and it costs about $100 more.

The best thing to do is go out and try these out in a store to see which brand works the best for you. Every brand has a variety of lenses to choose from. Sigma and Tamron are some third party lens brands that seem to work well and cost less than the name brand in most cases.

Kevin

 

[StrwLady]

Look into this camera Fuji s9100.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?loc=111&sku=202984421

So far I have read nothing but good about it. One if the features that I think will fit you well is the lens. The zoom lens that is part of the camera is equivalent to a DSLR 28mm to 300mm zoom lens. You can use both auto focus and manual focus on the lens. The shutter delay is 1/100th of a sec. (quoting that from memory so double check that number)

Here is a virtual tour of the camera.

http://syndicate.tentoe.com/fuji/74...LEC&subcat=Digital+Cameras&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

It shows the s9000 the 9100 is the newer version of the 9000. Here is a review of the 9000 with good pictures of the camera

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/s9000.html


I currently have a S5200 and sadly knocked it over and it fell face down. At first thought it was ok and later realized the zoom is messed up. I have decided to forgo trying to get it repaired and upgrading to the 9100. I totally LOVE the 5200 and I know I will go nuts over the 9100.

So add this one to your list and check it out!

 

[boBQuincy]

The camera manufacturers are learning, and some of the shutter release times being thrown around for newer p&s models look suspect to me. Not that the manufacturers would mislead us, just that they might set things up to optimize the test.

Test numbers aside, for quick operation there is still nothing that can touch a dSLR. To me, it's like the p&s is an electronic device that takes pictures, while the dSLR is a camera that doesn't use film. The difference is quite a lot.

Please don't flame me for that, I have, and use, a couple p&s cameras but they do have their limitations.

 

[jann1033]

The camera manufacturers are learning, and some of the shutter release times being thrown around for newer p&s models look suspect to me. Not that the manufacturers would mislead us, just that they might set things up to optimize the test.

Test numbers aside, for quick operation there is still nothing that can touch a dSLR. To me, it's like the p&s is an electronic device that takes pictures, while the dSLR is a camera that doesn't use film. The difference is quite a lot.

Please don't flame me for that, I have, and use, a couple p&s cameras but they do have their limitations.

my bold
but i have to agree which is why it took me so long to get a digital camera period. the point and shoots just were not the same although naturally they have gotten better over the yrs( ie picture quality in particular) and i guess i never had even thought of a digital slr till i came on the dis( figuring they were way out of my price league....hmmm,thinking of the $$$$ spent so far, is that good or bad ) and my camera( film slr) broke beyond repair.

but it does depend on what you feel you really need and what isn't as important to you

 

[Graeme]

Drakethib,

I'm assuming you want a family, pocketsized camera to take holiday and occasion pictures. Take the Canon Ixus(Powershot in US range). Four years ago the shutter lag, (delay from pressing the button to the picture being taken), was a good second to two seconds. The latest ones are about 0.2 seconds and the start up time, (switching on to being able to take pictures), has gone from 4-5 seconds down to under a second. www.dpreview.com has good reviews of all types of camera and has all these timings listed.
My point is, don't think you need to buy a big DSLR to improve lag and recycle times.

 

[Groucho]

Based on the OP's needs, I would lean away from a DSLR and towards a higher-quality PnS - the two "big ones" are the Sony and the Canon at the moment, but if you don't need high zoom (or even if you do), there are probably several others that aren't mentioned as often.

No camera truly has "zero" shutter lag, unless it is set in a fully manual mode (or at least, manual focus.) DSLRs are generally faster but in "auto" mode, the camera still has to meter (which is more or less instant) and focus (which generally isn't) - and the darker it is, the harder it is for any camera to focus. Full manual mode would be where you're preset everything so that camera just fires the shutter without having to adjust focus, exposure, etc.

The easy workaround is just to prepare for a shot by pressing the shutter half-way, this presets the exposure and focus, so that even the slower cameras will be able to take the picture almost immediately after the full press. Obviously this is not always possible, especially if your subjects are moving quickly (kids, animals, etc.) But whenever possible, it's good to do this, whether shooting with a PnS or DSLR.

 

[boBQuincy]

One of the key factors of focus speed on a dSLR is the lens, they are not all equal and some are *much* faster than others.

I am familiar with Canon so that is what I am using as a reference. Canon's "L" series lenses all (or almost all) use the ultrasonic motor for very fast focusing speed. The wider aperture also contributes to more accurate and fast focusing. Even among "L" series the focusing speed varies considerably, check reviews to find the winners.

Other lenses, including some of Canon's, can focus slowly and "hunt" for the focus point, takingmuch more time to lock on to a subject.
If your dSLR is not focusing as quickly as you expected, take a look at the lens first, the good ones are *very* fast.

 

[SplshMtn99]

I agree that based on needs, that a really nice point & shoot (PnS) sounds right.

Not everyone has the desire or time to learn all the stuff about dSLRs.

I'm enjoying my Canon S3 IS. And compared to 2 other Olympus digital cameras I've owned since 1999, it really has practically no shutter lag. Nothing of great concern anyway. It says 1/10th of a second, but says most of that is in time for shot to re-appear on screen after taken.

Check out the reviews on "Steve's" back given earlier in thread.

 

[Groucho]

My old Minolta Z5 was extraordinarily fast in focusing and shooting - it was pretty standout in that regard (fastest in its class at the time, last summer) - too bad about the image noise problems. But PnSs certainly can do very well in this regard nowadays.

I don't disagree with Bob's feeling on a PnS vs a DSLR, but at the end of the day, many PnSs can produce some very nice pictures with little effort.

 

[Anewman]

Regardless of the camera you end up purchasing there are ways to live with and improve shutter lag.

1. Half press the shutter button a few seconds b4 you actually take the picture, focusing and metering should be ready for when you decide to take the picture.

2. Try to focus on something contrasty, auto focus will not hunt as much. Put the center point on the most contrasty item in the frame, half press the shutter, recompose and shoot.