Need help with terminology

[Nazran]

I am looking for a new camera and what should I be looking for when it comes to two things that bug me about previous cameras I have owned.

1. I am looking for a camera that has the shortest amount of time between power on and taking a picture. Is there a term for that?

2. I am also looking at a camera that doesn't take very long to take the picture, save the picture, and be ready to take another picture.

Does this make sense?

I guess I am looking for speed related issues. I see my kid doing something cute, I turn on camera, and take picture before he stops being cute and returns to being a monster.

Thanks!

 

[GrillMouster]

Startup Time is the time it takes for the camera to power up from the moment you turn it on.

Shutter Lag is the time is takes for the shutter to actually release after you press the shutter release button.

Shutter speed is how fast the shutter actually remains open during an exposure.

When you're looking for cameras, you'll be interested in the first two, startup time & shutter lag. DSLRs will have shorter startup time and shorter shutter lag (virtually instantaneous) than point-and-shoots. However, if a DSLR is too big for you to lug around, then it will have the biggest delay of all -- how long it takes you to run home and grab the camera.

 

[mom2rtk]

if a DSLR is too big for you to lug around, then it will have the biggest delay of all -- how long it takes you to run home and grab the camera.

I do understand your first one. I have a DSLR, but keep a P & S in my purse and that thing seems to take forever just to come on!

 

[seashoreCM]

I am not sure what the term is for the time from taking a picture while it saves the picture and gets ready to take the next picture.

But in many cases this time delay can be shortened if you select a shorter "review" time, or the time the last picture is shown on the screen before the screen goes back to viewfinder mode.

Some camera users have reported that, as the memory card fills up, (don't recall which camera and card brands) the aforementioned time delay gets longer.

On some cameras the shutter lag is shorter when you select infinity lock (which also restricts you to subjects quite far away although they can still be zoomed in on).

 

[GrillMouster]

Thanks for bringing that stuff up, SeashoreCM.

As for image review (where the picture you just took appears on the LCD screen), on some cameras just pressing the shutter release button halfway will immediately take you out of review so you can take your next picture. You don't have to wait for the camera to finish review on its own. By the way, turning off review or reducing the time the image stays on the screen for review (if your camera allows this) can increase your battery life.

Another delay between shots can be caused by the write speed of the camera and the memory card. Ideally you'll get a card with a write speed that is at least as fast as your camera is capable of writing. Anything faster than that won't benefit you when you're taking pictures. Some cameras have internal memory that's used as a buffer to temporarily store images until the camera has a chance to write them to the card. This buffer may allow you to take a few shots in rapid succession until the buffer fills up.

Another delay can be caused by battery or flash refresh. You'll really notice this on a point-and-shoot using the onboard flash. It can take several seconds for the flash to recharge, and the camera may not allow you to take another picture until the flash is recharged. Sometimes you'll be albe to take another picture immediately, but it may be underexposed because the flash hasn't fully recharged. As batteries get drained the refresh time will increase.