Quicker photos?

[JerseyGirl114]

I hoping someone can help me out.

I have a Sony Cybershot 5.0 mega pixels (purchased back in early 2004).
It takes great pictures, however sometimes the wait in between pictures can take a while. Normally this isn't a big deal, but while others are waiting in line behind us at a character meet & greet it could become a problem.

Also, sometimes after taking a shot, if you take another right afterwards (before it's actually ready) the next pic comes out really blurry (obviously because the camera wasn't ready) but I'm afraid a CM might take them too fast & I'll end up with a bunch of blurry pics!

Can anyone tell me which settings I need to play around with?

There is a feature which takes a series of 3 quick pics, however I've tried using this many times while at both soccer & softball games and they've never come out good at all!

 

[fitzperry]

The problem you're having is called shutter lag, and it is an issue, to varying degrees, on virtually all digital cameras except dslr's. In fact, it was one of the primary reasons I switched to a dslr. It has to do with the processes that the camera must go through in order to focus and relase the shutter (which explains why your second shot tends to be blurry--i.e., the camera didn't focus properly). Manufacturers have improved on this recently, and it is less of a problem in many newer models. I don't know how your particular camera compares, but unless you're in the market for a new one, I suppose it really doesn't matter.

As far as what you can do to minimize the problem, someone else will probably be able to offer better advice than I, but low light situations make it more difficult for the camera to focus, so do your best to take pictures in good light. I'm not familiar with that camera, but I assume it has several scene or shooting modes--i.e., a sports mode indicated by a little figure that appears to be running, a portrait mode indicated by a woman with a hat, etc. The sports mode will boost the ISO if necessary to give you a quick enough shutter speed to avoid blur (of course, the higher ISO will make your images somewhat grainy--it's a trade-off). Also, check your owner's manual to see if it offers any tips. And, I may be mistaken about this one, but I think that turning off the lcd and using the optical viewfinder is quicker too.

Good luck!

 

[Caitsmama]

Ok, just a shot here, do you have it set so that you see each pic after you take it and then you decide to keep it (record it) or delete it?IF that is the case, that is what is taking longer..
I also have a sony, and for a while, i had it set so that i could manually decide at each photo to keep it or delete it, and you have to wait for each photo to record before taking another..
There is a way to shut this off, and as i did.. now photos can be taken very quickly.. and just go in and delete bad ones later..
Then again, this might not even be your case.. but that's all i have to offer! LOL

 

[JerseyGirl114]

Shutter lag...I knew there was a name for it. Still doesn't help my problem any though. The owners manual wasn't any help for this situation that's why I posted here. A new camera is out of the question at this point in time also

I just tried taking some sample pics with the lcd off & it really didn't make that much of a difference. It does not automatically take me back to the previous pic either. I have to do that manually.

I will play around with it some more on the drive down there (17-19 hours, should be enough time right? )

 

[fitzperry]

There is one other tip I've seen that I forgot to mention in my other post and that is to prefocus the camera by pressing the shutter button halfway before you snap the picture. Of course, that takes time too, but the shutter will release pretty much immediately when you press it the rest of the way. The other thing I can suggest is to take a lot of pictures and get used to the lag. When I was using our point and shoot, I had a feel for how long it would take and would snap pictures in anticipation of the delay. Took me a little while to get used to the slr, in fact.

Have a great trip!

 

[JerseyGirl114]

The other thing I can suggest is to take a lot of pictures and get used to the lag. When I was using our point and shoot, I had a feel for how long it would take and would snap pictures in anticipation of the delay. Took me a little while to get used to the slr, in fact.

Have a great trip!

That's just it, I'm used to the lag. I don't get every shot, but the ones I do get are usually pretty good. I'm just worried that the CM taking a shot might not wait long enough, and then I'll end up with blurry pics.

Our first family trip there was only ONE pic of me out of about 500. I only noticed this as I put together the scrapbook! So this time I want to be in some of them also & that means leaving the picture taking to some CMs.

I guess I will make sure I walk over to the character slowly so the camera has a chance to set itself again!

 

[Anewman]

the wait in between pictures can take a while.

The problem you're having is called shutter lag,

Good luck!

Not that it matters but shutter lag is the amount of time between the shutter being pressed and the actual picture being captured.

Some refer to the wait in between a shot and being able to capture the next shot as "reload time".

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I'm a little confused. Is the problem that it takes to long from the moment you press the shutter button until the photo has been taken? That's shutter lag and walking slowly won't help it at all.

If the problem is that once you have taken one shot, it takes a long time before the camera is ready to take another shot, shutter lag is not your problem. I would normally suggest trying a faster memory card to see if that helps at all, but your description makes the problem sound so severe that I suspect something else is wrong. I think Caitsmama may be on to something.

 

[fitzperry]

Not that it matters but shutter lag is the amount of time between the shutter being pressed and the actual picture being captured.

Some refer to the wait in between a shot and being able to capture the next shot as "reload time".

Now that you mention it, I think I misread the original post. My bad.

 

[JerseyGirl114]

If the problem is that once you have taken one shot, it takes a long time before the camera is ready to take another shot, shutter lag is not your problem. I would normally suggest trying a faster memory card to see if that helps at all, but your description makes the problem sound so severe that I suspect something else is wrong. I think Caitsmama may be on to something.

That is the problem. Mind you in reality it isn't that long of a wait, generally 10 seconds or so, but when taking pics at say a softball or soccer game (which I try to do every weekend) is a challenge to say the least!

I have several memory sticks (32mb which came w/the camera, 2 128mg & 1 1gig) I haven't used the 1 gig yet, I will try that out and see if it makes a difference.

 

[Anewman]

Also using higher rated rechargables, may help with reload times when using flash.