Shortest Shutter Lag

[DrSteve]

Like everyone who has moved from SLRD towards digital the shutter lag is a pain - although it's much beter now than it ever was.

Anyone have any knowledge of which of the commonly used digital compacts (for underwater use) have the shortest shutter lag?

I'm figuring that my next camera will depend on that parameter rather than brand.

 

[Hoosier]

You know that the shortest shutter lag means a high end and the most expensive camera in the market. The shutter lag is a big concerns in the digital camera. Sorry, I can't help you that much though...

 

[dbeedle]

Like everyone who has moved from SLRD towards digital the shutter lag is a pain - although it's much beter now than it ever was.

Anyone have any knowledge of which of the commonly used digital compacts (for underwater use) have the shortest shutter lag?

I'm figuring that my next camera will depend on that parameter rather than brand.

Sea & Sea DX-3000, 5000 and 8000 (3, 5 and 8 MP) use Ricoh Caplio cameras. Ricoh claims the shortest shutter lag going for each. I own a 3000 and 5000 and they are quick but, I haven't used others to actually compare. the reviews I have seen on each, though, back up the claim.

 

[RonFrank]

Like everyone who has moved from SLRD towards digital the shutter lag is a pain - although it's much beter now than it ever was.

Anyone have any knowledge of which of the commonly used digital compacts (for underwater use) have the shortest shutter lag?

I'm figuring that my next camera will depend on that parameter rather than brand.

The Ricoh camera's in the Sea&Sea DX camera's have one of the shortest shutter lags as advertised. Can not comment about if they perform as advertised.

Shutter lag in these little monsters seems to be an issue that is VERY difficult to conquer. Any reason NOT to go with a DSLR if lag is your primary concern?

Others that have some of the BEST shutter lag are: Oly 8080, and the Sony DSC-V3. But *BEST* is about .3 seconds MAX.

Actually shutter lag is really not the issue, but rather focus lag. These things generally fire in less than .1 secs once they are ready to fire, but may can take over .5 second s to lock focus... preflash will also add delay.

So some users focus manually, and the delay is minimal.. however I'm betting they end up with OOF images as these little wonders are NOT easy to manually focus based on my experience.

 

[DrSteve]

Shutter lag in these little monsters seems to be an issue that is VERY difficult to conquer. Any reason NOT to go with a DSLR if lag is your primary concern?

Oh yes...the price of a DLSR, lenses and of course the butt expensive housing. A compact will do what I want just fine, I'd just like to get one with shutter lag on the low end, so I can be a little more spontaneous.

 

[D_B]

If I remember correctly the DX 5000 is .13 and the DX 8000 is .11 sec. from the first push of the button till the shutter fires (in other words , total time needed to start of picture) ... advertised as the fastest out there

DB

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I agree that it's the auto focus lag that causes more of a problem than shutter lag. I have found selecting full time auto focus helps in most situation, but it is hard on batteries.

 

[Kim]

You can reduce it a bit by shooting in "Sport" mode. IT's not perfect but it is better.

Another thing that you can do is preset some focus lengths and rely on the DOF to hold the focus. These presets can be stored in the User modes.

 

[jlyle]

Don't forget the redheaded cousin to shutter lag, "autowind" lag. How long does it take to write the image to memory before you can take another shot; this is very impotant if shooting RAW format.

 

[ReyeR]

Also remember that published shutter / focus lag times are mostly under ideal lighting conditions. In low light most of them will still 'hunt'. I remember I did comparisons in low light between a C5050, C5060 and C8080 and TBH the improvement was too little to actually make a difference when applied to actual photography. Also look out for times published for tests for full-wide non-macro shots as they will be different for full-tele macro work.

Re: the Ricoh cameras, while the s/f lag times are very good it would be wise not to choose a camera on s/f lag times alone and also consider other features important for underwater photography.

Half-press pre-focus and a good spotting light are your PnS's best friend underwater....