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Bilder

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I think it is time to upgrade my 5 year old digital camera. I cannot even get memory cards for this old thing any more.

 

Been looking at the Canon A70. Seems that it has a good combination of functions and ease of use. Can use it as point and shoot or you can adjust the exposure and such if you want.

 

Anyone have this model? Do you like it? Would you reccomend another model with similar features? Would like to stay under 300 bucks.

 

Thanks for any input you can offer.

 

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I have never been lost. Been awful confused for a few days, but never lost!

N61.12.041 W149.43.734

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I've been looking for a digital (my first) for about two months and have done a lot of research. I had a list of criteria and the Canon A70 came out on top. It was the only camera I found in its price range that allowed for manual exposure adjustment. I also liked that it uses AA batteries instead of one of those $15 camera batteries. The only downside I found was that it was slightly larger than several other models I considered. The Nikon 3100 came in second on my list, but I nixed it because it didn't have the ability to manually control the exposure.

 

Now I just have to wait for my birthday, because it's to be a "surprise".

 

"Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry

 

[This message was edited by BrianSnat on August 15, 2003 at 04:07 AM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by Bilder:

I think it is time to upgrade my 5 year old digital camera. I cannot even get memory cards for this old thing any more.

 

Been looking at the Canon A70. Seems that it has a good combination of functions and ease of use. Can use it as point and shoot or you can adjust the exposure and such if you want.

 

Anyone have this model? Do you like it? Would you reccomend another model with similar features? Would like to stay under 300 bucks.

 

Thanks for any input you can offer.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have never been lost. Been awful confused for a few days, but never lost!

N61.12.041 W149.43.734


 

I use the Canon S400 and love it. 4 MP both point and shoot and settings. Short movies.

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nebraskache/

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I work overseas in some nasty environments and have to move around from place to place on some very strange means of transportation at times ... so compact and functional are really top of the list on each piece of equipment I carry. I've used Sony Cybershots for a few years and just upgraded to the P10 ... REALLY NICE ... in size and quality ... and the new batteries ... the FC11's replaces the FC10's ... which have more juice & seem to last forever ... well nearly two hours of use ... I just came off a four day San Francisco trip ... only used one battery. Last trip to south China ... I went through only two ... in three weeks ... and I'm a power user. I picked up a forth last week and will actually leave the charger at home ... this next trip to China. Anyway .. I'd reccmd it to anyone. It's not the cheapest ... but it's a pretty good compact 5.0 megapixel camera. My old P5 ... performs as good with the new batteries as well ... but it's only a 3.2 and is a tad larger.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------

Co-founder of the "NC/VA GEO-HOG ASSOCIATION"

... when you absolutely have to find it first!

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One thing I do like about my Dimage X, is the 2 Lithium Ion rechargeable batteries. I always carry one fully charged (takes less than an hour to fully charge), and one in the camera, they are small and last a long time on a charge, the Ricoh RDC 5000 I owned before that ate AA cells quickly 4 at a time, I will never buy a camera that only takes disposable batteries again (unless other features are overwhelmingly great).

 

_________________________________________________________

If trees could scream, would we still cut them down?

Well, maybe if they screamed all the time, for no reason.

Click here for my Geocaching pictures and Here (newest)

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I have a Canon S45. It is small and really heavy....it just feels well built. 4 mega pixels....and it has all the adjustments you would ever want to make. Plus it takes movies. It is more than $300 but you may be able to find it cheaper on ebay....or www.froogle.com (not google....floogle) If you haven't tried Froogle.com check it out because it is unreal!

 

Anyway the Canon S45 is better than any other digital I have played with. (but there are a lot of choices out there)

 

I also bought Adobe Photoshop Album and that is an awesome program as well. Check that out too if you get a chance.

 

Muskytooth

 

Never pet a burning dog......and never ever play leapfrog with a Unicorn.

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quote:
Originally posted by Bilder:

Been looking at the Canon A70. Seems that it has a good combination of functions and ease of use. Can use it as point and shoot or you can adjust the exposure and such if you want.

 

Anyone have this model? Do you like it? Would you reccomend another model with similar features? Would like to stay under 300 bucks.


My advice is GO FOR IT!! I based my research on a few things:

optics from a trusted company that's made cameras forever

being able to keep using my NiMH rechargable AA's

continuing use of CF memory cards

and

resolution and "zoomability"

I feel like I was really lucky to find the A60 and A70 in that "final list". "Mini movies", manual adjustment, special effects such as b/w and sepia, and panoramic "photo stitching" are just layers of quite tasty icing on the cake. I'm still learning about the camera, but got good stills out of it immediately, use the movie thing at a birthday celebration, and panoramas are really nice to have when you end up at a cache with a really scenic landscape. I'm amazed how long the batteries last, especially since I fiddle with the zoom a lot. It's still small enough for me to stuff in my pants pocket (but I have a little case that hangs on my pack strap that works well). IMO, your only decision is whether 2.1MP (A60) or 3.2MP (A70) is the right res for your use. I doubt you will find this camera on sale anywhere any time soon. It was a real challenge for me to find one in stock. But I'd say it is well worth the $299 price tag!

 

One other hint, assuming you purchase one: there are LCD screen protectors available, both soft and hard type; I suggest you get those as that is the only really vulnerable part of the camera. I got the hard type on eBay and feel like it is very good protection.

 

Happy Trails!

 

quote:
... I can quit any time I like ... really, I CAN!!

 

Candy (Moosiegirl)http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CentralTexasGeocachers/

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quote:
Originally posted by Bilder:

Been looking at the Canon A70. Seems that it has a good combination of functions and ease of use. Can use it as point and shoot or you can adjust the exposure and such if you want.

 

Anyone have this model? Do you like it? Would you reccomend another model with similar features? Would like to stay under 300 bucks.

 

Thanks for any input you can offer.


 

I'm back again. I remember seeing an ad in last Sunday's paper where someplace had the A70 bundled with a free 128MB CF card for the $299 price. Great deal, but I couldn't find the ad. icon_frown.gif It was one of the big electronics houses or an office place.)

 

Here is a good info page that I found:

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/getdigi/canpowa70.html

 

These are picture albums of a friend and mine; his is 100% A70 pictures, taken in Big Bend, TX; The pix in my "found" and in the "The Brits are Coming" albums were taken in the first few days I had it. They have all been reduced from original size in order to fit in the album. If you'd like to see an "original" or two, feel free to email me.

 

http://txhokie.instantlogic.com/

http://candylind.instantlogic.com/

 

quote:
... I can quit any time I like ... really, I CAN!!

 

Candy (Moosiegirl)http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CentralTexasGeocachers/

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I originally owned a Panasonic that I liked very much, but it had one characteristic that wound up driving me crazy to the point that I got rid of it for another camera. This is something that you rarely hear about, but for me it became a primary consideration, I'm talking about...

 

Shutter Lag.

 

Shutter lag is simply the time between when you press the shutter and the time when the camera actually takes the picture. All digital cameras have some amount of shutter lag and some have a much greater lag than others. It surprises me that it is so seldom mentioned. It drove me nuts not having the camera take the picture the instant I pressed the shutter. I got pretty good at panning to capture moving subjects, but you should have seen the impressive series of shots my wife tried to take of our granddaughter (a) diving into the pool and (:D swinging on the swingset! Lots of splashes, tops of heads and bottoms of feet, but no granddaughter!

 

My requirements when looking for a new camera became:

1. Shortest shutter lag I could find.

2. Uses standard size (AA) batteries - I'm convinced that NiMH rechargeables are the way to go - what happens ten years down the road when your proprietary batteries are no longer available?

3. Quality optics

4. At least 3 megpixel resolution.

 

I settled on the Minolta S304 and have been very happy with it. If I had it to do over again, I would probably have coughed up the extra bucks for a model with interchangeable lenses, but I would strongly advise you to check out the shutter lag on any camera you're thinking about if you intend to use it as your primary camera.

 

Peace,

Radical Geezer

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I was overseas with a few friends and one of them had a SONY CDMavica. Played with it for awhile and was convinced it was the one for me.

 

4.0 MP

CD-R/CD-RW

Still and video shots

Rechargeable battery good for over 2 hours consistant operation.

All the regular features, shutter speed, f-stop, etc...

 

A bit pricey, but they can be found cheaper. Being able to take out the CD, drop it in the computer drive and send pictures out on e-mails is a major bonus. icon_biggrin.gif

 

Frank

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Knowing nothing about a digital at all, I got my tax refund last year and purchased a Fujifilm finepix 3800, 3.2mp.

 

I'm tickled pink, as it has alot of features, including the video feed, which is real handy for taping the kids.

 

It is fairly lightweight and quite small, but I think it takes pretty good pics.

 

48511_5100.JPG

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Shutter lag...

 

Yeah...what's with this?

 

I have an old Kodak digital (4+ years I guess). I don't notice any shutter lag. You click, it takes the picture. The only terrible lag is the time it takes to write to the card.

 

I bought my parents a new Kodak (don't remember the model number, but it was 3MP or so). It has a very annoying lag! I thought it might have something to do with the flash (e.g. red-eye reduction), but even with the flash off there was an annoying lag.

 

WHY? WHY? WHY?

 

Is it in some low-power mode waiting for the power to "spin-up" before taking the picture? Why should my old camera be better in this regard?

 

George

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quote:
Originally posted by Romad_Pilot:

I was overseas with a few friends and one of them had a SONY CDMavica. Played with it for awhile and was convinced it was the one for me.

 

4.0 MP

CD-R/CD-RW

Still and video shots

Rechargeable battery good for over 2 hours consistant operation.

All the regular features, shutter speed, f-stop, etc...

 

A bit pricey, but they can be found cheaper. Being able to take out the CD, drop it in the computer drive and send pictures out on e-mails is a major bonus. icon_biggrin.gif

 

Frank


 

I have the CD300 and I love it. Media was my main concern. That camera delivers in spades. Mine listed everywhere for $1300 when I got it from Broadway Photo. That's bwayphoto.com. They always have the best prices. I got it for $720 and it arrived at my house 20 hours later. (That was July of 2001)

 

Snicon_razz.gificon_razz.gifgans

texasgeocaching_sm.gif Sacred cows make the best hamburger....Mark Twain.

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quote:
Originally posted by opey one:

Knowing nothing about a digital at all, I got my tax refund last year and purchased a Fujifilm finepix 3800, 3.2mp.

 

I'm tickled pink, as it has alot of features, including the video feed, which is real handy for taping the kids.

 

It is fairly lightweight and quite small, but I think it takes pretty good pics.

 


 

I'm with you, opey. Very happy with the camera, and the resulting pics. 6X Zoom is very cool.

 

globe.gif How much intelligence does it take to sneak up on a piece of tupperware?

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Nincehelser -

 

I copied the following from ACDSystems.com:

Digital Shutter Lag

Kris Butler and Stephen Canning

04-28-02

 

Do you want to capture action with your digital camera? When you're shooting fast-paced sports or moving subjects, keep in mind the effects of digital shutter lag. This is a common phenomenon in digital cameras that results in a delay between when you press the shutter-release button to take a picture and when the shutter actually opens. This lag time presents a challenge when trying to capture action at its peak using a digital camera.

 

For example, if you are photographing your friend finishing a running race and you push the button as soon as they run across the finish line, they may have run right out of the shot before the picture is taken.

 

Shutter lag happens because the camera has to perform several operations before the picture is taken, such as focusing, white balance setting and exposure metering. You can prevent shutter lag by performing some of these operations in advance. For instance, depressing the shutter release button half-way just before you take the shot will pre-focus the camera. Pre-focusing means the camera doesn't have to spend time focusing before taking the shot, so you will have less shutter lag.

 

When buying a camera, shutter lag should be one of the things you are asking about if you want to shoot a lot of action. Different models have different shutter lag times. With practice, you can learn to expect shutter lag, and push the button slightly before you want the shutter to open. It can be helpful to use your LCD screen when doing this, so that you can line up the shot and keep an eye on the action outside of the viewfinder. For example, when taking a photograph of your friend finishing the race, using your LCD screen may help you judge when to push the shutter-release button a few steps before your friend reaches the finish line.

 

---------------

 

The probable reason your old Kodak doesn't have much shutter lag is because it also probably doesn't have much shot preparation (focus, white balance, etc.) to do before it takes the picture. The more sophisticated lower end cameras have become, the more they have to do and the more shutter lag they can exhibit.

 

Another thing I didn't mention in my previous post that was a factor in my decision - and related to shutter lag - was recycle time. Many cameras have a maddening recycle time - the time between a shot and when the camera is ready for another shot. The Minolta S304 has a buffering feature that allows to to take 3 shots as fast as you can press the shutter. Then you have to wait a bit while those shots are stored. I know some of the pricier ones like the Dimage 5 can buffer as many as seven shots.

 

Again, the upshot is that if you really want to use your digital - especially for things like sports or action shots, shutter lag and recycle time should be two of your most important considerations.

 

Peace,

Radical Geezer

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That still doesn't sound right to me.

 

I understand the part about pressing half-way to get the focus and exposure settings taken care of...that makes sense. That's exactly the way my 35mm cameras work, too.

 

I couldn't seem to find the "half-depressed" option on the new Kodak. If there was one, there didn't seem to be any tactile feedback. My old Kodak has a definite half-pressed function, which is why I guess it seems normal to me.

 

But still...assuming the focusing and exposure settings have been taken care of by half-depressing, it doesn't seem right to have such a long lag. Using the LCD preview on the new Kodak seemed to help, but not much.

 

Frustrating......

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If Rad Geez's post is true (and I have no reason to believe it isnt), shutter lag isn't only a problem with digital cameras. Similar things occur with sophisticated, point and shoot 35mm cameras.

 

With my 35mm point and shoots, if the camera can't focus, there is a delay until it can. This is why I've always preferred manual 35mm cameras (I have a half dozen Minolta SRTs).

 

I think this factor is just another one in favor of the Canon A70. Having manual overrides could take some of the variables that the camera has to calculate out of the process. For example, if you set the shutter speed and ap, the camera only has to focus. If you set the shutter speed, it only has to worry about the ap and focus and if you focus it yourself, it only has to worry about setting the exposure.

 

"Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry

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BrianSnat -

 

All you have to do to find out how true it is, is to do a search on the term "shutter lag". Two factors with a digital I can think of that you don't have with a film camera that might contribute to shutter lag:

1. Setting white balance (this is taken care of at the processing lab with a film camera).

2. Charging the CCD.

 

I'm pretty much amazed that more people here in the forum aren't aware of - let alone been extremely frustrated by - shutter lag. If all you use your camera for is landscxape and scenery shots, you may never notice it. On the other hand, if you're shooting anything involving action, shutter lag may eventually prompt you to give up on digital cameras altogether.

 

Want to test your camera for shutter lag? Simple. Try getting a good, centered shot of a child on a swing. Or a seagull flying by. Better yet, set up a "finish line" situation such as this: position yourself beside a street and try to capture a car as it passes a given stationary object on the other side of the street. Keep the camera pointed at the stationary object and don't pan (panning is following a moving object - the car - with the camera as you take the shot). With a digital camera, if you haven't panned, you'll be lucky if you get any portion of the car in the shot.

 

One of the instances that made me fully aware of the shutter lag with my previous camera (the Panasonic) was when the wife and I went sailing on one of the tall ships - the Hawaiian Chieftain - in San Diego bay, where we took on other tall ships in a mock cannon battle. I wanted a shot of the ship's cannon going off showing the flash and puffat the instant the cannon fired. Took me about a dozen shots until I could anticipate well enough to get what I wanted. Obviously, if the instant I wanted to capture was a one-time occurence, I would have been completely out of luck.

129252_1100.JPG

 

My personal opinion is that major shutter lag exists in digital cameras simply because consumers have permitted the camera manufacturers to get away with it. As more and more people have converted (or tried to convert) to digital photography, the demand from consumers who really do want a digital camera that behaves as well as a film SLR is finally forcing the manufacturers to address a problem they should have resolved early on. The "half depressed" shutter is a rather shoddy attempt at a solution, and it will probably be another year or so at least before we see many lower end (less than $500) digital cameras being offered with little or no shutter lag.

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I bought an A70 in June. It was on sale at Gateway.com for $250 with no sales tax and free shipping. I had it in my hands within 4 days of ordering. I've had absolutely no problems with it yet, and it takes beautiful pictures. I'd recommend it to anyone. You can't beat it for the price.

 

The empty can rattles the most...

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I just got a Canon Powershot A70 about 1 month ago. I waited over two months for it . Everybody and I mean EVERYBODY had them on Backorder. Canon just couldn't keep up with the demand. I finally got it. I was supposedly on the waiting list at about #100 but I managed to charm store clerk into bumping me up to "NEXT" icon_biggrin.gif and he called me as soon as he got a couple of them in.

I do liike it so far. It is my first digital so I don't have anything to compare it to but

I like its compactness and the way it feels when you hold onto it. It seems perfect for me and it does have options of manual settings which I want to experiment with...

Overall I'm enjoying it.

The best price I found was at "Best Buy"

 

"A bad day of caching is still better than a good day at work"

 

~Foxgloves~

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We just got a Canon S400. Very small, 3x optical zoom, 4MP , little or no shutter lag! It also takes movies.

 

We really like it for caching since it is so small annd light it just drops in your pocket. It also has a manual mode with tons of options.

 

Oh almost forgot. It has a Panaoramic mode. The LCD helps you fram shot to shot and then the supplied software stitches everything together.

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DSCP10.jpg

 

Another thing I like about the Sony Cybershot P10 is the setting to bracket a shot with 3 different exposures ... and to shoot multiple frames so you are less likely to miss a quick action shot.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------

Co-founder of the "NC/VA GEO-HOG ASSOCIATION"

... when you absolutely have to find it first!

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I own a Minolta DiMAGE S404. It takes really nice pictures (4 megapixels) and with a good size memory card I can take hundreds of pictures. It's a touch on the large size in that I've been having a problem finding a way to cary it on or in my CamelBak pack in such a way that it is not only comfortable but easily accessable. It was highly rated by Consumer Reports (which is why my wife directed me to get this one).

 

I have been very pleased with it. That is, until it broke out of warranty. It's costing me nearly half the price of the camera to repair. I think that's a common complaint about digital cameras.

 

As a backup, I purchased a Mustek gSm@rt mini 3. It will hold about 30 2meg pictures and would almost fit in an Altoids tin. It cost me under $100 at thinkgeek.com and I consider it a 'throwaway'. It's good for simple snapshots and is so small that I can carry it everywhere. If it breaks, I'm not out a bunch of money.

 

Pentax makes a camera that is absolutely the best of both worlds. The Optio S is a 3meg camera with an optical zoom. will take memory cards and leterally fits inside an Altoids tin. The drawback is the nearly $400 price tag. There is serious Geek-Factor though in opening up an Altoids tin and there being a digital camera inside. If I hadn't already purchased the Minolta, I would have seriously considered this one.

 

89355_500.gif

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Olympus is by far my favorite camera brand.

 

However, taking AA batteries is a must for me and something I'd encourage you to keep in mind when making the purchase.

 

It's a must for me because I forget to charge the stupid camera battery and then I'm out of batteries for the day. With AA's I can stop at the gas station for more if I need or pay $40 for two at Disney if it means I get pics.

 

--------

trippy1976 - Team KKF2A

Assimilating golf balls - one geocache at a time.

Flat_MiGeo_A88.gif

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I've got an A70 and am happy with it too. I don't consider myself much above an amateur photographer, but should I decide to try to learn a few more things, the A70 is flexible enough with its manual settings. Like others have said, the fact that it uses standard AA batteries is a nice feature.

 

I have a gallery online, but I see that Moosiegirl has already mentioned it above!

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I have an A40 also and like it. I do experience some shutter lag as described above, hover it all seems flash related. Taking outside shot without the flash there is no noticable sutter lag.

 

Edit: I have the A40

 

[This message was edited by mkohel on August 20, 2003 at 10:28 AM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by Alan2:

Great picture Rocketman! Yeah I liked my 230 that lost and I guess I'm looking forward to replacing it with the 400 but kinda short of cash right now. I suppose if I wait a little, Canon will be out with the 500 in the same size box!


I hope they don't come out with a 500 too soon. If they do, I will be tempted to go out and buy one. RM
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I own the olympus c-700 Ultrazoom and have no complaints except for lack of a remote shutter release option. Yes it is only 2.1mp and I think someone else mentined it eating batteries, the Olypmus is not the only cam that eats cells for lunch. I recommend getting energizer E2 batteries. A bit more expensive but they last a heck of a lot longer compared to AA's. Even with the extra cost, you come out ahead.

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The lag can also be attributed to the fully "auto" feature on all cams. With some practice and patience have gotten used to the delay. Plus switching to man mode and locking the exposure really does wonders for increasing the chance of grabbing that once in a lifetime shot.

 

quote:
Originally posted by radical geezer:

BrianSnat -

 

All you have to do to find out how true it is, is to do a search on the term "shutter lag". Two factors with a digital I can think of that you don't have with a film camera that might contribute to shutter lag:

1. Setting white balance (this is taken care of at the processing lab with a film camera).

2. Charging the CCD.

 

I'm pretty much amazed that more people here in the forum aren't aware of - let alone been extremely frustrated by - shutter lag. If all you use your camera for is landscxape and scenery shots, you may never notice it. On the other hand, if you're shooting anything involving action, shutter lag may eventually prompt you to give up on digital cameras altogether.

 

Want to test your camera for shutter lag? Simple. Try getting a good, centered shot of a child on a swing. Or a seagull flying by. Better yet, set up a "finish line" situation such as this: position yourself beside a street and try to capture a car as it passes a given stationary object on the other side of the street. Keep the camera pointed at the stationary object and don't pan (panning is following a moving object - the car - with the camera as you take the shot). With a digital camera, if you haven't panned, you'll be lucky if you get any portion of the car in the shot.

 

One of the instances that made me fully aware of the shutter lag with my previous camera (the Panasonic) was when the wife and I went sailing on one of the tall ships - the Hawaiian Chieftain - in San Diego bay, where we took on other tall ships in a mock cannon battle. I wanted a shot of the ship's cannon going off showing the flash and puffat the instant the cannon fired. Took me about a dozen shots until I could anticipate well enough to get what I wanted. Obviously, if the instant I wanted to capture was a one-time occurence, I would have been completely out of luck.

http://img.Groundspeak.com/user/129252_1100.JPG

 

My personal opinion is that major shutter lag exists in digital cameras simply because consumers have permitted the camera manufacturers to get away with it. As more and more people have converted (or tried to convert) to digital photography, the demand from consumers who really do want a digital camera that behaves as well as a film SLR is finally forcing the manufacturers to address a problem they should have resolved early on. The "half depressed" shutter is a rather shoddy attempt at a solution, and it will probably be another year or so at least before we see many lower end (less than $500) digital cameras being offered with little or no shutter lag.


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