Looking for faster shutter speed - no delay in point and shoot!?!?

[kimjordan]

Hi - I have a Pentax Optio w20 that I bought for my husband who is into water sports. I have not enjoyed this camera whatsoever. I have tried what seems to be every setting and can not get it to just shoot and capture a shot immediately. It seems there is a few second delay no matter what setting I use. I am desperately looking for a camera that just points and shoots - no delay. I am a beginner -- looking for digital -- rechargable battery use -- money not as big a deal as quality. I was looking at the Canon S5 IS or the Canon A640 -- but am not stuck on Canon. I just need some input!
I have newborn twins and feel like I can never capture anything because every camera takes so freaking long...
Thx in advance for anyone's thoughts,
~Kim

[kimjordan]

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible. max: $4-500

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you? doesn't matter - quality more imp

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? at least 6

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify) ultrazoom would be nice

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10) 9-10

Do you care for manual controls? maybe some but want user/beginner friendly

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for? portraits, outdoors, action

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? 8x10 usu biggest

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? yes

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? yes

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate? not thrilled with pentax digital so far --- looking at Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Kodak....

Are there particular models you already have in mind? canon 35IS or a640

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD) i just want something that points and shoots right away with no delay!!!

[griptape]

No point and shoot is instant like a film camera. Having said that, the S3 is among the fastest point and shoots I've used.

[kimjordan]

the s3 is the smaller version of the s5 right? when you say fast - are we talking like one second? three?
thx for responding!

[David Metsky]

The main thing you are looking for, no shutter lag, doesn't exist in a P&S camera. All of them will spend time hunting for focus and figuring out shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. You can do things to reduce that lag, mainly pre-focusing the camera on your subject. This is hard to do with moving objects but will give you the biggest win.

Having said that, I agree with griptape that the Canon S3 IS is a good choice. It's not fantastic at low light but I think is the best all around ultrazoom. If you really are going to be shooting a lot of low light situations, the Fuji S6000 may be a better choice.

[David Metsky]

the s3 is the smaller version of the s5 right? when you say fast - are we talking like one second? three?
thx for responding!
No, the S3 is the previous version of the current S5. They are essentially the same camera, the S5 has a hotshoe and the newer Digic-III chip.

It all depends on how you use the camera, how fast it will shoot. In low light, if you just push the shutter button with no prep it will take a while (.5 sec? to 1 sec?, dunno) for the camera to focus and fire. If you pre-focus and set the ISO, White Balance, and/or shutter speed and aperture, it's very, very quick.

First, see if you can improve the performance of your current camera by pre-focusing. Learning to do that will help with any P&S camera.

[kimjordan]

Thanks David & Griptape. I am not thrilled with the Pentax w20 but I will try to adjust it more. It sounds, from what I have heard, like people love the Canons. I appreciate your input.
~kim

[Visual Reality]

Another vote for the S3...+ some accessories to sweeten the deal, since it will still be in your budget.