shutter delay

[kevinf]

sometimes when i am taking shots and i press the shutter it will take a few seconds and then the shutter sound will come out, my question is why does the delay happen and what makes it happen, i have an sd500

[photoguy]

Welcome to the world of digital picture shooting. Most of the digital cameras have delay. There are some high end cameras which have less delay, but there also, most of the time you do not see what you have shot, because the viewfinder has no image showing.

The least delay camera I have seen, amongst reasonably priced cameras, is Panasonic FZ20.

[kevinf]

i know but mostly sometimes when i am taking pictures of like darkish color things i press the shutter button and i have to wait about 3 seconds to hear the shutter sound

[David Metsky]

The shutter lag (that's the usual name for this) is caused by a number of things. With a very dark subject, the majority of the time is probably the camera trying to focus. That AF-illuminator only works so well, it takes some time for the camera to lock in on the subject.

In general, the Canon SDX00 line is very quick, due to the new DIGIC-II chipset. You can help the camera by pre-focusing the camera (hold the shutter down halfway) and then the shutter will trigger almost immediately when you push down the button the rest of the way.

-dave-

[DavidA]

I have the same complaint using Pro 1, dark scenes can take a good 3-4 seconds, and moving subjects have often gone right out of the window by the time the shutter operates. I found out about pre-focusing by trial and error, of course you do need to have something for the camera to focus on at about the same distance as the subject will be. Trying to get pictures of ceremonial processions in Bali in the evenings was one such situation. I would focus on a non-moving object by holding the button halfway down, and then watch out of the corner of my "other" eye waitng for the right moment to press all the way. It worked some of the time is the best I can say.

I'd like a setting, "Take it! I'll sort it out later!"

David

[jamison55]

I'd like a setting, "Take it! I'll sort it out later!"

David

David,

The Pro 1 has a couple of custom settings, so you have the ability to use one of them to turn it into a "focus free" camera - like the cheap 35mm you used in the 80's. The concept is called hyperfocal distance, and simply put it is setting your camera's focus manually so that everything between point A and infinity are in focus (i.e. everything between 4 feet and infinity). That way, whey you need to take a quck snap and not worry about shutter delay or focus hunting, just set your camera to C1 and shoot!

So how to do it...

1) Find out your hyperfocal distance using this calculator (http://www.outsight.com/hyperfocal.html#hyper ) The Digital LMF is 5, and actual lens focal length is 7.2 - 50.8mm f/2.2 - 3.5L. I'd probably put it at 50mm equivalent (or 10mm) and f5.6. With these settings you would set your manual focus to 9.8 feet and everything between 4.9 feet and infinity will be reasonably in focus. Change the focal length to 7mm, and you'd set your MF to 4.8 feet to get everything between 2.4 feet and infinity in focus.

2) Go to one of the custom settings on your control wheel (C1 or C2) and dial in the settings from the calculator. For example, 50mm equivalent, f5.6, MF 9.8 feet.

3) Save your settings.

kevinf, sorry, but I don't think the sd500 gives you this level of control...