E-500 shutter lag?

[notwhoiam]

Hi,

Has anyone else noticed a really big shutter lag in the E-500? I've been comparing the E-500 with Nikon D-50 & D-70 (among others) and keep getting frustrated by the E-500's long autofocus time and the long lag between when I press the shutter release & when the camera actually snaps the shot.

Apart from this (massive/crucial flaw), the E-500 has all the features I'm looking for in a dSLR and I'd really prefer to get it rather than one of the Nikons etc. But my digital point & shoot has a horrible lag and I swore to myself that I'd find a dSLR that didn't have (much of) one b/c it's sooooo frustrating - I take a lot of wildlife photography and it's rather pointless to even try taking a photo of something if it's not going to be there when the shutter finally engages, y'know?

Do you guys notice the same kind of lag or is it just me? Am I doing something wrong while testing out these cameras in-store? I actually bought an E-500 and tried it out around the house, but pretty quickly noticed the same thing (so it's not just a problem with the tester cameras!) and decided to return it while I did some more comparison shopping. But I'm getting tired of looking at other (less ideal) bodies - so I'd love to know if it's an unavoidable feature of the camera itself or if there's something I can do to avoid (or minimize) the lag.

Thanks!

[Norm in Fujino]

Originally Posted by notwhoiam

Has anyone else noticed a really big shutter lag in the E-500?

In a word, no. There is no real shutter lag, actually, with the e-500 (or any dSLR). You may have trouble focusing until you figure out what kind of contrasty objects each camera likes to focus on, or perhaps you were trying to focus too close for the lens. I have the E-300, but it's essentially the same as E-500 in terms of focusing ability. Yes, there are times (usually very dark situations), when the lens will hunt some, but the secret is learning what kind of objects to focus on, and when to use manual focus..

and the long lag between when I press the shutter release & when the camera actually snaps the shot.

That should not happen at all, so I don't know what's wrong with the display model or your technique, but something's wrong. The camera itself doesn't react that way.

I take a lot of wildlife photography and it's rather pointless to even try taking a photo of something if it's not going to be there when the shutter finally engages, y'know?

It's fine for wildlife. I also used to use (still do, some) an Olympus C-755 that had ordinarily (bad) shutter lag, so it was a pain for wildlife, but the E-300/E-500 doesn't. If you want to see what the E-series cameras can do on wildlife, look at Lauri Sippu's websites.

Do you guys notice the same kind of lag or is it just me? Am I doing something wrong while testing out these cameras in-store? I actually bought an E-500 and tried it out around the house, but pretty quickly noticed the same thing (so it's not just a problem with the tester cameras!) and decided to return it while I did some more comparison shopping. But I'm getting tired of looking at other (less ideal) bodies - so I'd love to know if it's an unavoidable feature of the camera itself or if there's something I can do to avoid (or minimize) the lag.

I simply can't imagine what you could do to cause it. Maybe you and it just don't get along. I repeat: I've never heard of shutter lag with any of the Olympus E-series cameras. Focusing is sharp and crisp with mine, although I've taken the time to learn how to use it.

[notwhoiam]

Hmm, how odd. I know the camera was set to AUTO, so there shouldn't have been any weird settings etc for it to consider.

You may have trouble focusing until you figure out what kind of contrasty objects each camera likes to focus on, or perhaps you were trying to focus too close for the lens. I have the E-300, but it's essentially the same as E-500 in terms of focusing ability. Yes, there are times (usually very dark situations), when the lens will hunt some, but the secret is learning what kind of objects to focus on, and when to use manual focus..

I tried focusing across the store (150ft), across the room (20ft), and across the table (2ft) - and the focus+shutter lag happened every time. Lighting was bright (lots of fluorescent tube bulbs) and contrast varied from medium to high depending on what I aimed at (shelves, people, etc).

Hmm. Ya it's just odd b/c when the Nikon is set for AUTO, it's lag isn't noticeable at all. Steve's DigiCams says the following about the E-500:

The E-500's single image shooting performance is average in the consumer dSLR class of cameras. Shutter lag, the delay between depressing the shutter and capturing the image, was 1/10 second when pre-focused, and 3/10 second including auto focus time for a high-contrast subject. Rapid shooting in single shot mode without flash captured 8 images at 8/10 second intervals, with subsequent shots at 1.6 second intervals. With flash, shots could be captured at intervals ranging between 1 and 5 seconds, depending on subject distance.

And that's basically the same lag as for the Nikon D50, except during rapid shooting when there's more of a difference (with the Nikon being significantly faster!!):

The single image shooting performance of the D50 is very good. Shutter lag, the time delay between depressing the shutter and capturing an image, measured 1/10 second when pre-focused. Autofocus shutter lag ranged between 2/10 and 6/10 second, depending on the degree of focus change required. In single-shot mode without flash, I was able to capture 22 images at 1/2 second intervals, with subsequent images at 6/10 to 1 second intervals as the full buffer emptied. Rapid shooting with the internal flash captured images at intervals of between 1 and 4 seconds depending on the distance to the subject.

Well, I think I might swing past the camera store again today for yet another try. Maybe someone new will be working behind the counter, someone who can double check all my settings (?!) and either confirm or fix the lag I keep noticing. This time I think I'll try running a couple of standardised tests (on exactly the same shot.. with identical manual or auto settings) to really get a good comparison between models.

Anyway, it's good to know that it's probably NOT the camera's fault, which means that it's something that I can change/fix myself (once I figure out what I'm doing wrong). Given that, I'd be grateful for any more suggestions or ideas you might have for how I'm creating this phantom lag.

I'll let you know how the next round of comparison testing goes. Thanks!

[penz]

There is alway a little lag but I have used my E500 for some good fast stots but this is where timing is key and prefocusing is used.





These where shot with a Sigma 55-200mm super slow lens. If you are going to be rapid or multi shooting the D50 may be your best option but you can use the E500 for these shots as well. If you want to shot a lot of pictures fast you can use the sports setting and you don't have to wait for the buffer to empty before your next shot. Here is a rapid fire shot I took of a friend. I used PS E4.0 to put them together.