Delays With Digital Cameras

[disneyreporter 0]

I love taking pictures, but I often have the problem of not being able to get good action shots because my camera has such a long delay. Is it like this for all digital cameras, do you have to buy really expensive ones to solve the problem, or is there an easy way to get rid or lessen the length of the delay?

[BuffaloHelp 24]

There are digital cameras out there which are designed for "fast action" usage. Some digital cameras feature this as "action shots."Here are few tips you can speed the shutter speed (this is the one that clicks and captures your image):1) Turn off AiAFThis is a fancy term for auto focusing program built-in to just about every digital cameras out there. Turning it off and having just the center of your screen to come to focus speeds calculation time.2) Turn off Auto FlashIf you're taking photos in well lighted places you do not need extra time for a digital camera from thinking...'do I need flash?'3) Use faster Read/Write digital filmHaving Sandisk Ultra II, for example, verses some generic digital film makes a world of difference when it comes to saving (writing to disk) time. The faster you save to digital film the faster you're ready for your next shot.4) Increase your film ISO speedIncreasing your ISO from 100 to let's say 400 can help your situation. There might be more pixel noise but sometimes it's unnoticeable. But, if it is your camera that's taking so long to take a shot perhaps it's time for an upgrade. Make sure you weigh out all your options before plunging into a purchase.

[midnightvamp 1]

Thanks for all those tips... I didn't know you could do things about the disk speed and auto focus. I'll have to look into that stuff. Silly me, I bought myself a digital camera and have been annoyed to no end with how slow it is to take the pictures. I've found an action shot section to my camera, which does speed it up, but it makes the picture quality horrible and very grainy/dark. It's better than nothing for the shots that I would otherwise miss, but I don't really like it, because it seems like it could be so much better.Plus, I really suck when there is bad lighting, because I can't hold still enough to get the shot with a flash. It all gets moved and strange looking. I work almost entirely without a flash now. Funny thing though, if I use it in the complete dark with the flash, I get excellent shots of things and it looks as bright as day, so when I need to do photo shoots around the house, I tend to do them in the dark. Call me weird, but it seems to get the job done for me :PI do what I can lol.Next time I won't just buy a camera because it looks cute lol... I had a big plan of what one I wanted with lots of research, and then went to the store, and when they didn't have it, I just settled on one. Next time, research, then shop, and if it's not there... research more of the ones that are there I've learned my lesson, I hope.

[BuffaloHelp 24]

I've found an action shot section to my camera, which does speed it up, but it makes the picture quality horrible and very grainy/dark.

Manufactures of digital cameras establish two terms when they claim "action shot" mode.

1) Burst Mode - it's a simple term where digital camera captures multiple frames (pictures) and instead of saving them right away, it stores them on its buffer. When the buffer is full it then dumps to digital film. So instead of Click...Save...Ready it's Click...Ready (buffer)...Ready (buffer)...etc...Save

2) High Film Speed - instead of capturing a moment any faster, another mode is to "freeze" the water drop. More widely known as waterfall effect. In an action shot you can see all the little droplets of a waterfall instead of one giant blur. This mode requires high, intense light because the film ISO is set at the highest to capture instantaneously. Perhaps that's why it comes out darker.

Point and Shoot cameras fall either one of the two mentioned above. Manual cameras (DSLR) offers both options. So you can see why DSLR's have price tag of $500 and up.

[bluedragon 0]

@disneyreporteryou didn't mention your camera make and model. Kindly do that. I am also into photography, I might be able to help you with the problem.At times, there are delays due to the firmware and upgrading is the only possible solution, though it is very rare but a possibility :Pand No you don't need to buy very expensive Cameras for decent photography, in most of the cases a semi-professional camera is more than enough.btw, I have clicked some great snaps with just a Nikon E4300. All you need to know is the right settings and right mode for the occasion.

[Jimmy 0]

Unfortunately you've run into the problem that a lot of people will do at some time with normal portable cameras. The delay from when you press the button to when the shot is taken really can't be helped and some cameras are worse than others. You are right, one of the major reasons to buy a more expensive (SLR-type) camera is to reduce this to almost non-existant delay.

What you can do to help, I wouldn't recommend disabling the AF or turn off auto flash as Buffalohelp suggested. For small cameras, they need a bright light source otherwise the picture will come out grainy (as you have discovered!) or blurred. The grainy is the camera increasing the ISO automatically (as buffalohelp suggested an increase, which will help "freeze" an action shot to not be blurred, but will make the picture grainy as a result, try to avoid this by taking in good light or using the flash) So it may well require a flash if you're indoors, possibly if outdoors at dusk. The AF will improve the photo-quality a LOT.

Instead, Try aiming the camera where you are going to take the action shot, and press the shutter button halfway down. The camera will not take the photo, but should focus, set the right exposure (to avoid a picture too bright or too dark) and prepare to take. When you're ready press the button. You may have to look ahead and allow for some "lag", but there should be much less than before using this method. Play around, see if this is bearable. Other than this there is really nothing you can do apart from purchasing a more expensive camera, which should not be necessary for most situations. I'd stick with what you have

Oh and one more thing... without a quick responding SLR you really have to be lucky to get a high speed shot such as this!! Sorry, couldn't help flogging one of our holiday shots

[disneyreporter 0]

@Bluedragon: My camera is a Canon PowerShot A80. It's at least three years old now. It seems to me that cameras are phased in and out so quickly. This camera that I have was one of the best on the market when it was unveiled, but after less than six months, it soon fell below par. More and more advancements continue to be made, and prices continue to rise. It seems awfully difficult to keep up with it all.

[Bad_MaNner$ 0]

Couple of tips that might help you

 

DONT USE FLASH AT NIGHT

 

A night concert or sporting event or even shooting the lights of the city does NOT require a flash from your camera. Mostly your flash is useless at distances over 2-3 metres and using the flash will make the camera use a faster shuter speed than you need and you will get a severely under exposed photo.

 

Use the flash control button to turn the flash off and switch the camera to night mode - it will then set for low light and give you a slower shutter speed.

 

Problem is that you will get blur from any movement at all, so when you shoot at night without a flash, try to use a tripod or at least brace the camera so it doesn't move. I have a pocket tripod that cost a couple of bucks and it goes everywhere with me. I also use the self-timer - most cameras have a 10 second and 2 or 3 second timer - so I don't get any camera shake.

 

SHOOTING MOVING OBJECTS

 

You have a couple of options here. Set the camera to sports mode, or if it has manual adjustments set the shutter speed at 1/250th of a second or faster. Alternatively (and this give you some great pics) move the camera with the subject. As it moves, follow it's path with your camera, pressing the shutter halfway down to focus, then follow the subject as you press the shutter the full way.

 

Don't stop moving the camera until your image is saved. This will give a picture with the subject in focus and a really good motion blur behind.

[room2593 0]

You're right. When you take pictures in your house at night (or at any time really) don't use the flash!It' unnecessary. Your house is an enclosed space and all of the light reflects around making for great ambient lighting, so long as you're not pointing the camera at a lightbulb. The flash will only highlight the foreground objects. Then, the camera will compensate for having such bright things in the picture, making the entire picture darker.So if the light is fairly even, don't use flash. It defeats the purpose.Or if your subject is backlit, you can use flash. This is because the rest of the picture is so dark that when you light up the foreground, it creates even lighting!Really, the best way to learn this is by experimentation.

[onscreen 0]

Everyone seems to miss out the most critical subject, the aperture.Aperture is something that measures how much light it can capture during a shot. The bigger the aperture, the more control you can have. The reason point and shoot is slow in some ways is partly due to the aperture it have. Current minimum it can go is from f/3.5 due to zoom factor. Another reason is the image processor in the camera. Flash will not slowdown shutter speed but increase it according to your flash settings. Also, Aperture DO affect your shutter speed as well. Unless you have a DSLR, you can manually adjust your Aperture / shutter speed combo through command dial.Buffalo is right on the ISO. The higher the ISO, the more shutter sped variables you can choose from but comes with alot of noises in the pictures.@Room2593, indoor shooting sometimes requires flash. My previous job is a wedding photographer and sometimes i have requests on taking indoor shooting with customer's point and shoot camera. Direct flash will create an obvious white washout. Curtain flash, is a type of flash mode that only flashes out when the shutter plane is about to close. That gives a very balanced lighting but with a slow shutter speed trade off.The best indoor shooting with flash is to do a bounce flash. In all external flash for DSLRs, may it be D-TTL / TTL etc.. you get to bend your flash head up to 90degrees for it to fill the room with light instead of the subject. This can be done with point and shoot / build-in flash. Get yourself a gray card, not too dark ones but some mixture of white would be good. Slant the card just right below the flash and hold it while taking the photo, squeeze the shutter to avoid shaking. Do try and tell me the results :lol:Another indoor shooting with flash tip is to diffuse direct flashes. Just like above, external flash have a soft white cap that covers the flash head, that is a diffuser. It diffuse outgoing light and disperse it evenly on the subject and surrounding while creating a warm and soft shadows with a balance lighting overall. Also you can do this on any build-in flashes with a tissue paper. Get a piece or 2 of the tissue and dont make it too thick, try out to see its thickness by looking through it to see if you can see lights coming in. Tweak it for your needs and press the tissue on the flash, do not cover it and start shooting. Do try it and tell me the results too ^_^Hope my tips and advice would help you too.

Edited October 8, 2008 by onscreen (see edit history)

[room2593 0]

Indoor flash with the tips you've shown does work-

But you don't explain the circumstances where you might need these tools, and for a beginning photographer, that's vital. Also, some of the tips you've given are only really effective with a professional flash. Point and shoot cameras have the flash in really odd places, sometimes right next to the lens (I've seen it, it's retarded) and some of your tips don't work with that.

Not degrading the usefulness of your tips, just pointing out the weaknesses.

 

I've always found that if you put your camera on auto to get the feel for the lighting, you can tweak it from there with manual settings. (change the aperture and so on). Most indoor situations don't require flash. If you're in a large room, flash will make the first nine feet really bright and colorful, and the entire background will be black. If you're in a small room, the light in the room is probably enough if you have a steady hand. If you don't have a diffuser or a bounce card, then flash becomes much trickier.