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General discussion

I want a camera that takes the picture when I hit the button

Feb 18, 2007 7:33AM PST

...not 3 seconds later. I have a Kodak EasyShare, but when I try to take a picture of my daughter playing basketball, I don't get the shot. I push the button BEFORE she releases the ball, but the camera doesn't take the picture until after she has released the ball and her arms are already down to her sides. So can anyone tell me what kind of camera I am looking for to take good action shots?
Thanks!

Discussion is locked

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I can tell you about a lot of cameras that can do that, but,
Feb 18, 2007 8:02AM PST

the usual second part of the request is something like, for $200 or less. For that $200, many also want good photos, sharp lense, low light capability, video with sound, etc.

You need to say what your budget is.

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budget
Feb 18, 2007 9:02AM PST

under $400.

thanks!

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Autofocus
Feb 18, 2007 12:55PM PST

Just as an aside, that 3 seconds you're talking about is it trying to focus. Make sure to press the shutter HALFWAY DOWN before clicking all the way. This is how point and shoot cameras focus. Some sort of marker on the screen will turn green to verify that it is focused, then you press it the rest of the way to take the picture. Or, if your camera has the option, turn it to manual focus, focus it the general distance away, and you should be able to fire the shots just fine.

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Shutter Lag
Feb 18, 2007 10:35PM PST

Your camera symptom is called shutter lag.

Older cameras typically had a shutter lag of around two seconds.

Most new cameras have a shutter lag of 0.5 second or less.

For a manufacturer....the Casio cameras have the overall shortest shutter lag. Most are 0.1 second.

Check out the Casio Z70.

The Canon SD600 also has a shutter lag of only 0.1 second.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_sd600%2Ccasio_exz70&show=all

One Hint:

If you are going to take flash photos, you will want to waste one flash shot after turning on the camera.
This lets the flash capacitor charge up and prepare it for more flash shots.
It takes about a second to charge up the capacitor for the first shot.

...
..
.

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Some have settings
Feb 19, 2007 8:52AM PST

Some have a setting that is always adjusting the focus so when you push the button its ready. Some are set to shoot only and it doesnt start the focus till you push it halfway.

If you just learn how the cameras work a little better its alot easier to use. You can prefocus the shot then while keeping the button held halfway you can then wait for the right shot to fully press it.

I see alot of people do this when they use my cameras, they dont understand whats happening. Its just trying to get the best shot for you.

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Shutter lag -- a modern scourge
Oct 20, 2015 8:07PM PDT

To say that older cameras had a longer shutter lag is misleading. I may be older than your average cnet reader, but I can tell you cameras in the old days had no shutter lag at all. If your camera uses the right f stop like the old instamatics, everything past a few feet is always in focus. Watching people use cameras today is tragically amusing. 90% of the photos I see people attemping would be better served with an instamatic style camera with no focus at all.
For the other 10%, manual focus is often superior. For example, for a basketball photo, a common strategy is to focus where you expect the action will be when the teams come to your end of the court. It's near impossible to do this with autofocus.

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canon sd 600
Feb 20, 2007 5:14AM PST

i got it a couple of moths ago and it is really good, besides u can press one button to take in flow-mo mode. but all the digital cameras now come in, i dont remember how it is called, but u need to press the button how way to focus and then all the way to take the actual picture, so it is a good idea to point press it half way focused on your daugther or whatever u want and be ready to press it all the way at the right moment.
U will probably find older cameras which dont work like this.