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General discussion

Please help - how to find FAST digital camera?

by hvtb Nov 30, 2004 8:04AM PST

I have an Olympus Camedia C-3040ZOOM which I received as a gift. There are 3.3 megapixels, 3x optical zoom, 2.5 x digital zoom, f 1.8 lens. (I would probably upgrade the megapixels if buying a new one, but am generally happy with everything other than speed.)

Anyway, the camera works fine for still subjects, but the shutter speed is WAAAAY to slow to get good pictures of my running, jumping, always moving toddler. I shoot when he smiles, but by the time the camera snaps the photo his eyes are closed and he's already run away!

Can anyone recommend a great camera that will snap photos as soon as I press the button? How can I find out about shutter speed on each model? I couldn't find it in the reviews. (I am technologically illiterate, so forgive me if this should be obvious...) Thank you!

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Re: Please help - how to find FAST digital camera?
by jason_he Nov 30, 2004 8:20AM PST

I think you mean shutter lag (or click-to-capture time), the time from the moment you press the shutter button to the time the camera actually takes the picture.

You can significantly reduce shutter lag by half-pressing the shutter button when you've framed your shot, then fully press it when you need to. Lag time should be much shorter, though still not instant.

I recommend the Kodak EasyShare DX7630 or the Sony DSC-P150 for indoor shooting; if you don't care about a weak flash, the Sony DSC-T1 will suffice. The Konica Minolta DiMage Z3 is fast as well and comes with image stabilization, but it doesn't do so well in low light and is not considered a "compact" camera.

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Re: Please help - how to find FAST digital camera?
by snapshot2 Forum moderator Nov 30, 2004 8:29AM PST

Wow - you have a C-3040 with the f1.8 lens.

There are people who would like to wrestle that away from you.

The best way to take action photos with the C-3040 is to press the shutter button half way down and wait for the action to happen, then press the button the remaining distance. Most of the shutter lag is from the autofocus part of the camera.

But they are speeding up the autofocus on the newer cameras. But some are faster than others.

Based on the camera you have, you should take a look at the new Olympus C-7000. If you use the method I described, the shutter lag is 0.1 (1/10) second. If you don't use that method and just press it all the way down, the lag is 0.3 (3/10) second. This is fast by digital standards.

The Kodak DX-7440 is a bit faster. (0.2 seconds)

A review of the C-7000 can be found here:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/c7000.html

Of course it does not have a f1.8 lens, nobody makes one of those anymore. It has the f2.8 lens which is the norm these days.

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Please help - how to find FAST digital camera?
by catperson1949 Dec 16, 2004 8:02AM PST

i have the c3040 also. Holding down does work. also when you use the digital viewer instead of the 'eye' viewer you get instant response, but you really use the batteries up!

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