camera button speed

[joko]

whenever I take a pic with my digital camera, i press the button and it sort of flutters a bit for a second, before it takes the picture - and by that time the people have seen my finger press the button, assumed i have taken the shot and moved.

why is this and can i change it to be instant?

thanks

[bradleyy]

Sounds to me like you have red eye on, yes you can take it off but its good to have on.

[kempie]

All digital cameras suffer from shutter lag i.e. the delay from when you press the shutter-release button to when the photo is taken.

Typically, the pricier a digital camera, the shorter the shutter lag. High-end digital cameras for professionals may not have a noticeable shutter lag at all, but for most digital camera users it helps to know and remember what the shutter lag is (around 0.5 to 1 second) so you can compensate effectively.

[qapmoc]

Seeing as the people you are photographing are taking their visual clues from you, then YOU are making it seem to them that you have finished taking the picture.
What you have to do say ''wait until I tell you'' when you start and then develop a sort of frozen attitude until the camera has completed, if you keep your finger on the button before-during-after the picture and don't make it obvious that you have pressed it then you should be OK.

[qapmoc]

Thinking about this question and my answer, I just realised that we have gone back to the old style of taking pictures from the 1950's etc.. ''everybody stand still, hold your breath and don't move until you are told''
Now the things is, is this progress ??

[joko]

thats what i do qapmoc, but so often they see the finger on the button and hear the first click and all start to turn away - its not that easy to get people to realise in a noisy, busy pub when half of them are drunk! - i now say wait for the flash, even if i'm not using it, which works a bit, but they still look for the finger press, which is not that easy to disguise

[commoner]

...on my Canon and I assume on all or most cameras, is a Focus Lock....whereby you press down on the button but just enough to bring up some sort of visual signal that the camera has focussed on the subject.......I find that much of the delay is caused by the camera actually focussing and by doing the "half press bit things happen more quickly when you "go all the way" (no pun intended there!)...try it for yourself..........commoner

[Robert G]

As with most things digital, compared with the 'old fashioned' way there is usually a significant drawback or disadvantage, and this is one example, unfortunately. The options are: (i) suffer the drawback and take appropriate compensatory action; (ii) consider buying more advanced/expensive equipment; (iii) wait until the technology advances, and/or the price drops, until your requirements and expectations are met.