Is there a digital camera that takes photos"instantly"without the delay when you press the button?Thanks

Question

Is there a digital camera that takes photos"instantly"without the delay when you press the button?Thanks

Answer 1

Digital SLR's are your best bet for this.

Answer 2

If you're looking for a tiny good looking camera, you're looking at a HARSH price. The best cameras to get that take cameras without delay are the ones the papparazi has. The Big Massive Black cameras. You can take 5 photos in the time it would normally take a normall camera to take 1 photo. Again this wont exactly be cheap but it would definately be cheaper than a small camera. **Ignore the other guy, no delay is definately possible**

Answer 3

There are a few things you can do speed up any cameras speed when taking a photo....

There is a concept of a 'digital delay' any camera bought in the last few years by a known manufacturer should have long since eradicated this, many cameras now use CMOS sensors which are faster to respond from a 'cold start' than the generally older CCD type.

On top of getting the sensor ready the lens has to find focus before the shutter will release (in AF mode, if you have it MF will allow a marginally quicker shutter release, some compact cameras have a psuedo Manual Focus mode, where you can preset focus to infinity or a closer distance although this is usually stepped, and therefore not all that accurate)

On top of focusing the flash tube has to warm up.  If you don't need flash, switch it off.  SLR cameras need to be in P, A S or M mode to over-ride auto flash.  If you have a compact you can usually over-ride the flash.

If you don't need flash switch it off, the built-in flashes are generally reach only a very short distance, so if its a landscape, it's ineffective, if there is good ambient light it probably isn't required.

On top of the flash tube warming up you may also have the auto red-eye reduction system switched on (often a default, you can toggle the flash settings between full time flash, auto flash, red eye flash or no flash) the red-eye reduction flash fires a pre-flash to encourage subjects eyes to close their iris thereby avoiding red-eye, again this preflash and flash tube recharging takes another wee moment.

So even on a compact camera there are things you can do to reduce the delay, and most of these delays are not unique to digital cameras, most modern AF cameras with flash will have similar problems.  The trick is knowing how to limit them and being confident in using the camera.

Answer 4

if it is on there are loads if you want it from off and photo not as far as i know it must be on

Answer 5

Todays new digital cameras have micro seconds of delay so unnoticeable that the average shooter can't really tell if there is a shutter delay.

Answer 6

Edwin is the only one that got it right.

I believe the person asking the question wants this ability in a compact point and shoot. The short answer, at this moment in time, no compact point and shoot, regardless of price can shoot with almost no lag time from button press to capture.

You'll need a dSLR for that.

On the cheap.

Canon's XS coming next month.

Nikon's new D60, but the D40x is even cheaper

Sony's alpha A200 I've seen it for $499

Not only is there virtually no lag, you can bust out several pics in just a couple of seconds if you need to.

Answer 7

All digicams suffer from "shutter lag" - the time between when you press the shutter release and the camera actually takes the picture. Using the flash exacerbates this problem since it has to recharge. If you aren't using flash you can press the shutter release 1/2 way down to let the camera focus and then compose and fully release the shutter.

If you want near-instantaneous shutter response then a DSLR is in your future. Sony, Pentax, Nikon and Canon all offer entry-level DSLR cameras for well under $1,000.00 - some are close to $500.00.