Shutter Lag w/D2

[BKPhotog]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Would appreciate any suggestions for reducing shutter lag. Already using an Extreme III card, albeit shooting at ISO 100. Suggestions?

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[ho_co]

Bruce--

The fast card is a good idea, but only reduces write time, not shutter lag.

 

In general with most digicams, if one first lets the camera do all its automatic stuff (focus, set exposure) by pressing the shutter release half-way down, then holds that position till the 'right moment,' most of the delay is eliminated.

 

And someone here on the forum remarked that he was able to reduce the delay even more by setting the D2 to full manual.

 

Hope there's something useful there.

 

--HC

[marknorton]

Keep in mind that the mechanical noise you hear is the sensor being covered while the data is being read out, the actual exposure is completely silent (aside from the noise sound effect) and is done by the time you hear the click. It can be quite disconcerting, especially on long exposures.

[elgenper]

...And someone here on the forum remarked that he was able to reduce the delay even more by setting the D2 to full manual.

 

Hope there's something useful there.

 

--HC

 

There is, indeed. The D2 is unique among compacts in its suitability for full manual shooting; all settings with traditional controls, easily presettable and readable even with the camera turned off. It can be used just like an old M2, and the shutter lag is just as short. Learn to make use of this valuable asset!

 

Set the finder magnification with manual focus to its highest value, then prefocus with the lens at 90, zoom out and leave it where you want it; at the moment of exposure it will respond instantly. Zone focussing is perfectly OK for focal lengths up to around 50, higher than that it´s a little tricky.

 

The biggest (and almost the only) drawback is that the finder image "freezes" for a short time after each exposure; something that would never happen with an M2... But when it does happen, the exposure is already made.

[dugby]

The D2 documentation states shutter lag when using autofocus is about 500msec, with manual focus 94msec. I have found this to be relatively correct on my D2.

 

Shutter lag on my D3/L1, with AF seems instantaneous.....no apparent lag.

[Guest umb]

It can be used just like an old M2, and the shutter lag is just as short. Learn to make use of this valuable asset!

 

the D2 does not only have a shutter lag, it also has a viewfinder lag, that is, if you point the camera at something it takes some time until you see that in the finder.

[BKPhotog]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

My thanks to all for your suggestions. B.

[elgenper]

the D2 does not only have a shutter lag, it also has a viewfinder lag, that is, if you point the camera at something it takes some time until you see that in the finder.

 

True; if exact timing is essential, one has to "sight" with one´s eyes above the camera (some people use accessory viewfinders); I´ve never found this to be a major problem (see my avatar...).

 

For a comprehensive discussion of the D2 time lags, see Andy Piper´s review on photo.net:

 

Leica Digilux 2 Review

[peterb]

This thread has hit upon the one single issue that aggravated me most about an otherwise superb digital camera. But it wasn't just shutter lag. It was also aperature lag too (which was the root cause of the shutter lag). When I first started to put the camera through its paces I noticed the infuriating delay that cost me many shots (capturing utterly quick grabs I learned early on would be next to impossible, so I opted for a more deliberate, more mannered approach to taking shots with this camera).

 

While staring down the lens to see what was causing such a delay between push and capture I horrifyingly saw what the process was. After you pushed the button, it seemed the camera 'leisurely' closed down the aperature. Nothing superfast. I truly mean leisurely. Which shocked me to no end. Even when you set aperature yourself, it still took it's sweet time stopping down. (What I observed, I believe, accounted for the annoyingly long lag times noted here. Longer, of course, if you hadn't pre-focused and locked with the AF or had focused manually.)

 

Going to manual focus (if you could actually do it with the horrible EVF) seemed to shorten the push to capture time somewhat, but hardly on a caliber I had been used to with other cameras. The camera, even with manual focusing, still had that leisurely (hum to yourself) "dum da dum dee dee da da" lag waiting for the aperture to stop down for exposure.

 

So if you want a camera that takes great images -- images you can spend time framing and be more deliberate in your shooting (like for landscapes, posed portraits, close-ups of flowers etc) this camera is a true gem. For shots where being able fire at the 'decisive moment, you either work on your anticipatory powers taking into account the cameras notroious lag time, or get another camera altogether that can.

 

P

[peterb]

Oh I got the Extreme card, too. It helped somewhat at the back end but not the front end.

 

P

[wparsonsgisnet]

Bruce, the shutter lag of the D2 was my most serious complaint about the camera.

 

I shoot lots of action pictures (dance in performance). The best solution for me was to get a voigtlander 28mm finder and zone focus the camera. The DOF is so great that this works really well.

 

Regards,