Beating Shutter Lag

Shutter lag is a digital phenomenon, and refers to the time between the moment that you hit the button to take the picture with your digital camera and the moment that the camera actually captures the image. Lag time used to be much worse in older models but improves with each generation of the new digitals. Still, lag can sometimes feel like an eternity when trying to capture a moment. I've seen children go from laughing to crying in that amount of time!

Film cameras really don't have any lag, but on many digital models (though not the more expensive SLRs), the lag is considerable; enough to mean the difference of capturing the moment and not.

The truth is, as much experimenting as you want to do and as much as you want to spend on equipment, taking pictures is all about capturing a moment. Miss the moment and it doesn't matter what kind of camera you have.

I once went to a friend's to see his wedding pictures. He showed me the pictures shot by a professional using the best camera, flash, lighting system and other equipment. Then he showed me pictures taken by friends and family with disposal cameras and average digital cameras. Though the professional took better quality pictures, the friends caught much better moments.

I'll take a captured moment over quality any time. I recently went to a birthday party with my children. My youngest daughter was having a blast, smile painted on her face. I kept trying to take pictures of her, but when I looked at the screen, all I that was left was an arm or wisp of hair as she had moved away by the time the camera captured (or missed) the moment.

I believe without a doubt the #1 Rule in photography is Get the Shot.

So what to do about this pesky shutter lag problem? Digital cameras work by first pressing the shutter button half way to focus and then fully depressing to take the picture. What you can do is if you know you are getting ready to take a picture is:

1. Turn off all automatic features like red-eye reduction

2. Focus on your subject a couple of seconds before you know you want to take the picture, track the subject, wait for your moment, and then...snap...take the picture and capture the moment forever!

Get 20% off prints and collages at the Kodak Gallery!

Now for a commercial break-

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Plus, prints are one of the most popular items purchased at the Gallery.

To receive 20% off, the coupon code SHOEBOX20 should be used at check out. This offer is valid only until September 13th.
Get 20% off prints and collages at the Kodak Gallery

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Special Offers from KodakGallery.com

Making Great Portraits

Website Photodoto has a nice article I just found about the how and why of making great portrait photos.  One of the passages read-

"I find that the best place to start is with the eyes. It’s natural to meet someone’s gaze even when reproduced on a 2-dimensional medium like a computer screen or film. The eyes can draw the viewer in, acting as a focal point for the entire image. This is why it is usually critical that the eyes are in focus. I can’t recall seeing a portrait that I really liked where the eyes were not in focus. And this applies whether you are taking photos of people, pets, or animals in the wild—focus on the eyes."

(of course, the shower curtain in the background is optional)

Read Making Portraits

Sigma posts teaser ad for new digital SLR

Sigma has posted a teaser advertisement for an upcoming digital SLR to be called the Sigma SD14. To be announced on September 26, few details about the camera's features are given, though the teaser makes several references to the fact it will utilize a "full-color-capture" sensor.  This is presumably produced by Foveon.

A Short Course in the Canon Powershot S3 IS

To get more effective, interesting, and creative photographs, you only need to understand how and when to use a few simple features on your camera such as focus, exposure controls, and flash. If you’ve previously avoided understanding these features and the profound impact they can have on your images, you’ll be pleased to know that you can learn them on a weekend. You can then spend the rest of your life marveling at how the infinite variety of combinations make it possible to convey your own personal view of the world.

Short Courses has a brand new digital photography book for people who want to get better pictures with their Canon Powershot S3 IS digital camera. You’ll be ready to keep everything in a scene sharp for maximum detail or to blur it all for an impressionistic portrayal. You’ll be able to get dramatic close-ups, freeze fast action, create wonderful panoramas, and capture the beauty and wonder of rainbows, sunsets, fireworks, and nighttime scenes.

The book is designed to work with the www.shortcourses.com site. The book explains how to get better pictures but you'll find more on that subject on the site. In addition, there is lots of information on the site about what you can do with your pictures after you've taken them.

Canon PowerShot S3 IS Pro

One Fuji S4 Pro Please

I came across a blog posting by Derrel who longs for the next top of the line model from Fujifilm, speculated to be called the S4 Pro (following the S2 and S3 Pro). With Fuji DSLRs Derrel writes, it's all about the quality of the photos their cameras capture. The S3 wasn't very fast, compared to the rest of the field. Although these cameras are out of my league, I still like to read about them, and I think it's time Fuji hinted as to when we might see the S4. (maybe Photokina?)

"Price-wise, I expect Fuji's S4 will enter the USA market priced at $2400 or so. Why that price? Well,they did it with the S2 at $2400,and they did it with the S3 at $2500. Nikon premiered the D100 at $1699, and Nikon premiered the D200 at $1699. Sounds reasonable to me. An S4 will likely hit the market priced at $2400--or more."

Read Let's Hope There's a Fuji S4 Pro In The Works

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro

Top 10 Cameras Used On Flickr

Ever wondered what cameras take all those pictures on the popular website Flickr?

The Yahoo! Shopping Blog just released an article that gives you a list of the top 10 used cameras on Flickr.  Here they are-

1. Nikon D50



2. Nikon D70



3. Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT



4. Canon EOS 20D



5. Canon EOS 350D Digital



6. Nikon D70s



7. Cybershot



8. Canon Powershot S2 IS



9. Canon EOS Digital Rebel



10. Nikon D200

Pretty nice gear if you ask me.  Better than I expected certainly.

If you want to see a list of the top 100 cameras on Flickr that is updated weekly just visit this site.

via CyberNet, who comment-

"Looking through the list it almost makes you sick to see how many times Canon appears (I counted 46 out of the top 100)."