Re: Playja Wu Bin (PWB 4 Jan 2010)

On 2010-01-04, Gunther Gloop <thunderbird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Chris Whitworth wrote:
On 2010-01-04, Zomoniac <the_proper_one@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:
First one of the year, gents. Make it count!

Play:
The camera shopping game (RL)
Not done much gaming this week, as I've spent 4 hours a day reading up
on DSLRs, trying to decide if it's worth the money to upgrade. I'm still
none the wiser.

If you're planning on buying a DSLR because you expect it to magically make
all the photos you take look better, don't buy one.

If you're planning on buying a DSLR because you're frustrated by the creative
limitations of a compact, the lack of interchangeable lenses, the limited
exposure controls, and/or because you want and are prepared to take some time to
learn about exposure, composition and photographic technique, then go ahead.

If you're just going to buy one, stick the kit lens on it, leave it in fully
auto and shoot JPEGs (as opposed to RAWs) with it, then stick with your
compact, because otherwise you're just going to get cross that you spent
several hundred quid on something that's just a bigger, more inconvenient
version of what you've already got.

It's a while since I bought a digital camera, but the main thing that
annoys me is the delay between when I press the button and when the
photo is taken. I know my brother's DSLR is infinitely better with that,
but I was wondering if it needs to be a DSLR if I was _just_ looking for
quick shutter speed (and/or what to look out for in the specs to ensure
a speedy photo)?

...Not that I'm looking to buy one just now. Just, like, wonderin is all. ;)

So, it depends what you mean.

"Shutter lag" is a bit of a catchall term that gets used to mean a variety of
things, only some of which have to do with the actual shutter itself.

Firstly, nearly all cameras in the universe - compacts and SLRs included - have
a two-stage shutter button. The correct way to take a shot is to frame the
shot, then half-press the button *and hold it there* to auto-focus. If you're
happy with the shot, you then fully press the button and the shot is taken.
What a lot of people do is either press the button fully straight away -
meaning the camera attempts to autofocus and take the shot in one action - or
they half press, then release, then fully press - which has the same effect.
Either way, it means you get the full autofocus time every time you try and
take a picture. This is what 99% of people are complaining about when they
say their camera is "slow".

If this isn't what you mean, then you're probably talking about CCD charging
times. On a compact, the CCD is kept on all the time, in order to display the
live preview - but it's kept on in a low power, low quality mode. When you take
a picture, the CCD then has to be charged up to full power, which takes time.
Also, because compact cameras have tiny (and therefore noisy) sensors, they'll
often take /two/ exposures - one with the shutter closed, and one with it
open, and subtract the former from the latter, to eliminate noise on the
sensor - and therefore the longer your shutter time, the longer the pre-shot
lag.

A DSLR will overcome these second problems, broadly speaking, because the main
CCD can be kept pre-charged and doesn't have to switch between high- and low-
power states for live preview (I believe DSLRs that have live preview use a
second, lower-quality CCD), and because the sensors are larger, they are less
noisy and don't require the dual-exposure noise reduction magic.

However; CCDs are getting better, and decent digital compacts these days have
very low CCD lag - so the answer isn't necessarily to buy a DSLR if your only
aim is to overcome shutter lag; a new compact might do you fine - just go and
play with one in your local independent camera shop first :)

Chris
--
Gamertag/Steam ID: parm PSN: PopeWiggles

"Back when I was young, we had to travel back in time to put the tape in so
the game would load before we died."
.

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