Originally Posted by patc
There are several very good digital camera review sites, which list boot-up time and shutter lag (the time between when you hit the shutter, and when the camera actually takes the photo). In practice only dSLRs have near-zero shutter lag, but the point-and-shoots are getting better.
Good stuff, patc! Thanks!
I checked the two web sites you suggested. There are a lot of spec.s, and I like the look-up database at dpreview. But I didn't see boot-up or shutter lag listed in the database. I looked up an interesting camera, and then read reviews on it at the 2nd site (FinePix A350). But I didn't see boot-up or shutter time mentioned. Maybe if I dug through the user's forums?
A good 4mp point-and-shoot will beat the pants off consumer grade film processed at a mini-lab.
But what would the boot-up / shutter time be of that camera? The ISO? Do you have a particular camera in mind?
Every so often the military does "sasquatch" moments things around here. Like a few weeks ago they were flying helicopters with guys dangling from them. Only got a couple pictures of that, the camera was so ornery. That's when I started wondering about going back to film.
A 12-16mp dSLR beats or ties any 35mm professional film, and clearly beats film at higher ISO. I shoot events with my "lowly" 8mp camera at ISO 800, 1600, or even 3200... I wouldn't dare do that with film!
But I bet its max-your-visa-card expensive.
That is why a lot of high-end digital cameras make up for the relatively poor sensor by using Zeis optics (Zeis = double-plus good).
I didn't see any specs in the dpreview for optics quality. Or is there a code term I should be looking for?
Thanks for the info!