[ire]

We have a digital camera and it works alright but the big problem is that it sucks at taking action shots....there is a delay from when you push the button to when the picture is taken. Does anyone know a good compact camera that doesn't have the delay? and yes, I used the search feature and didn't find what I was looking for

 

[Toshi]

prefocus

 

[ire]

prefocus

Are you talking about pressing the button part way, letting it focus, and then trying to get the moving object in the picture? Or do some cameras actually have this as a feature? The problem is trying to catch cross riders as they come ripping past

 

[Toshi]

Are you talking about pressing the button part way, letting it focus, and then trying to get the moving object in the picture? Or do some cameras actually have this as a feature? The problem is trying to catch cross riders as they come ripping past

the first. half-press for focus where the riders will be, and then snap when they get there. even those of us with fancypants SLRs do this on many an occasion.

 

[ire]

I guess the bigger problem with our current camera is the delay (even when prefocused) from pressing the button to the picture being taken. You have to try and time it because of the delay between pressing the button and the actual photo being taken....I want a camera that doesn't have the delay

 

[binary visions]

Unless your camera is REALLY old, I'd be surprised if there was a significant prefocus delay... what's the model?

 

[ire]

Unless your camera is REALLY old, I'd be surprised if there was a significant prefocus delay... what's the model?

Its enough to make a difference. Olympus FE-240

<edit> Here is a quote from a review...the 1/10 of a second is enough to annoy me
http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/14602/olympus-fe240/

Power up to first image captured measured about 2.5 seconds. Shutter lag, the delay between depressing the shutter button and capturing the image, measured 1/10 of a second when pre-focused and 7/10 of a second including autofocus. When capturing a sequence of images, the shot to shot delay averaged 3.8 - 4.0 seconds without the flash and between 4 and 6 seconds with flash, depending on subject distance and battery strength."

 

[binary visions]

Unless you want to pony up for an SLR you won't get anything significantly under a tenth of a second shutter lag.

Either learn to anticipate or spend some money and carry some weight

A tenth is actually pretty small, anticipating a foot or two movement shouldn't be a huge adjustment. If it has a burst mode, you could try that as well.

 

[Westy]

Some point and shoots have a manual focus mode that should kill focus time completely, RTFM.

 

[binary visions]

Some point and shoots have a manual focus mode that should kill focus time completely, RTFM.

There's still going to be shutter lag after the manual focus, though, just like there's shutter lag after the pre-focus - he did say he was pre-focusing.

 

[ire]

Well thats a bummer, I don't want to pack an SLR around. Thanks for the input....I guess I'll practice prefocus and anticipating fast moving objects

 

[bikenweed]

Point and shoot cameras typically suck at stopping action, and especially so in the woods.

The best solution, at least that I've found, is to take panning shots. Prefocus on the rider as she/he is moving towards you, and follow them with the camera. As you take the photo, continue following the rider. This will result in a blurred background, with the rider in focus. Works great!

I'm usually at ISO 50, F2.6-3.5ish, at 1/80th to 1/125th, and I almost always use the flash. I've got a 3.5 year old cheapie Canon Powershot a510. Somehow, it's got great manual controls, and keeps on ticking!

A few examples of panning shots:
Cloudy day, super low-light:


In the forest:


Horribly backlit, but the flash saved the day:


In the woods, after the sun already set:


I've got quite a few more examples, but haven' uploaded them to Flickr yet. Yeah, it can get old doing just panners, but if you're having issues getting what you want, it's a great way to work around the limitations of a p&s.

 

[dante]

drag around an SLR.

 

[ironspoke]

Panning with an open shutter can most certainly produce some pretty wild pics.

That being said some of the suggestions regarding burst mode and prefocus are really your only options. A bulky SLR is just that...rather bulky.