Delay dilema

[Marcus Lim]

Originally Posted by Vianna Szabo

... Unfortunately the little guy was teething something fierce and was in constant motion looking for something to chomp on. ... Any advice on how to cut the delay time?
Vianna

Hi Vianna, i can appreciate the painful sessions you must go through with your camera. My camera, the Fuji FinePix S5500 comes with continuous shots functions but i have problems with delays too. In fact, even for the best digital SLRs in the markets still experience some forms of delays.

After checking out your cam model on dpreview.com, i reckon you can do two things for yourself :
(1) change the memory card
(2) Set your cam to high speeds
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/spec...x_optio33l.asp

Your model can do multiple shots too (see ? on continuous drive on the website). I met a professional photographer and he swears that different memory cards have different "transfer speeds" - the speed of transferring the photo-shot onto the memory card. He said to look out for cards with 80X or higher transfer speeds...of course, that comes with higher prices.

Next, your cam does a whopping max speed of 1/1500 sec shots. So that's another enhancement that you can use for those lightning quick shots you sought to take.

Hope all this helps your work from now on!

[Vianna Szabo]

Whew, it's over!

I went online about 30 minutes before the client came and was happy to see the information you sent, Marcus. Thank you so much for looking up the info on my camera. I did go into it's guts and make a few adjustments. The mom came with a high chair and Barney tape (Big Help) and the 6 year old sister (Not Big Help). I set the toddler so that his high chair was in good light and used the continous shoot option. The only problem with that function is that the camera insists that I also have continuous playback.. I should have found a way to shut off the playback but between the jealous sibling and Barney blasting in the background I found my ability to read camera functions hamperd. Again, outside in the shade (It is a beautiful sunny day) the camera excelled and the shots were fast and lovely. Unfortunately the little guy felt the session was over and we complied. Out of 100 photos there are 4 that are charming and usable.
Leslie, I did show the photos right away to the mother on my computer which is in my studio. I burned a CD of all the shots plus a file of the favorites. I do think a laptop would be nice and will add that to my wish list.

Thank you again, everyone for all your advice. I learned a lot.
Vianna Szabo

[Marcus Lim]

That's great Vianna!
I'm glad the tips have helped. Please share with us the final artwork from the new shots, when you've completed it!
I'd love to see it.

[Garth Herrick]

Originally Posted by Marcus Lim

........ In fact, even for the best digital SLRs in the markets still experience some forms of delays.

Hi Marcus,

I just wanted to chime in that at least some SLR Digital cameras on the market have no perceptable shutter delay at all! I don't mean to say they have no shutter delay, but that it just is not humanly perceptable.

I purchased my Nikon D-100 three years ago when it was advertised as being the original pro-sumer camera of its kind with no effective shutter delay. That was a huge selling point for me!

I can report that in the field and daily use over the past three years, those claims are absolutely true. I have taken over 90,000 pictures with it and any time it was of a moving object, it was captured just as it was anticipated with my shutter activation.

The only delays I get are with the memory buffer after seven continuous high speed shots (or taking a picture of a black object in the shadow, at midnight!). Some newer SLR digitls are significantly improved in that regard. But hey, I'm not really shooting movies, so that does not affect me so much.

Regards,
Garth

PS: Here's an example of good shutter timing without delay (probably mostly dumb luck). I have never even seen this flame in real life. Straight photography from my Nikon D-100 (no Photoshop).

And another!

[Terri Ficenec]

Woah... now that's a really cool photo Garth !

[Garth Herrick]

Thanks Terri!

Okay now I am on a roll with another example of precise D-100 shutter timing.

The first two pictures are the real-deal, no retouching. Those battered marble sculptures actually were present and in the midst of the original Battle of Germantown on October 4, 1777.

(Note: the Americans lost this battle. 70 men died on the front lawn of this house. The British were barracaded inside, and this proved to be a very well built house indeed! Even cannons were not up to the task. The site is Cliveden of the National Trust, and it still bears its original battle scars on the facade, and inside. To visit the website: click here. Those battle poster shots are mine too. Actually everyone is invited to attend the next Battle reinactment on October 1, 2005. Its free! See you there.)

On the second pair of pictures I had fun and added effects to an innocent image of four boys in a mock drill. I can assure you their muskets were not actually loaded! The fire was taken from the image in the previous post, and added in Photoshop. What fun!

The point I am making is that if this camera can ably capture the precise moment of a gun being fired, it stands to reason a wiggly toddler on the loose doesn't stand a chance eluding a trigger finger on this shutter! The Nikon D-50, D-70, and D-100 should each be about the same capability in this regard.

Garth

[Vianna Szabo]

Garth,

Those are amazing photos. You're right if a camera can handle that it most certainly can take on a wiggily toddler. I'm attaching some of the photos taken yesterday. You can see a definate difference between the indoor and the outdoor light in the color and clarity. Indoors I could almost hear the camera doing calculations. Unfortunately outside the little guy decided enough was enough and that the session was over. I will use those shots for color reference though. These are not great shots but I suppose you go to photo shoots with the camera you have.....

Vianna

[Garth Herrick]

Hi Vianna,

That is quite an adorable little guy. The outdoor shots do have excellent color; I doubt another camera would do any better. It's too bad if you cannot utilize the outdoor distracted theme (in a way like I had to with my painting .Arianna and Taylor). The only caution about those outdoor photos as color references are that the little boy's beautiful skin is a reflective screen highly influenced by everything around him. The orange shirt, surrounding greenery and sky really come into play here. It would be easier if you could use these photos with their original context and theme, like having the caregiver in the orange shirt in the image, or him running free in the garden.

Garth

[Vianna Szabo]

That is a beautiful painting of Arianna and Taylor, Garth. Gorgeous color and a wonderful feel to it. I am especially impressed with the skin tones. How nice the parents were supportive of this pose. In my case this is the third portrait I am doing for this family. Each child has been represented in a 16x20 head and shoulders pose in pastel at approximately 14 months of age. He is a real cutie but I am restricted by the previous portraits and the wishes of the mother. There is nothing prettier than a little one in the garden in morning light. I'm not going to copy the skin tones exactly from the outdoor shoot but use them to reference the indoor pose to spice them up. Wish me luck, and thanks for all of your input.

Vianna

[Garth Herrick]

Thanks Vianna!

When you get a chance, it would be interesting to see your three portraits posted in a grouping. It's always a dilemma do make three portraits work together. I'm sure you will do fine though.

Garth