"Speeding-Up" the Canon 5d mkIII; taking images that little bit faster.

RB_Photography · Jan 12, 2014

Alright, so a little bit of background story to better explain what I am asking. I am a photography student shooting with a Canon 5d mkIII and a 24-105 f4 lens. If I could have some better glass I would but money is a bit of an issue right now so I have to work with what I have. I know my lens may be playing a slight part in this issue, or what I am asking.
I hope I can explain this clearly as possible.

Some of my photography teachers have been talking about how the new dSLRs are just that little bit slower than the original film cameras. Being when you press down the shutter button, some processing needs to happen before the image is captured. Obviously there is a fair amount of info being processed while that button is being held down. That processing can result in the image not quite being how the photographer may want it. I understand that pressing the shutter button down before something happens can help, such as predicting what is to come, or having the bust mode or multiple frame setting on. I also understand that certain auto-focus and other settings can make a difference.

I am wondering if its possible to speed up this process, to make it all happen a little faster. Such as turning certain settings deeper in the camera menu off so when the shutter button is pressed down, the image can be more quickly?

Any info or idea would be greatly appreciated. This is mainly out of curiosity, as in class we have discussed this a few times, and I have not much through google searching.

Thanks in advance!

Designer · Jan 12, 2014

I don't know what those photography teachers are on about, but IMO, it is the focusing that causes the camera lag.

Turn off auto focus.

Derrel · Jan 12, 2014

I know that in the Nikon D2x, turning the image review to OFF sped the camera up by a significant amount in terms of milliseconds of delay between pressing the shutter and the image ACTUALLY being made. AS I recall, it was 85 or 87 milliseconds with automatic image review left On, and with it set to Off, it was, if my memory is correct, 59 milliseconds; at the TIME, late 2004, that was the fastest d-slr lag time in the industry. I believe that the serious enthusiast bodies like 5D-II and D800 have equalled or surpassed that speed today.

runnah · Jan 12, 2014

Sounds like your teachers are a bit mistaken. Turn off auto focus and shoot in manual mode and most camera are instant action. What gets in the way is all the assists. Cameras are much faster in terms of FPS than they were in the mechanical days. Now the only thing slowing your camera down is the buffer speed and write speed of your card.

RB_Photography · Jan 12, 2014

Derrel said:
I know that in the Nikon D2x, turning the image review to OFF sped the camera up by a significant amount in terms of milliseconds of delay between pressing the shutter and the image ACTUALLY being made. AS I recall, it was 85 or 87 milliseconds with automatic image review left On, and with it set to Off, it was, if my memory is correct, 59 milliseconds; at the TIME, late 2004, that was the fastest d-slr lag time in the industry. I believe that the serious enthusiast bodies like 5D-II and D800 have equalled or surpassed that speed today.

There we go! Thank you! I'll look into that. A few milliseconds really doesn't make that much of a difference but anything can help.
I really was just curious about this, being the naturally curious person I am I had to look into it! Im at a motor spots event on the 18th and 19th, I'll give this a shot (ha!) and see what the results are. I'll let you know Derrel is it makes a difference!

runnah said:
Sounds like your teachers are a bit mistaken. Turn off auto focus and shoot in manual mode and most camera are instant action. What gets in the way is all the assists. Cameras are much faster in terms of FPS than they were in the mechanical days. Now the only thing slowing your camera down is the buffer speed and write speed of your card.

They more than likely are, well to a certain extent. Certain settings will make the camera faster or slower. I was wondering if there was anything beyond auto-focus that could potentially make a difference.

Derrel · Jan 12, 2014

Here is an article showing both shutter lag times and viewfinder blackout times for many Canon models. Canon EOS 5D Mark III Review

Josh66 · Jan 12, 2014

If you're only talking about shutter lag - the time between pressing the button and a picture being taken - I don't think there is anything you can do.

(Obviously, it you're using AF and you didn't focus before pressing the button, it will take longer - but that's a separate issue to shutter lag.)

shaylou · Jan 12, 2014

I'm just curious why they are even talking about this. There is know way a person could tell the difference of such a tiny amount of time.

imagemaker46 · Jan 12, 2014

Everyone knows that a faster camera produces better images.

KmH · Jan 12, 2014

It sounds like the teachers may be discounting how long mechanical shutter lag can be. It is not instantaneous.

Josh66 · Jan 12, 2014

shaylou said:
I'm just curious why they are even talking about this. There is know way a person could tell the difference of such a tiny amount of time.

RB_Photography said:
Some of my photography teachers have been talking about how the new dSLRs are just that little bit slower than the original film cameras. Being when you press down the shutter button, some processing needs to happen before the image is captured. Obviously there is a fair amount of info being processed while that button is being held down. That processing can result in the image not quite being how the photographer may want it. I understand that pressing the shutter button down before something happens can help, such as predicting what is to come, or having the bust mode or multiple frame setting on. I also understand that certain auto-focus and other settings can make a difference.

It almost sounds like the photography teacher has never used a DSLR and just assumes that they have the same shutter lag that a P&S or cell phone has - since they're all digital, they must all be the same, right?

I can't honestly see anyone who has used a DSLR complaining about shutter lag...

RB_Photography · Jan 12, 2014

imagemaker46 said:
Everyone knows that a faster camera produces better images.

KmH said:
It sounds like the teachers may be discounting how long mechanical shutter lag can be. It is not instantaneous.

RB_Photography said:
Some of my photography teachers have been talking about how the new dSLRs are just that little bit slower than the original film cameras. Being when you press down the shutter button, some processing needs to happen before the image is captured. Obviously there is a fair amount of info being processed while that button is being held down. That processing can result in the image not quite being how the photographer may want it. I understand that pressing the shutter button down before something happens can help, such as predicting what is to come, or having the bust mode or multiple frame setting on. I also understand that certain auto-focus and other settings can make a difference.

It almost sounds like the photography teacher has never used a DSLR and just assumes that they have the same shutter lag that a P&S or cell phone has - since they're all digital, they must all be the same, right?

I can't honestly see anyone who has used a DSLR complaining about shutter lag...[/QUOTE]

The two of them are pretty old school.... one of them perches the Leica 35mm. However, all the teachers in my program work professionally in the field. The two of them talking about how once the shutter button is pressed the image is not captured "instantly" but a matter of milliseconds later, stirred up my question that I asked here.

I do know that P&S cameras are not as fast as some dSLRs. You press the shutter button and there is a very brief moment of processing.

A Nikon Coolpix can have around 1800 milliseconds of shutter lag
While a Canon EOS-1D mkII has 40 milliseconds of shutter lag

A Canon EOS-1n RS film SLR has 6

Thats just some stuff I found of wikipedia (not the most reliable source in the world) but it goes with what I was asking, if in dSRLs today there is any way to shorten that.

Josh66 · Jan 12, 2014

RB_Photography said:
A Canon EOS-1n RS film SLR has 6

The 1N RS is like my "main camera" - I use it nearly every day.

It only has a 6ms shutter lag while in "RS" mode. In the "regular" mode, I think it has something like a 10ms lag, which is still exceptional.

"A matter of milliseconds", in practical terms is the same thing as "instantaneous". No human can detect the difference...

I wouldn't worry about it too much...

Josh66 · Jan 12, 2014

BTW, if they are using the 1N RS as the "reference point", that right there makes the whole argument BS. It was the state-of-the-art ... 20 years ago. It still may have the lowest shutter lag, but in the real world, that doesn't matter much.

Josh66 · Jan 12, 2014

BTW, the reason it's faster in RS mode is that AF is disabled. The whole 'mechanism' that does the focusing moves out of the way (when you press the shutter release half way) in RS mode (it apparently takes 4ms for that to happen in the "normal" mode). And the 1N RS has a pellicle mirror - the mirror does not move when you take a picture - you shoot through the mirror, which is really just a thin mylar film. You lose 2/3 of a stop because of this.