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

imagemaker46 · Jan 13, 2014

The lag on high end digital cameras does not affect anything. This is just another example of a tech geek teacher pointing out something that has no relevance to the image being produced.

runnah · Jan 13, 2014

imagemaker46 said:
The lag on high end digital cameras does not affect anything. This is just another example of a tech geek teacher pointing out something that has no relevance to the image being produced.

+1

When you start worrying about milliseconds of delay between shutter release I think you are worrying about the wrong things in life.

Big Mike · Jan 13, 2014

People have mentioned using manual focus to speed things up. And while that can certainly help, it doesn't cover the issue fully.

You camera (I believe) has three focus modes, One Shot, AI Servo and AI Focus. In One shot mode (and in AI Focus, I think) the camera won't open the shutter until the AF has been confirmed. How quickly the AF reaches it's target and stops, depends on many factors including the lens, the camera's auto focus abilities, the light levels and the situation in which you are in.
So even if you are already focused on or close to your subject, if the shutter release button is also the auto focus 'on' button, then there will be some amount of delay (over and above the base shutter lag).

However, if you use AI Servo mode, the camera does not wait for AF confirmation. So in this mode, the total shutter lag is going to be shorter/faster. Of course, this also means that your chances of getting an OOF image are higher.

What I have been doing for many years, is using the technique of 'back button focus'. Your camera likely has an 'AF-ON' button on the back, and older cameras would allow the user to set AF to the * button. Either way, I also remove AF from the shutter button...so the camera only focuses when I press the rear button with my thumb. So when the rear button is not depressed, the camera acts like it's in manual focus mode and (I would think) has a slightly faster shutter lag.

bratkinson · Jan 13, 2014

Milliseconds are only of concern when talking about shutterspeed as it affects overall exposure in photography. Other than that, milliseconds matter if you are designing computer equipment.

Yes, the older point and shoot cameras had an extremely frustrating 'shutter lag' when the button was pressed...especially in low light. But with a DSLR, shutter lag is, for all intents, a non-issue. But there ARE some low light/slow lens situations where it COULD take the camera a fraction of a second to achieve focus.

And use manual focus? Let's see...look through the viewfinder with no 35mm film camera-style focusing screen, reach for and rotate the focus ring on the lens, then click the shutter...what...2 seconds on a GOOD DAY???

Oh...and here's a shot with my 5D mark iii on "slow" AI-Servo auto-focus...

imagemaker46 · Jan 13, 2014

Manual focus on any camera using any lens depends greatly on the person holding the camera. I grew up shooting sports focusing manual on high speed subjects, I still practice manual at every event I shoot. Do I focus better than the average camera owner, probably, but then it's all about practice. I agree that the screens on digi cams aren't all that great and turning a motor in a lens isn't the same as a manual only lens, but it can be done, and for some things it's just as fast as using autofocus and in some cases better.

amolitor · Jan 13, 2014

It's possible they instructors are comparing rangefinder film cameras with modern DSLRs, which is indeed a different kettle of fish.

runnah · Jan 13, 2014

amolitor said:
It's possible they instructors are comparing rangefinder film cameras with modern DSLRs, which is indeed a different kettle of fish.

It is, but still we are talking such a small amount of time I can't imagine anyone being bothered.

Short of doing photography for chemical reactions, explosions, guns, accident testing etc... I cannot think of a setting where a DSLR is being used that a millisecond difference is going to matter.

Derrel · Jan 13, 2014

I thought this article was interesting. The Brain: What Is the Speed of Thought? | DiscoverMagazine.com

I suspect the teacher preaching the milliseconds theory is the Leica 35mm teacher. Years ago, it was said that Leica cameras had around a 1/250 second shutter lag time, which is MUCH faster than ANY SLR cameras. The Leica rangefinder has no need to swing a mirror up, and close the lens iris down to shooting aperture before the exposure can be made. 1/250 second lag time is 4 milliseconds; that old fable might have some cred for some people, but the Wikipedia entry on shutter lag time lists the new Leica M7 film camera as having a 12 millisecond shutter lag time.

If anybody has even bothered to look at the list of shutter lag time and mirror black-out time, they's see that a low-end Canon T3 has about .26 seconds of delay combined between pressing the shutter release button, and the mirror coming back into viewing position. The cheapest Canon bodies listed in that extensive list have shutter lag times as long a one-tenth of a second.The Rebel T3 is a VERY sluggish camera. Shutter lag time is 110 milliseconds; a Canon 1DX is one of the fastest d-slrs, with a shutter lag time of 36 to 55

milliseconds.Shutter lag - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What I have learned over the years is that one's own sense of timing takes a while to become refined between different camera models. When moving between a "slug", like a Nikon D70, and a fast camera, like a D2x or D3x, the reaction of the camera is much faster, both in firing, and in the viewfinder image coming back. With a "slug", you have to a_n_t_i_c_i_p_a_t_e and fire very early to capture what you think what "will soon be" happening. After using ANY specific camera for a few weeks, I think you get adapted to its lag times and the way it shoots.