Flash card wait time

[davis10]

I just got my first DSLR and have be doing some night shots. I have noticed that it takes the camera considerably longer to load photos onto the memory card from the built in memory if the exposure is longer. Why is this, it doesn't make sense to me. (I am talking about the time the camera displays "Busy" AFTER the shutter closes).

the memory card is a scandisk ultra II 2GB. I bought this card off ebay and have hear stories about people getting name brand cards that are actually cheap cards with name brand lables. Could I have become a victim of this?

-- the camera in question is a 20D

 

[Innocence]

Same thing happens on my point and shoot. Longer exposures = longer lag. I'm curious too hehe.

Oh, btw I dont think a 20gb CF ultra II card exists. :/

 

[LaFoto]

It happens with every card and every camera: longer exposure, longer "busy" time for storing. It has nothing to do with the memory card you got yourself. Mine are all from a specialised shop and when I do bulb photography (well, erm I have done that ONCE in my life), the "busy" sign was up for almost as long as my exposure time had been before.

 

[Big Mike]

This is a feature of 'some' cameras. It's called something like auto noise reduction. Basically, the camera is running it's own anti-noise filter...but that takes time.

With some cameras, you can turn this feature on or off...with other cameras, it comes on automatically when the shutter speed is higher than a preset time.

 

[bitteraspects]

it all depends on your camera. they have different buffer speeds. the buffer will determine the wait time

 

[Don Simon]

If it's an issue with long exposures specifically then as Mike said it's the camera's noise reduction at work. As I understand it the camera has to take a second exposure (with the shutter closed) in order for the software to find hot pixels and clean them up. Or something like that

Fortunately this can be turned off (check your camera's manual)... but if you do this and find that images taken with long exposures are very noisy then you'll need to do some noise reduction yourself. I prefer doing this to using the in-camera noise reduction anyway; I seem to lose less detail this way. Try NeatImage or Noise Ninja; both should work well and both have free trial versions. The free version of Noise Ninja however leaves watermarks on your saved images, so NeatImage might be better.

 

[davis10]

This is a feature of 'some' cameras. It's called something like auto noise reduction. Basically, the camera is running it's own anti-noise filter...but that takes time.

With some cameras, you can turn this feature on or off...with other cameras, it comes on automatically when the shutter speed is higher than a preset time.

yea I had my auto noise reduction on. I was wondering if there was a downside to using that feature. :thumbup:

and I was trying a panorama thats when this was bugging me the most, so If i turn it off and take a panorama can I stich it togeather and then use noise ninga on the whole image, or do I have to noise ninja each image and then stich them?