Factors Affecting The Digital Camera Speed

2007-05-02 10:04:19

( Technology )



There are five factors that affect a digital camera speed. These are the boot-up time, the shutter-lag time, the drive speed (sequential photo capture), the buffer capacity and the memory card speed.

Boot-Up Time

When you turn on your camera, there is that short delay (called boot-up time) before it is ready to take photographs. Different digital cameras have varied boot-up times. But the newer high speed cameras have much faster boot-up times compared to the first-generation digital cameras.

Since you can no longer improve your digital camera speed, you have to familiarize yourself with it so you can estimate the time when it will be ready to shoot. This is particularly important when taking pictures of an event, since you cannot have the camera turned on at all times to avoid draining the battery.

Shutter-Lag Time

Shutter-lag time also varies widely. This is the time between your finger pushing down the shutter-release button and when the shutter opens. You should practice taking action shots to develop the reflexes to correctly anticipate motion. You can also shoot continuously and just pray you catch the best moment.

Drive Speed

Drive speed refers to the time from the moment you make the shot to the transfer of imaged data to the internal buffer. Cheaper digital cameras normally have one to two frames per seconds speed. Specialized pro SLRs have at least eight frames per second. Note that shutter speed can also affect the drive speed.

Buffer Capacity

When your camera stops taking pictures, this means the internal buffer is full. You will have to transfer imaged data to its memory card. Compact digital cameras have relatively small buffer capacity. Test your camera's buffer capacity before shooting photographs of events.

Memory Card Speed

Memory card speed affects the clearing time of the internal buffer, but does not directly impact digital camera speed.


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