E-330 shutter lag

[AbyssalPlains]

Hi all,

Just got back from a fabulous weekend in San Diego. There were a lot of nudibranchs out and I had a good time shooting macro. However, I am wondering why it sometimes takes several seconds for my E-330 to fire a shot. Most of the time, I had to pull the trigger and hold it down until the camera finally decided to open the shutter and fire the strobes. There was a bit of surge, so this lag turned out to be very annoying. I would focus the picture and pull the trigger, but by the time the camera actually made the exposure, the surge had already swept the nudibranch's cerata to the other side. The AF was set to S-AF, and from reading the manual I understand that in this mode, pressing the shutter halfway should obtain focus, and pressing it all the way should trigger the shutter immediately. This was not the case. I was using the 50mm Macro lens and two DS-51 strobes. Any suggestions?

 

[jlyle]

Strange. The S-AF shouldn't behave that way. The 50mm is quick to achieve AF and the shutter should fire immediately when you full press the shutter. Was the green light steady or still flashing? I tend to get too close to the subject trying to fill the frame - closer than the 50mm can focus (~5-6") - and the camera has trouble, but a little further away and it's right on.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

Hmm, I didn't pay attention to the green light. The subject to port distance was well above 5 inches, I would say a foot or so.

 

[gary-ramey]

After just doing a trip with my E410 and 50mm I can tell you that sometimes the available light just isn't enough and you will need a focus light. The only reason the camera wouldn't take a photo was if I was too close, or the camera couldn't focus on a low contrasting subject.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

After just doing a trip with my E410 and 50mm I can tell you that sometimes the available light just isn't enough and you will need a focus light. The only reason the camera wouldn't take a photo was if I was too close, or the camera couldn't focus on a low contrasting subject.

That could have been the case. It was a little dark down there, and I even had a focus light but didn't use it. These were also my first solo dives in the ocean so I guess I was focused on more things than just the photography. Should have remembered the focus light, though. Thanks for the reminder!