how do you all work around the shutter lag?

[kensuguro]

My first post in the photography forum.. so, hello all. I'm using a 5060. I've always felt stressed about the shutter lag. I mean, it's very good for a point shoot camera, and it doesn't bug me when I'm shooting slow moving creatures. But try going for a moving target and the lag is deadly. Right everyone? Well, I was wondering if there were any techniques that can make up for this..

 

[Allison Finch]

I also use a 5060. My answer to the shutter lag is to CUSS UP A STORM!! Oh. well.....
With patience (and a 1 gig card so you can take copious pictures) you'll get enough good pics to keep you satisfied.

 

[bertschb]

My answer was to buy a Canon 20D. I just could NOT get some of the shots I wanted. Flash recycle, write speeds, short battery life, etc just made everything about my P&S unbearable.

Now, I'm just waiting to get up the courage to buy the housing, strobe and arms for the 20D. It's another $2,500! Yikes. I know it will be worth it though.

 

[alcina]

I use the 5050 which has the same problem. I get around it a few ways:

- I slow down. Even active fish can settle into a "pattern" that you can try to anticipate. I think about the shots I want and figure a plan to get them before I come across them. This is usually as simple as setting a shutter speed and aperture and zoom distance in advance - then at least I have an idea of what I can immediately shoot. I adjust from there.

- I half press the shutter to lock the focus. Then patience and slowing down come into it again. I pan with a fish, I try to anticipate where he will be. It helps capture even those fast guys.

For me it was a matter of moving from a snapper to a thinking diver with camera. Has made a world of difference to the types of shots I am able to get, I believe.

 

[RonFrank]

My first post in the photography forum.. so, hello all. I'm using a 5060. I've always felt stressed about the shutter lag. I mean, it's very good for a point shoot camera, and it doesn't bug me when I'm shooting slow moving creatures. But try going for a moving target and the lag is deadly. Right everyone? Well, I was wondering if there were any techniques that can make up for this..

However there are a couple things that I found work.

As Alcina says, lock your focus.

Shoot with max DOF, and wide. Wide angles provide more DOF, and if you can stop down the aperture, you will help achieve sharper images.

Pace the fishes. When I was shooting fish that were moving, I tried to match their pace.

Stay still. Often if you approach a fish, they will leave, only to return if you stay put, and stay still.

I'm a newbie at this when if comes to UW, but these are some of the techniques I was using that seemed to help.

 

[discrepancy]

Stay still. Often if you approach a fish, they will leave, only to return if you stay put, and stay still.

RonFrank's got it right. Slow down, be patient, and let the fish relax. Also it costs nothing to shoot away like a fiend and delete the dud shots at home.

 

[scubaaaronh]

I've done as the others have, alcina and ron, if you dont get the pic of the fish and you stop and it doesnt come back after a few minutes i leave. You can usually get another shot of a similar fish later in your dive and if mot i return to the spot to see if possibly it returned. If you do go back to a spot don't go charging in creep in as to not spook the fish.

 

[bertschb]

I had a setup for what I knew would be a great shot of a little fish that was very aggressive and would charge me repeatedly. It required a VERY fast shutter (and auto-focus) to capture the shot which my P&S doesn't have. Prefocusing didn't work because this little guy was all over the place. I knew it was going to be nearly impossible to get the shot I wanted but I stayed there for a long time and shot probably 30 pictures. One of them was sorta OK. If I had a DSLR I suspect I would have captured exactly what I was looking for within a couple shots.

You can get decent shots with a P&S, it's just a LOT more work.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Locking the focus with the shutter helps reduce the lag as does increasing the depth of field by stopping down the aperture as much as you can (but the slower shutter creates it's own limitations on a moving fish, so some balance is required.

It's also a lot like shooting a moving target with a pistol. You have to develop a nice smooth swing to track the target and develop a good trigger pull and timing to anticipate the lag and make the shot exactly when you want it.

 

[kensuguro]

thanks for info guys. I guess it's a good idea for me to stay put to calm the fish down. I have a D70, but that's totally for land use only because a housing for that's going to cost double or triple the camera itself! Crazy!

Goin' off for my first wreck dive today, will see if I can get any good shots.