Shutter lag

In photography, shutter lag is the delay between triggering the shutter and when the photograph is actually recorded. This is a common problem in the photography of fast-moving objects or people in motion.

In film cameras, the delay is caused by the mechanism inside the camera that opens the shutter, exposing the film. Because the process is mechanical, however, and relatively brief, shutter lag in film cameras is often only noticeable (and of any concern) to professionals. SLRs had slightly longer shutter lag than rangefinders, because of the need to lift the mirror.

Shutter lag is much more of a problem with digital cameras. In digital cameras, the delay results from the charging of the CCD and relatively slow transmission of its capture data to the circuitry of the camera for processing and storage. Recent improvements in technology, however, such as the speed, bandwidth and power consumption of processor chips and memory, as well as CCD technology, have made shutter lag less of a problem. Currently, in 2007, the greatest advancements have been limited mostly to professional, "prosumer," and high-end consumer-grade digital cameras. Inexpensive (most "point-and-shoot") digital cameras, however, have even reduced the average shutter lag to half seconds, and higher-end "point-and-shoot" cameras have reduced this down to a quarter second or less.

However, what many people consider shutter lag is in fact the time the camera takes to meter and auto-focus. Therefore having already done this (often by pressing the shutter halfway down) decreases the time for the camera to take the picture once the button is fully pressed.

Examples of Various Shutter Lag Times

External links

• Shutter lag comparison chart for digital P&S
• NY Times article on shutter lag
• Photographer's Article on Shutter Lag