Canon EOS-1Ds Mark IICanon upgrades their "ultimate" d-SLR with 16.7 megapixels of resolution and significant performance improvements.<<Flash :(Previous) | (Next): Operation & User Interface>> Page 10:Shutter Lag / Cycle TimesReview First Posted: 9/26/2005 |
Shutter Lag / Cycle Times
When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I measured for the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II:
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(secs) |
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| Power On -> First shot | |
Barely noticeable. |
| Shutdown | |
First time is simple shutdown, second time is worst-case buffer-clearing time. (After 9 RAW+Large JPEGs, with a Lexar 80x CF card. Slower cards will clear more slowly.) |
| Play to Record, first shot | |
Nearly instantaneous. |
| Record to play | |
First time is that required to display a large/fine file immediately after capture, second time is that needed to display a large/fine file that has already been processed and stored on the memory card. First time is modest, but considering the 16 megapixels of data involved, not bad. Second time is quite fast. |
| Shutter lag, full autofocus | |
Measured with 100mm Macro lens (a slower than average lens), times will vary somewhat with the lens in use. Very fast. |
| Shutter lag, continuous autofocus |
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Extremely fast. |
| Shutter lag, manual focus | 0.057 |
Extremely fast. |
| Shutter lag, prefocus | 0.052 |
Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button. Extremely fast. |
| Cycle Time, JPEG, max/min resolution | 0.51 / 0.52 | First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for small/basic files. Times are averages. Shoots 17 large/fine frames this fast, then slows to about 3.7 seconds per shot. (With a Lexar 80x CF card, slower cards will show longer post-buffer-fill cycle times and longer clearing times.) In small/basic mode, continues at this rate for over 100 shots. Buffer clears in 43 seconds for large/fine images, only 1 second for lowest resolution. |
| Cycle Time, RAW | 0.55 / 0.52 | First number is for RAW files, second number is for RAW + large JPEG files. (Yes, the latter is just ever so slightly faster, I don't know why.) Times are averages. Shoots 12 RAW frames this fast, then slows to about 3.7 seconds per shot. In RAW + large JPEG mode, shoots 9 frames this fast, then slows to about 6.4 seconds per shot. Buffer clears in 40 seconds for RAW images, 56 seconds for RAW + large JPEG images. (As above, times measured with a Lexar 80x CF card, slower cards will clear the buffer more slowly.) Good speed, and a deep buffer, particularly considering the enormous size of the images. |
| Cycle Time, continuous mode, JPEG, max/min resolution | 0.25 (3.93 fps) |
Times are averages. Shoots 16 large/fine frames this fast, then slows to about 2.8 seconds per shot. In small/basic mode, continues at this rate for over 100 shots. Buffer clears in 42 seconds for large/fine images, 10 seconds for lowest resolution. (As above, times measured with a Lexar 80x CF card, slower cards will clear the buffer more slowly.) Excellent speed, and buffer depth, especially given the huge image size. |
| Cycle Time, continuous mode, RAW | 0.26 (3.92 fps) |
Times are averages. Shoots 11 RAW frames this fast, then slows to about 3.7 seconds per shot. In RAW + large JPEG mode, shoots 9 frames this fast, then slows to about 6.4 seconds per shot. Buffer clears in 39 seconds for RAW images, 56 seconds for RAW + large JPEG images. Excellent speed, and buffer depth, especially given the huge image size. |
Excellent shooting speed, very good buffer depth. By any measure, the Canon 1Ds Mark II is a fast-shooting camera, with near instant startup times, absolutely top-drawer shutter response (0.18 second in full autofocus mode), and excellent shot to shot cycle times (almost two frames/second in single-shot mode, nearly four frames/second in continuous mode), with a surprising buffer capacity (16-17 large JPEGs, 11-12 RAW files) in light of its enormous image size. There really isn't much to fault here, although it must be said that its lower-resolution sibling the 1D Mark II makes it seem positively pokey when compared with its own 8.5 frame/second performance. Still though, an amazingly nimble shooter for all of its physical bulk.
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