Pentax *ist-DPentax's first d-SLR is a winner, with good color, low noise, and excellent "hand feel," all in a compact body.<<Exposure & Flash :(Previous) | (Next): Operation & User Interface>> Page 7:Shutter Lag & Cycle Time TestsReview First Posted: 03/30/2004 |
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 time allows the autofocus
and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work and can amount to a fairly
long delay in some situations. Since this important number is rarely reported
on (and even more rarely reported accurately), I routinely measure it, using
a custom-built test setup. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001
second.)
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| Power On -> First shot | |
Time from turning on the power switch to the first shot
captured. Quite fast. |
| Shutdown | |
There's no lens to retract, so shutdown can be instantaneous.
It can take up to 15 seconds for the buffer to clear,
before the memory card can be safely removed. (Assuming
a reasonably fast memory card, the 15 second number was
measured with a Lexar 24x card.) |
| Play to Record, first shot | |
Hit the shutter button while in playback, record when
the shot is captured. Very fast. |
| Record to play (max/min res) | |
Time from hitting playback button to the last-captured
image being displayed on the LCD screen. Pretty fast. |
| Shutter lag, full autofocus | |
Quite fast. |
| Shutter lag, manual focus | |
Fairly fast. (Faster than consumer cameras, but some d-SLRs are quicker.) |
| Shutter lag, prefocus | |
Shutter lag when the shutter button is half-pressed and held prior to the exposure itself. Fairly fast. (Faster than consumer cameras, but some d-SLRs are quicker.) |
| Cycle time, large/fine JPEG files | |
Buffer fills after 5 shots; continues at slower speed. Buffer empties in ~15 seconds with 24x memory card. Good speed. |
| Cycle time, small/basic JPEG files | |
Buffer fills after 5 shots; continues at slower speed. Buffer empties in ~10 seconds with 24x memory card. Good speed. |
| Cycle time, TIFF files | |
Buffer fills after 5 shots; continues at much slower speed. (Times with 24x memory card.) Very good speed to buffer, fair after the buffer fills. |
| Cycle time, raw files | |
Buffer fills after 5 shots; continues at slower speed. (Times with 24x memory card.) Very good speed to buffer, fair after the buffer fills. |
| Continuous mode, large/small JPEG files | 0.41/2.04 |
Buffer fills after 5 shots; continues at slower speed. Top numbers are for large/fine files, bottom ones are for small/basic. Buffer clears in 15 and 10 seconds respectively. (Times with 24x memory card.) OK speed to buffer, fair after the buffer fills. |
| Continuous mode, RAW files | |
Buffer fills after 5 shots; continues at slower speed.
Buffer clears in 40 seconds. (Times with 24x memory card.)
OK speed to buffer, fair after the buffer fills. |
| Continuous mode, TIFF files | 0.41/17.3 | Buffer fills after 5 shots; continues at slower speed. Buffer clears in 100 seconds. (Times with 24x memory card.) Good speed to buffer, fair after the buffer fills. |
Overall, the *ist D is a pretty responsive camera. Shutter lag
times are generally good, although shutter response in manual focus
mode isn't as fast as much of the competition. Continuous speed
is pretty good, and the 5-shot buffer capacity is acceptable for
a camera in its class.
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