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The Half-Pressed Button

By Mike Pasini, Editor
Imaging Resource Newsletter

One of the first things you noticed about your new digicam, we'll bet, is that little delay between the time you pressed the shutter button and when the digicam actually got around to snapping the shot.

A lot goes on during that delay. Memory may have to be cleared, focus set, whites balanced, etc.

But if you know in advance what the light is and where to focus, and you're just waiting for the right moment, try holding your shutter button halfway down before the shot. On most digicams that will lock in those settings. So the camera will have less to do when the right moment comes along.

This technique is also handy for those times when you want to focus on something that, well, isn't there yet. Find something about the same distance away and press the shutter button halfway down to lock the focus.

This article is reprinted from The Imaging Resource Digital Photography Newsletter,
Beginner's Flash Column, published November 4, 1999