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Olympus E-10 A 4 megapixel sensor and unique SLR optics make for a major coup for Olympus! (Final review, based on full-production model.) Select a topic Reference: Datasheet E10 Sample Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Exposure & Flash :(Previous) | (Next): Operation & User Interface>> Page 7:Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests Review First Posted: 1/26/2001

Shutter Lag / Cycle Times
When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time 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 number is almost never reported on, and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, we now routinely measure it using a special electronic test setup.

Olympus E-10 Timings
Operation	Time (secs)	Notes
Power On -> First shot	6.9	A bit slow, surprising, since no need for a telescoping lens to extend.
Shutdown (Min res/TIFF)	1.73/33.5	Since the lens doesn't need to retract, "shutdown" time is effectively zero. The times shown are how long it takes to finish saving a just-captured image, at minimum resolution, and max resolution TIFF format.
Play to Record, first shot	2.15/0.89	Fairly fast to very fast. First number is time to first shot after switching mode dial. Second number is time from "quick review" mode to first shot after pressing shutter button. (That's *blazingly* fast!)
Record to play (max/min res)	11.27/5.09	A bit slow. "Quick Review" mode decreases times substantially, to about 5.3 seconds for a high-resolution image.
Shutter lag, full autofocus	0.542	Quite fast.
Shutter lag, manual focus	0.19	Also faster than average.
Shutter lag, prefocus	0.12	Quite a bit faster than average.
Cycle Time, autofocus (max/min res)	4.2/1.0	Record view (brief playback on LCD) slows to 4.2 seconds. With record view turned off, shot to shot is very fast at 1.0 seconds.
Cycle Time, manual focus (max/min res)	2.95 frames/sec	Very fast in continuous mode (even at high res, 5 shots!)

While a little slow starting up and shutting down, the E-10 showed itself to be an impressively fast performer in almost all other respects. Shutter lag was very good, much better than the typical high-end "prosumer" cameras we see so many of. (Of course, the E-10 sells at a much higher price than typical "prosumer" models too.) Cycle time was also very good, provided we left the "Record View" option disabled. And continuous mode was very impressive, particularly in that it could capture even maximum-resolution uncompressed TIFF images at the full 2.95 frames/second speed. (!) Overall, a very fast camera at its price point.