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Epson PhotoPC 3100Z

Epson updates their excellent 3 megapixel digicam with a new user interface, and support for PRINT Image Matching!

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Page 7:Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests
Review First Posted: 7/10/2001

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 is to allow 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 Imaging Resource proprietary testing. The table below shows the times we measured for various camera operations.

Epson PhotoPC 3100Z Timings

Operation Time (secs)
Notes

Power On -> First shot 7.6
Slower than average.

Shutdown 6.8
Average to a bit slower than average.

Play to Record, first shot 3.4
A little slow.

Record to play (max/min res) 17.8/3.3/2.9
Longest time is for HyPict (interpolated) file format, immediate switch to play after shutter trip, shorter times are for max/min res JPEG formats.

Shutter lag, full autofocus 0.90-1.24 A bit slower than average. (Average is about 0.75) Shortest time is for wide angle, longest for telephoto.

Shutter lag, manual focus 0.55 About average.

Shutter lag, prefocus 0.29 About average.

Cycle time, large/fine files 2.75/4.8 Shorter time is for first four shots, then jumps to 4.8 seconds, but subsequent shots are at 3.9 second intervals. Fairly fast, good buffer size.

Cycle time, small/basic files 2.59 Average speed, but buffer holds at least 10 shots. (All we tested.)

Cycle time, TIFF files 43 (!) TIFF mode files are huge, take a long time to write.(Not unusually slow for large TIFFs.)

Continuous mode 0.80/6.58 First time is for first five shots, then wait 6.58 seconds, then another four shots.

Overall, the PhotoPC 3100Z is a little faster than average among top-end prosumer cameras we've tested. Autofocus speed is a bit slower than average, but not by much. Cycle time is pretty good, at only 2.75 seconds for the first five shots before slowing for the sixth while the buffer clears. (This is a nice buffer length, most competing cameras can only rapid-fire for two or three shots.) Startup and shutdown are a little sluggish, but overall the 3100Z is a solid performer.

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Epson PhotoPC 3100Z Timings
Operation	Time (secs)	Notes
Power On -> First shot	7.6	Slower than average.
Shutdown	6.8	Average to a bit slower than average.
Play to Record, first shot	3.4	A little slow.
Record to play (max/min res)	17.8/3.3/2.9	Longest time is for HyPict (interpolated) file format, immediate switch to play after shutter trip, shorter times are for max/min res JPEG formats.
Shutter lag, full autofocus	0.90-1.24	A bit slower than average. (Average is about 0.75) Shortest time is for wide angle, longest for telephoto.
Shutter lag, manual focus	0.55	About average.
Shutter lag, prefocus	0.29	About average.
Cycle time, large/fine files	2.75/4.8	Shorter time is for first four shots, then jumps to 4.8 seconds, but subsequent shots are at 3.9 second intervals. Fairly fast, good buffer size.
Cycle time, small/basic files	2.59	Average speed, but buffer holds at least 10 shots. (All we tested.)
Cycle time, TIFF files	43 (!)	TIFF mode files are huge, take a long time to write.(Not unusually slow for large TIFFs.)
Continuous mode	0.80/6.58	First time is for first five shots, then wait 6.58 seconds, then another four shots.