Kodak EasyShare P880Kodak re-enters the enthusiast market with a great 8-megapixel offering<<Exposure and Flash :(Previous) | (Next): User Interface>> Page 7:Shutter Lag/ Cycle Time TestsReview First Posted: 11/23/2005 |
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 Kodak EasyShare P880:
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(secs) |
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| Power On -> First shot | |
Camera boots and LCD turns on. Fairly fast, largely because there's no need to wait for the lens to telescope out. |
| Shutdown | |
First time is simple shutdown, second time is worst-case buffer-clearing time. Buffer clearing times are generally on the slow side. |
| Play to Record, first shot | |
Time until first shot is captured. Fairly fast. |
| 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 on the slow side, second is very fast. |
| Shutter lag, full autofocus | |
First time is at full wide-angle, second is full telephoto. On the slow side of average, particularly for this class of camera. |
| Shutter lag, prefocus | |
Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button. Very fast. |
| Shutter lag, continuous autofocus | 0.97 |
As usual, no benefit from continuous focus with stationary subjects. |
| Shutter lag, manual focus | 0.40 |
On the slow side. |
| Cycle Time, max/min resolution | 1.4 / 1.35 |
First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for small/basic files. Times are averages. In large/fine mode, shoots 7 frames this fast, then stops for 25 seconds to clear the buffer. In small/basic mode, shoots over 40 frames this fast without stopping, but still takes 25 seconds to clear the buffer. Buffer-clearing times measured with a 133x Kingston SD memory card, slower cards may take correspondingly longer. While clearly not in the realm of digital SLR models, these are good times for an 8-megapixel prosumer camera. |
| Cycle Time, Flash exposures | 5 | (Flash at maximum power output) Average for this class of camera, clearly faster than most compact models. |
| Cycle Time, TIFF / RAW mode, max resolution | 22.3 / 12.4 | First number is for large TIFF files, second number is time for RAW files. Times are averages. In either mode, shoots one frame, then stops to clear the buffer. Slow. (Times measured with a 133x Kingston SD memory card, slower cards would take even longer.) |
| Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution | 0.93 / 0.20 (1.08 / 4.90 fps) |
First number is for large/fine files, second number is time for small/basic files. Times are averages. In large/fine mode, shoots 7 frames this fast, then stops for 26 seconds to clear the buffer. In small/basic mode, shoots 40 frames this fast, then stops for 30 seconds to clear the buffer. Buffer-clearing times measured with a 133x Kingston SD memory card, slower cards may take correspondingly longer. Continuous mode cycle times are clearly slower than most of the P880's competition. |
The Kodak P880's shutter lag was on the slow side off average, but did have a fairly quick startup time, and shot to shot cycle times were good for an 8-megapixel model. Its shutter lag of roughly 0.9 - 1.0 second is within the average range of 0.8-1.0, but falls short of the performance of other high-end models that it competes with. As is generally the case, continuous autofocus didn't help with stationary subjects. Half-pressing and holding down the shutter button to prefocus the camera prior to the shot itself made for very quick response though, about 0.09 second. Shot to shot cycle times weren't good for an 8-megapixel camera, but of course, one always yearns for better. (While more expensive, digital SLR cameras still hold a commanding lead in this area.) Continuous mode was a good bit slower than average, at just over one frame/second, for up to seven shots in succession. The flash took about five seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, about average for this class of camera, and better than many compact models can manage. Connected to a computer, download speeds are a bit slow compared to current standards, though most users will probably manage just fine without a separate card reader.
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