Fuji FinePix S3 ProFuji updates their digital SLR with a 12.34-megapixel Super CCD SR II, for amazing tonal range.<<Exposure & Flash :(Previous) | (Next): Operation & User Interface>> Page 7:Shutter Lag & Cycle Time TestsReview First Posted: 9/7/2005 |
Shutter Lag and 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 number is rarely reported on, and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I now routinely measure it, using a custom test system I built for the purpose, accurate to 0.001 seconds.
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(secs) |
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| Power On -> First shot | |
Almost immediate; difficult to measure. - A dramatic improvement over the previous S2. |
| Shutdown | |
First time is simple shutdown (nearly instant), second time is worst-case buffer-clearing time, corresponding to clearing seven low dynamic-range RAW shots from the buffer. (Buffer clearing time measured with a Lexar 80x CF card, slower cards will take longer.) |
| Play to Record, first shot | |
Nearly immediate, typical of most d-SLRs though. |
| 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. On the slow side. |
| Shutter lag, full autofocus | |
Will depend somewhat on the lens used, time shown was measured with the Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 macro lens attached, not the fastest-focusing lens out there. Good speed, better than most consumer-grade d-SLRs, not as fast as the best pro models. |
| Shutter lag, continuous autofocus |
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Shutter lag times improve slightly when operating in continuous-autofocus mode. (On many cameras, continuous AF has no impact on shutter lag with stationary subjects.) |
| Shutter lag, manual focus | 0.143 |
A bit on the slow side, compared to the current crop of d-SLRs. |
| Shutter lag, prefocus | 0.143 |
Time to capture, after half-pressing shutter button. Rather slow by current d-SLR standards. |
| Cycle Time, max/min resolution | 0.94 |
Times are averages. In large/fine mode, shoots 9 frames this fast (14 in "standard" dynamic range mode), then slows to about 2.1 seconds per shot. Buffer clears in 16 seconds. In TV (640x480) mode, shoots 6 frames this fast, then slows to about 1.2 seconds per shot. Buffer clears in 5 seconds. (Buffer clearing time measured with a Lexar 80x CF card, slower cards will take longer.) Slower than average by current standards, and somewhat limited buffer capacity. |
| Cycle Time, RAW mode | 0.69 (1.45 fps) |
Times are averages. Shoots 3 frames this fast, then slows to about 12 seconds per shot. Buffer clears in 35 seconds. (Buffer clearing time measured with a Lexar 80x CF card, slower cards will take longer.) No difference in buffer depth for standard/wide dynamic range modes, but shot to shot speeds and buffer clearing are both a bit faster when the expanded dynamic range option is disabled. |
| Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution, Wide dynamic range mode | 0.95 (1.06 fps) |
Results are nearly identical to single-shot mode. Times are averages. In large/fine mode, shoots 9 frames this fast (14 frames in "standard" dynamic range mode), then slows to about 2.2 seconds per shot. Buffer clears in 16 seconds. (Buffer clearing time measured with a Lexar 80x CF card, slower cards will take longer.) In TV (640x480) mode, shoots 6 frames this fast, then slows to about 1.2 seconds per shot. Buffer clears in 5 seconds. |
| Cycle Time, continuous mode, max/min resolution, Standard dynamic range mode | 0.50 (2.02 fps) |
Much faster when wide dynamic range option is disabled. In large/fine mode, shoots 14 frames this fast , then slows to about 2.2 seconds per shot. Buffer clears in 30 seconds. In TV (640x480) mode, shoots 13 frames at intervals of 0.44 second, then slows to about 0.8 seconds per shot. Buffer clears in 8 seconds. (Buffer clearing time measured with a Lexar 80x CF card, slower cards will take longer.) |
| Cycle Time, continuous mode, RAW, Wide dynamic range mode | 0.70 (1.43 fps) |
Results are nearly identical to single-shot mode. Times are averages. Shoots 3 frames this fast, then slows to about 12 seconds per shot. Buffer clears in 36 seconds. (Buffer clearing time measured with a Lexar 80x CF card, slower cards will take longer.) |
| Cycle Time, continuous mode, RAW, Standard dynamic range mode | 0.41 (2.45 fps) |
Again, much faster in "Standard" dynamic range mode. (I didn't measure single-shot cycle times in Standard DR mode, so no comparison to discuss here.) Times are averages. Shoots 3 frames this fast, then slows to about 12 seconds per shot. Buffer clears in 36 seconds. (Buffer clearing time measured with a Lexar 80x CF card, slower cards will take longer.) |
Good startup time, but slower than average overall, relative to other d-SLRs, particularly pro-grade ones. The S3 Pro starts up almost instantly, a significant improvement over the previous S2 model. Once running though, its performance is only average. -- In part due to the added data and processing required to capture and merge the extended dynamic-range tonal information. At 0.21 second, shutter lag in full-autofocus mode is better than that of most consumer-grade d-SLRs, if not quite up to the performance levels of competing professional cameras. Shutter lag in manual focus or prefocused mode is 0.143 second, more on a par with consumer SLRs. Shot to shot times are where the S3 Pro pays a price for its sophisticated dynamic-range expansion technology. With the wide dynamic range capability enabled, shot to shot times for large/fine JPEG images are a sluggish 0.94 second in both single-shot and continuous shooting modes. Giving up the expanded dynamic range capability cuts cycle times in half, although 2 frames/second in continuous mode still isn't too impressive by current standards. Buffer depths are also a little limited compared to other d-SLRs on the market, running from as few as 3 RAW format wide dynamic range shots, to 7 RAW "standard" dynamic range ones, to 9 large/fine wide dynamic range JPEGs, or 14 large/fine "standard" dynamic range ones.
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