What exactly does the E-M1's "Release Lag-Time" setting do?

[dark goob]

In the E-M1 there is a weird menu option called "Release Lag-Time" with two options: [Normal] (default) and [Short]. When you select Short, an audible click can be heard inside the camera. Then the shutter release sound and vibration seems to become reduced (although in either case it's still much louder and feels like more vibration than the E-M5's whisper-quiet shutter).

Why do they even have this option? What exactly is it doing? What's with the click sound when you engage it? Why does it make the shutter sound less like a tiny mousetrap when the picture is taken? What is it doing to reduce lag precisely, and why does that involve a greater drain on battery life, according to the manual?

The manual states:

If [Short] is selected, the time lag between fully pressing the shutter button and the shot being taken can be shortened.*

* This will shorten the battery life. Also make sure that the camera is not subject to sharp impacts while in use. Such impacts may cause the monitor to stop displaying subjects. If this happens, turn the power off and on again.

Oh and, what's with this avoid "sharp impacts" warning? Don't you typically want to avoid sharp impacts to your camera, no matter what the settings are?

Note: I wish Olympus had a full-length printed manual with their flagship camera, and not just a "basic" one with the rest online. Frankly I expect at least a full-length user manual out of a $1400 box.

 

[Tony Rogers]

... and does it affect shutter shock. Enquiring minds want to know ;-).

 

[Skeeterbytes]

That's like having a button labeled "Do not press this button."

You definitely have me curious.

Cheers,

Rick

 

[Brian Caslis]

dark goob wrote:

...

Note: I wish Olympus had a full-length printed manual with their flagship camera, and not just a "basic" one with the rest online. Frankly I expect at least a full-length user manual out of a $1400 box.

Full PDF manual says the same thing. Hmmm.

 

[Stu 5]

Tony Rogers wrote:

... and does it affect shutter shock. Enquiring minds want to know ;-).

Somebody here is saying yes on a E-P5

Loading…

www.dpreview.com

 

[Stu 5]

Stu 5 wrote:

Tony Rogers wrote:

... and does it affect shutter shock. Enquiring minds want to know ;-).

Somebody here is saying yes on a E-P5

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/52302769

Just found this:

Short Release Time Lag Mode that makes quick responses possible

Short Release Time Lag mode is now included on the E-P5 for reducing the shutter release time lag. This mode is great for capturing subjects moving at high speeds.

Time lag is approximately 0.044 (minimum) seconds in release mode Short, with image stabilization OFF while the shutter button is pressed halfway.

The maximum number of shots is reduced by about 60 (CIPA standards).

http://asia.olympus-imaging.com/products/dslr/ep5/feature/06/

And:

There's also a new short release-time lag mode, which increases power consumption by around one-fifth, but decreases prefocused shutter lag by around the same margin. Olympus is claiming a time of around 0.049 second, which would gel well with a 20% reduction over the 0.060 second we measured for the E-P3. In our tests the E-P5's shutter lag wasn't quite as fast as claimed, but it was close at 0.052 second.

Loading…

www.imaging-resource.com

 

[ALinGolden]

You can buy the M1 manual through Olympus on-line for $10. It's larger than previous in-box manuals and has a nice translucent plastic front cover. Free shipping and I got it in three days. I found it worth the money, esp. considering the increased complexity of the M1...



Al

 

[3DrJ]

ALinGolden wrote:

You can buy the M1 manual through Olympus on-line for $10. It's larger than previous in-box manuals and has a nice translucent plastic front cover. Free shipping and I got it in three days. I found it worth the money, esp. considering the increased complexity of the M1...

Al

But does it say anything more about the "short release lag-time" setting than we already know?

If not, people might question whether it's worth the $10 or not...

Jules.

 

[dark goob]

Stu 5 wrote:

Tony Rogers wrote:

... and does it affect shutter shock. Enquiring minds want to know ;-).

Somebody here is saying yes on a E-P5

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/52302769

Oh, yes, it definitely reduces "shutter shock" to turn the Release Lag-Time to [Short]. Big time.

I suspect that there is an electromagnet holding a spring-loaded mechanism in the "up" position. The electromagnet requires power to hold the shutter in the "up" position. Thus the battery drain. It reduces vibration to use this because otherwise the shutter must be brought to the "up" position prior to the exposure. I can feel the difference just holding the camera. The sound is much less too.

Yet another reason to buy the HLD-7! LOL

 

[Tony Rogers]

dark goob wrote:

Stu 5 wrote:

Tony Rogers wrote:

... and does it affect shutter shock. Enquiring minds want to know ;-).

Somebody here is saying yes on a E-P5

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/52302769

Oh, yes, it definitely reduces "shutter shock" to turn the Release Lag-Time to [Short]. Big time.

I suspect that there is an electromagnet holding a spring-loaded mechanism in the "up" position. The electromagnet requires power to hold the shutter in the "up" position. Thus the battery drain. It reduces vibration to use this because otherwise the shutter must be brought to the "up" position prior to the exposure. I can feel the difference just holding the camera. The sound is much less too.

Yet another reason to buy the HLD-7! LOL

Um. I was joking! And I'm not sure that other tread shows any difference at all.

 

[Brian Wadie]

with the release set to Short I hear a distinct "clonk" when switching the camera on, as if something is being moved to a pre-set position (open or shut?) with it set Normal this doesn't occur.



Must have a play later

 

[boggis the cat]

dark goob wrote:

In the E-M1 there is a weird menu option called "Release Lag-Time" with two options: [Normal] (default) and [Short]. When you select Short, an audible click can be heard inside the camera. Then the shutter release sound and vibration seems to become reduced (although in either case it's still much louder and feels like more vibration than the E-M5's whisper-quiet shutter).

Well, it sounds like the shutter is being physically released then held by something that draws power.

That would remove the extra (small) delay required to ready the shutter for the capture.

(Just a guess.)

 

[Erik Magnuson]

As that would both reduce both shutter noise and latency. The sound would be the shutter switching to a different "hold-open mechanism", i.e. the normal live-view hold-open is mechanical but the exposure-end hold mechanism is electronic and uses power. The shock warning would be that the electronic hold-open mechanism is not as robust and could be jarred loose (which would close the shutter and shut off live view.)

 

[Guy Parsons]

Has anyone with the E-M1 bothered to look in the front without a lens on and see if anything obvious happens when normal or short lag shots are made?

Regards..... Guy

 

[Martin.au]

dark goob wrote:

Stu 5 wrote:

Tony Rogers wrote:

... and does it affect shutter shock. Enquiring minds want to know ;-).

Somebody here is saying yes on a E-P5

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/52302769

Oh, yes, it definitely reduces "shutter shock" to turn the Release Lag-Time to [Short]. Big time.

I suspect that there is an electromagnet holding a spring-loaded mechanism in the "up" position. The electromagnet requires power to hold the shutter in the "up" position. Thus the battery drain. It reduces vibration to use this because otherwise the shutter must be brought to the "up" position prior to the exposure. I can feel the difference just holding the camera. The sound is much less too.

Yet another reason to buy the HLD-7! LOL

That, combined with an electronic first curtain, is a good hypothesis.

 

[Brian Wadie]

just done it, nothing visible happens but the "Clunk" after switch on is still evident in the "Short"setting (but not with "Normal")

 

[Martin.au]

Brian Wadie wrote:

just done it, nothing visible happens but the "Clunk" after switch on is still evident in the "Short"setting (but not with "Normal")

Did you fire the shutter?

You might need to video, to see anything happen.

In fact, you might need a damn fast framerate too.

 

[Brian Wadie]

yes, shutter fired with lens off, as you say, it may be so fast / subtle that a video would be needed



I'll leave that for someone else

 

[dark goob]

Erik Magnuson wrote:

As that would both reduce both shutter noise and latency. The sound would be the shutter switching to a different "hold-open mechanism", i.e. the normal live-view hold-open is mechanical but the exposure-end hold mechanism is electronic and uses power. The shock warning would be that the electronic hold-open mechanism is not as robust and could be jarred loose (which would close the shutter and shut off live view.)

 

[Polytropia]

I recorded audio of the E-M1's shutter being fired in both modes. Below are screenshots of the waveforms. "RLT Normal" (top image) is with the "Release Lag-Time" setting set to [Normal]; "RLT Short" (bottom image) is with the "Release Lag-Time" set to [Short]. My camera shutter speed was 1/160 sec. I recorded this using my iPhone and normalized both recordings to -2DB in Peak.

My analysis would be that on Normal, there appears a large spike prior to the main shutter -- but on Short, the large spike happens *after* the exposure.

Sound = vibration. Here, I think, is your scientific proof that Release Lag-Time of [Short] absolutely reduces pre-exposure sound (and therefore vibration). Whether or not the degree of vibration is enough to cause blur in the image, I suspect, is highly circumstantial. Either way I'll be using the [Short] setting and avoiding "sharp impacts" LOL.