Olympus Cameras: Shutter Release Lag Time = Normal or Short

CrisPhoto wrote:

Charley123 wrote:

I'm aware this setting reduces battery life by around 20%. I'm not overly concerned about that.

I read on another forum that one fellow's battery compartment overheated while using this setting. That concerns me a little, but only one person reported that (as far as I know). So I'm not overly concerned about this. It's probably not a common problem.

I'm aware this setting when set to Short is theoretically better for action photography, but is it really enough faster to help?

Does this setting increase or decrease shutter shock? This is the question that interests me most.

Forget the comment with the overheated battery, never heard such an issue and how a 20% power plus can overheat the battery is outside my imagination (if this myth was true, video or serial shooting would be even more "dangerous" ...

Back to reality:

Release time lag short reduces shutter vibration greatly. Because two things happen before capture: The shutter drive spans some spring (first vibration) and the shutter close and opens (second vibration). Simply spoken, release time lag=short eliminates 50% of vibration cause. See my test here:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3651827

With my EM1, AntiShock=0 and ReleaseLag=short reduces vibration blur to 10% with most lenses (unfortunately my EM1s shutter drive always operates a little bit even with AntiShock=0, EM1 has a "fake" EFC).

With my EM5 II, AntiShock=0 and ReleaseLag=short eliminates shutter vibration completely, EM5 II has a real EFC and any shutter movement occurs after the exposure. It is the only camera that works perfectly (= shutter shock free and pixel sharp) with my new 100-400 zoom. Pure electronic shutter would be another option for this lens, but I prefer to avoid the rolling shutter of ES.

Christof

Thank you for your excellent and informative post. I've been scouring the Web (without success) trying to find that much info.

I don't recall anyone explaining the shutter shock implications of Shutter Release Lag Time (SRLT) setting that well before.

The info you provided at your link is great too. I bookmarked it in my computer. I will read it all. So far I've only skimmed the part about SRLT.

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The other warning I read was not to use SRLT when continuous shooting. Though I had already been doing so before I read the warning. The warning was posted at Fred Miranda forum by a guy with an M1 or M5 (forgot which) that jammed up. A couple other people reported similar issues.

However, I have been using SRLT = Short with Continuous Shooting 4 FPS on my M10-II without any problems at all. I'd already been doing this for a month before I read user warnings not to use short lag with continuous shooting. So my M10-II seems to tolerate it fine.

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When I first got my M10-II, I immediately read Robin Wong's OMD settings that he uses and recommends at https://robinwong.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-robin-wongs-om-d-camera-cheat-sheet.html

He recommends or uses Anti-Shock = 0 Sec and Shutter Release Lag Time = Short as his standard settings, but he doesn't explain why or the implications.

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Thanks again Chrisof for your great explanation