richj20
Veteran Member
lag (noun)
— An interval or lapse of time
I have investigated these different lags with the G11:
1) Autofocus
2) Shutter
3) Continuous shooting - frames per second (fps)
4) LCD
1) Autofocus lag
From the time I press the shutter release button until the green focusing light appears, there is a time lag of a little more than one second (estimate). This will vary according to lighting conditions.
Even DSLR lenses can have a type of autofocus lag -- my DSLR macro lens sometimes "hunts" at very close focusing distances.
2) Shutter lag
My sense from numerous threads discussing "shutter lag" is that this is confused with "autofocus lag."
I think of shutter lag as the delay between the time the shutter is pressed (after the camera has focused), and the time the camera records the image.
For all practical purposes, the G11 has no shutter lag. This can be demonstrated by either prefocusing or using Manual Focus. Below, I demonstrate being able to catch the exact moment, first, waiting until the fire retardant dropped by the helicopter is just above the tree line:
Recently, I photographed a Red Rat Snake, Pantherophis , for a herpetologist friend. In this shot, letting the snake coil around a shrub limb, he moved his head from side to side, and I waited until his head was in line with the limb:
Next, waiting until the bumper of the car just approaches the front of the tree:
Again, for all practical purposes, the G11 has no shutter lag. I think it's useful to separate these two types of lags, else one might think you can't capture an exact moment in time.
3) Continuous shooting - frames per second (fps)
According to the DPR Review, the G11 has a burst rate of about 1.1 fps, depending on different factors. Not much use for action shooting. In a recent trip to the mountains, I photographed some snow boarders. It was easy to get single shots with the G11:
However, the burst rate was too slow (lag between shots) to capture a fast sequence, as I did here with my DSLR -- first, as they approached the hump at full speed, then immediately following as they were propelled into the air:
Shooting a sequence let's me choose an interesting one from the group:
and
A DSLR is definitely the choice tool for this type of shooting.
4) LCD Lag
In the manual focused shots above I used the Optical View Finder (OVF), because in using the LCD to time a specific moment, WYSINWYG (What you see is NOT what you get). Below, while the LCD showed the auto in front of the tree as I took the shot, the review shows that the auto had already just passed the tree:
(In another thread, someone mentioned that the G12 does not have LCD lag)
Conclusions :
Distinguishing between autofocus and shutter lag clears up any confusion whether or not The G11 can adequately capture exact moments. Using Manual Focus (and hyperfocal distance) makes this very easy. The limitation for continuous action shooting is the slow burst rate.
A note about the OVF: I've noticed that people complain about the G11 OVF with its 77% coverage. For the above shooting situations, I don't find this a problem. Below, I framed a fire hydrant to mostly fill the frame, and the result is 23% more area included around it.
For action shooting, the subject will be in the center, of course, and I can just crop if I want, as I did in a number of the snowboarding images I took with the G11.
For landscape shooting, of course, I use the LCD for exact framing.
Having used a Sony F717 digicam prior to the Canon G11, I'm used to the limitations of this type of camera. I've not considered it a replacement for a DSLR, rather, a complement to it. Both have their uses!
regards,
rich
--
"Careful photographers run their own tests." - Fred Picker
— An interval or lapse of time
I have investigated these different lags with the G11:
1) Autofocus
2) Shutter
3) Continuous shooting - frames per second (fps)
4) LCD
1) Autofocus lag
From the time I press the shutter release button until the green focusing light appears, there is a time lag of a little more than one second (estimate). This will vary according to lighting conditions.
Even DSLR lenses can have a type of autofocus lag -- my DSLR macro lens sometimes "hunts" at very close focusing distances.
2) Shutter lag
My sense from numerous threads discussing "shutter lag" is that this is confused with "autofocus lag."
I think of shutter lag as the delay between the time the shutter is pressed (after the camera has focused), and the time the camera records the image.
For all practical purposes, the G11 has no shutter lag. This can be demonstrated by either prefocusing or using Manual Focus. Below, I demonstrate being able to catch the exact moment, first, waiting until the fire retardant dropped by the helicopter is just above the tree line:
Recently, I photographed a Red Rat Snake, Pantherophis , for a herpetologist friend. In this shot, letting the snake coil around a shrub limb, he moved his head from side to side, and I waited until his head was in line with the limb:
Next, waiting until the bumper of the car just approaches the front of the tree:
Again, for all practical purposes, the G11 has no shutter lag. I think it's useful to separate these two types of lags, else one might think you can't capture an exact moment in time.
3) Continuous shooting - frames per second (fps)
According to the DPR Review, the G11 has a burst rate of about 1.1 fps, depending on different factors. Not much use for action shooting. In a recent trip to the mountains, I photographed some snow boarders. It was easy to get single shots with the G11:
However, the burst rate was too slow (lag between shots) to capture a fast sequence, as I did here with my DSLR -- first, as they approached the hump at full speed, then immediately following as they were propelled into the air:
Shooting a sequence let's me choose an interesting one from the group:
and
A DSLR is definitely the choice tool for this type of shooting.
4) LCD Lag
In the manual focused shots above I used the Optical View Finder (OVF), because in using the LCD to time a specific moment, WYSINWYG (What you see is NOT what you get). Below, while the LCD showed the auto in front of the tree as I took the shot, the review shows that the auto had already just passed the tree:
(In another thread, someone mentioned that the G12 does not have LCD lag)
Conclusions :
Distinguishing between autofocus and shutter lag clears up any confusion whether or not The G11 can adequately capture exact moments. Using Manual Focus (and hyperfocal distance) makes this very easy. The limitation for continuous action shooting is the slow burst rate.
A note about the OVF: I've noticed that people complain about the G11 OVF with its 77% coverage. For the above shooting situations, I don't find this a problem. Below, I framed a fire hydrant to mostly fill the frame, and the result is 23% more area included around it.
For action shooting, the subject will be in the center, of course, and I can just crop if I want, as I did in a number of the snowboarding images I took with the G11.
For landscape shooting, of course, I use the LCD for exact framing.
Having used a Sony F717 digicam prior to the Canon G11, I'm used to the limitations of this type of camera. I've not considered it a replacement for a DSLR, rather, a complement to it. Both have their uses!
regards,
rich
--
"Careful photographers run their own tests." - Fred Picker
