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

[Art_P]

Releasing a mechanical latch and substituting a electromagnetic one would reduce time to trip the shutter, and would render the mechanism more sensitive to shock, while adding battery drain.

 

[DLBlack]

Great analysis.

 

[daddyo]

Per the Olympus Asia website:

"Equipped with Short Release Time Lag Mode, which reduces the release time lag. It is very effective when shooting rapidly moving objects.

• * The minimum time lag when the release mode is "Short" and the image stabilizer is turned off during half-pressing is approximately 0.044 sec.
• * The number of maximum shots is reduced by about 60 (based on CIPA standards)."

I guess this would be effective in shooting racing events or airshows, etc.

It doesn't say what the 'Normal' shutter lag time is -- seems like I saw .29 sec somewhere.

God Bless,

Greg

www.imagismphotos.com

www.mccroskery.zenfolio.com

www.pbase.com/daddyo

 

[Brian Wadie]

daddyo wrote:

Per the Olympus Asia website:

"Equipped with Short Release Time Lag Mode, which reduces the release time lag. It is very effective when shooting rapidly moving objects.

• * The minimum time lag when the release mode is "Short" and the image stabilizer is turned off during half-pressing is approximately 0.044 sec.
• * The number of maximum shots is reduced by about 60 (based on CIPA standards)."

I guess this would be effective in shooting racing events or airshows, etc.

It doesn't say what the 'Normal' shutter lag time is -- seems like I saw .29 sec somewhere.

God Bless,

Greg

www.imagismphotos.com

www.mccroskery.zenfolio.com

www.pbase.com/daddyo

I'm guessing it will pretty useful for my Bugs in Flight shots too, minimum lag is essential for that

 

[micksh6]

daddyo wrote:

Per the Olympus Asia website:

"Equipped with Short Release Time Lag Mode, which reduces the release time lag. It is very effective when shooting rapidly moving objects.

• * The minimum time lag when the release mode is "Short" and the image stabilizer is turned off during half-pressing is approximately 0.044 sec.
• * The number of maximum shots is reduced by about 60 (based on CIPA standards)."

I guess this would be effective in shooting racing events or airshows, etc.

It doesn't say what the 'Normal' shutter lag time is -- seems like I saw .29 sec somewhere.

You could just quote this post. It tells the same thing. And it also tells what "normal" shutter lag should be (it's not 0.29 second).

 

[Guy Parsons]

Brian Wadie wrote:

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

Hmmm, I do have a pocket camera that does up to 1,000 fps at very low resolution. If I can borrow an E-M1 sometime here in Oz I'll have a try at seeing what happens.

Regards..... Guy

 

[danstroud]

So is IBIS still enabled for the photo, just not in the viewfinder?

 

[Polytropia]

So is IBIS still enabled for the photo, just not in the viewfinder?

There is an option to set it like that.

 

[lester11]

Nice recordings. Trying to tie the shutter opening to the trace. Shutter is open for around 0.006 s (1/160 s), and your x-axis seems to provide one 0.1 s increment. Which part of the trace do you think corresponds to the open shutter? Which part of the trace do you think corresponds to your pressing the shutter button? Many thanks!

 

[Polytropia]

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

Interesting. Further confirms it's the part that 'cocks' the shutter. It's like cocking a gun, to set it to 'short.'

I said 'cocking' LOL

 

[alan brown]

Is the em1 the only oly to have this feature? If others have it, which ones? Thanks.

 

[Anders W]

Is the em1 the only oly to have this feature? If others have it, which ones? Thanks.

The only other MFT camera that has it is the E-P5.

 

[Guy Parsons]

Is the em1 the only oly to have this feature? If others have it, which ones? Thanks.

The only other MFT camera that has it is the E-P5.

And the E-PL6, variously sold in Japan, Singapore, and parts of Europe it seems.

Regards... Guy

 

[Anders W]

Is the em1 the only oly to have this feature? If others have it, which ones? Thanks.

The only other MFT camera that has it is the E-P5.

And the E-PL6, variously sold in Japan, Singapore, and parts of Europe it seems.

Regards... Guy

Right. Sorry about the ethnocentric bias. ;-)

 

[Peter Heckert2]

I have a theory about this:

If "release lag" is set to "short", the camera might generate the EVF preview at working aperture, and it might focus at working aperture and it might use an electronic first curtain, like Sony's NEX cameras do it.

Most MFT lenses are not originally built for this mode of operation, and so problems might occur with some lenses.
This would explain the increased power consumption as well as increased sensitivity against sharp impacts, because the aperture mechanism consumes power and because the aperture blades are not securely locked in this state.

So, could an E-M1 owner try this:

1. Set release lag to short.
2. Set the Camera to mode "A" and close the aperture and look into the lens. Do you see the aperture blades closing, at least, when you half press the shutter?
3. Set the Camera to mode "S" and adjust 1 second exposure time. Press the shutter and listen. Do you hear the noise of the first curtain immediately after pressing the shutter? If no, the camera uses an electronic first curtain in this mode.

Many thanks to anybody who is willing to try this. If my theory about this is true, then the E-M1 would be an ideal camera for digiscoping (shooting through a spotting scope) and I would not hesitate to get one as soon as possible.

Thank you in advance!

Peter

 

[Big Ga]

I have a theory about this:

If "release lag" is set to "short", the camera might generate the EVF preview at working aperture, and it might focus at working aperture and it might use an electronic first curtain, like Sony's NEX cameras do it.

Most MFT lenses are not originally built for this mode of operation, and so problems might occur with some lenses.
This would explain the increased power consumption as well as increased sensitivity against sharp impacts, because the aperture mechanism consumes power and because the aperture blades are not securely locked in this state.

Hmmm. What about the "Such impacts may cause the monitor to stop displaying subjects"

or could the aperture blades somehow get knocked into a totally shut condition? Doesn't seem likely though. Plus, if you had selected a very small aperture, wouldn't there be a warning about the EVF refresh slowing down etc?

 

[Peter Heckert2]

I dont know. Maybe Olympus does not know, and they say this only as a legal precaution for this case where it might happen. Just note, the existing lenses are not built for this mode of operation and are not tested for it, so probably Olympus does not know all possible side effects.

 

[Peter Heckert2]

But I know, my Sigma 30mm (which I use for digiscoping) is built for this way of usage, because it is also available for the NEX.

 

[tinsoldier]

My Pen EP-5 has it so I am guessing the whole series has it OMD EM5 etc.