m4/3 lag time?

[bbq797]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but is there a lag in between shots w/a m4/3 like there is in a p&s, or can you just fire off shots like w/a dslr. I'm looking to upgrade from a p&s and have narrowed down my choices to the Sony A55 or the E-PL2. I would really be using it for family pics of kids (fast moving little ones, so firing off shots is important).

Thanks!

 

[Grant]

I have never had a P&S with lots of lag my G9 was reasonably swift. All cameras will have some lag depending on the way you choose to shoot with them. But if you use manual mode and manual focusing and are concerned about the time you press the shutter until it goes off then. The little lag my dSLR is insignificant but my µ43 is a tad slower. To put it in real terms my D300 is almost instantaneous but my GF1 is almost almost instantaneous. For fast kids you should shoot with exposure predetermined and zone focus and if you do that you will have no worries with your µ43s.

 

[~tc~]

My GF1 is way faster than my canon P&S was.

Oly bodies are slower due to IBIS

 

[shoturtle]

they will be af lag on m4/3 they use a slower contrast base system, and unless you want to shoot blind. No evf refresh fast enough for higher speed burst.

 

[bbq797]

Thanks for your responses. Perhaps I should lean more towards the A55. I can check it out in the store, but have trouble finding the EPL1/2 to check out.

 

[ZephyrZ33]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but is there a lag in between shots w/a m4/3 like there is in a p&s, or can you just fire off shots like w/a dslr. I'm looking to upgrade from a p&s and have narrowed down my choices to the Sony A55 or the E-PL2. I would really be using it for family pics of kids (fast moving little ones, so firing off shots is important).

Thanks!

Compared to a dSLR it's a little bit slower, but if you're coming from the average P&S, it's a world of difference. May I ask, what P&S camera are you transitioning from?

If you're checking out an OLY PEN at your local retail store, make sure you hit down on the d-pad then scroll over to "Sequential". Hold it down when you shoot and you should get an idea of how fast the camera snaps off once it's focused.

Another thing to note, is while shooting my m43 with a wide open prime lens (20mm f1.7), I rarely need to use the flash....where as with the typical P&S aperature, flash was a necessity. You can also take that recharge element out of the equation.

This is all assuming you came from the average P&S camera like I did.

 

[shoturtle]

The AF is faster on the sony. But the refresh rate issue is still there. The photos you see is not live but a 1/10 of a sec behind actually. you are seeing the last frame, not the live event. But A55 and A33 uses phase detect so it does work better.

But there is a ghosting issues with the sony design, if you shoot it at night or under a strong light source. You can have ghost double images. Just pay attention to your shooting environment, and you can avoid this.

 

[bbq797]

I'm coming from the Panasonic FZ35--not too shabby as far as p&s goes. BUT, while taking pictures at my son's bday party (a Jiu-Jitsu party) I missed a lot of shots waiting for the camera. There is a burst mode, but the lighting was horrible and required a flash; you can't adjust anything in flash burst mode--the few I tried were terrible.

Thanks Zephyr for the tip on the sequential mode (I guess same as burst). It did fire off pretty quickly, I forgot to check if this can be done w/a flash.

Shoturtle--I tried the A33 (they didn't carry A55) and you're right, there still is a bit of a delay. I didn't care for that camera, something about it just didn't sing to me.

Then, I tried the D7000--big difference!! That seems like a great camera, but really heavy. I just can't see lugging that thing around Disney World w/my 2 & 5 yr. olds.

Ughhh...there are trade offs to everything! I really want to like the EPL2! It was hard to tell whether or not it was fast enough just from taking shots in the store. Maybe next time I'll bring my son and make him do some Jiu-Jitsu moves to test the camera!