12 ms·

I've got a Powershot and the problem I find, compared with my phone, is the time it takes from "oh there's something" to actually being able to take a photo - f

I've got a Powershot and the problem I find, compared with my phone, is the time it takes from "oh there's something" to actually being able to take a photo - for my phone, it's maybe 2-3s (if the Camera app isn't already open; more like 1-2s if it is.) For the Powershot, it's always 10s+.

exporectomy 5y ago
Back in the olden days, cheap cameras had no latency at all. Just press the button and it takes the picture instantly. I've often tried to find something like that but things keep getting worse. Iphone tries to help with a camera on the lock screen but there's still a lot of tapping and swiping and waiting.
- ehnto 5y ago
  I find my mirrorless Sony 6700 to be pretty rapid, it's pretty much ready in the time it takes me to flip the switch and move my head to the viewfinder.
  - jameshart 5y ago
    Get a lot of photos of the inside of my lens cap that way.
- alanbernstein 5y ago
  IMO, phones should have a hardware shutter release button. Press it at any time to take a photo immediately, regardless of the software context. It's bizarre to me that our $1000 phones are still subject to the micro-optimization that leads to elimination of buttons as a primary design goal for very cheap devices.
  - phonon 5y ago
    https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4546583 https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4546583
    - alanbernstein 5y ago
      It's frustrating to me that these are the exception. That may not be my absolute top priority in choosing a phone, and if it isn't, chances are I won't get it.
      - phonon 5y ago
        Vote with your wallet then.
  - zimpenfish 5y ago
    > Press it at any time to take a photo immediately, The internet three days after Apple do this: "APPLE PHONES CONSTANTLY VIDEOING SURROUNDINGS, 1984 IS HERE"
    - blendergeek 5y ago
      If apple was scanning the video for potential evil and contacting the FBI when evil was spotted, then yes people would say "1984 IS HERE".
  - mastax 5y ago
    Camera modules and image processing take a lot of power.
    - alanbernstein 5y ago
      Ok, maybe "immediately" is too ambitious, the camera doesn't need to be powered on all the time. I just want a hardware button that gets you to camera-is-ready ASAP.
- zimpenfish 5y ago
  > Back in the olden days, cheap cameras had no latency at all. Some of 'em, yeah. Others where the lens has to come out of the body before you can take a photo, somewhat different. (And yes, I suppose you can leave them powered on to keep the lens out of the body but then you're risking scratches or mechanism damage when you put it away and they also aggressively auto-power off.)
bookofjoe 5y ago
This reminds me of my wonderful 2013 Google Glass: 1) Say "OK Google, take a picture" 2) 2 seconds later, you see the picture it's taken in the little window
alanbernstein 5y ago
This is confusing to me. One of the main reasons I have a DSLR is because the time from "I want a photo" to pressing the shutter release button is still the shortest with a DSLR. Tactile buttons, very fast power-on, very fast shutter release response time.
- zimpenfish 5y ago
  > One of the main reasons I have a DSLR I can't fit my DSLRs into my pockets though which means they don't get carried everywhere like a phone or compact would.
colanderman 5y ago
Opposite experience for me. I can turn on my DSLR, zoom, focus on the subject, and get a shot in under two seconds, with no noticeable latency between pressing the shutter and taking the photo, and without having to take my eyes off the subject. Subsequent photos a half second or less. (I used to own a Canon G11. It was not as fast as a DSLR, but I don't recall it being nearly as slow as you describe.) Meanwhile on Android, I'm lucky if the stock camera app loads in that time. Plus another three seconds to muck with the focus circle, and another two seconds of latency while it actually takes the photo. The whole time I'll be starting at the screen trying to find the tiny circles for my fingers to tap. If I managed not to actually miss the moment (unlikely), I later get to go back and crop the photo, because pinch zoom while shooting is too slow to even consider using while shooting. I have missed a lot of good shots when all I had was my cell phone. (Yes, I could get an iPhone and it will probably perform better, and buy some contraption to give it physical buttons.)
- zimpenfish 5y ago
  > I can turn on my DSLR, zoom, focus on the subject, and get a shot in under two seconds To be fair, I can probably do that on my DSLRs as well if they're left in standby mode -but- there's a certain amount of weight and bulkiness inherent here that moves it out of "why is a phone better than a compact" territory because I damn sure can't fit any of my DSLRs into my pockets.
  - foobarian 5y ago
    I don't know if DSLRs changed while I wasn't looking, but my old Nikon D5100 turns on and takes photos without delay, i.e. as fast as my fingers can actuate the levers. My phone takes 5s to wake up, 5-15s for the camera app to wake up. It is actually kind of a travesty how slow it works (Android on Nexus 6P) given how modern the hardware and software is. Clearly you could run a lean BeOS style system on it that would rival the DSLR.
    - jmiserez 5y ago
      It's slightly slower with the mirrorless systems because you have to wait until the viewfinder is ready before looking through it. It's fast enough, but the viewfinder is black while the camera is off.

exporectomy 5y ago

Back in the olden days, cheap cameras had no latency at all. Just press the button and it takes the picture instantly. I've often tried to find something like that but things keep getting worse. Iphone tries to help with a camera on the lock screen but there's still a lot of tapping and swiping and waiting.

ehnto 5y ago
I find my mirrorless Sony 6700 to be pretty rapid, it's pretty much ready in the time it takes me to flip the switch and move my head to the viewfinder.
- jameshart 5y ago
  Get a lot of photos of the inside of my lens cap that way.
alanbernstein 5y ago
IMO, phones should have a hardware shutter release button. Press it at any time to take a photo immediately, regardless of the software context. It's bizarre to me that our $1000 phones are still subject to the micro-optimization that leads to elimination of buttons as a primary design goal for very cheap devices.
- phonon 5y ago
  https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4546583 https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4546583
  - alanbernstein 5y ago
    It's frustrating to me that these are the exception. That may not be my absolute top priority in choosing a phone, and if it isn't, chances are I won't get it.
    - phonon 5y ago
      Vote with your wallet then.
- zimpenfish 5y ago
  > Press it at any time to take a photo immediately, The internet three days after Apple do this: "APPLE PHONES CONSTANTLY VIDEOING SURROUNDINGS, 1984 IS HERE"
  - blendergeek 5y ago
    If apple was scanning the video for potential evil and contacting the FBI when evil was spotted, then yes people would say "1984 IS HERE".
- mastax 5y ago
  Camera modules and image processing take a lot of power.
  - alanbernstein 5y ago
    Ok, maybe "immediately" is too ambitious, the camera doesn't need to be powered on all the time. I just want a hardware button that gets you to camera-is-ready ASAP.
zimpenfish 5y ago
> Back in the olden days, cheap cameras had no latency at all. Some of 'em, yeah. Others where the lens has to come out of the body before you can take a photo, somewhat different. (And yes, I suppose you can leave them powered on to keep the lens out of the body but then you're risking scratches or mechanism damage when you put it away and they also aggressively auto-power off.)

bookofjoe 5y ago

This reminds me of my wonderful 2013 Google Glass: 1) Say "OK Google, take a picture" 2) 2 seconds later, you see the picture it's taken in the little window

alanbernstein 5y ago

This is confusing to me. One of the main reasons I have a DSLR is because the time from "I want a photo" to pressing the shutter release button is still the shortest with a DSLR. Tactile buttons, very fast power-on, very fast shutter release response time.

zimpenfish 5y ago
> One of the main reasons I have a DSLR I can't fit my DSLRs into my pockets though which means they don't get carried everywhere like a phone or compact would.

colanderman 5y ago

Opposite experience for me. I can turn on my DSLR, zoom, focus on the subject, and get a shot in under two seconds, with no noticeable latency between pressing the shutter and taking the photo, and without having to take my eyes off the subject. Subsequent photos a half second or less. (I used to own a Canon G11. It was not as fast as a DSLR, but I don't recall it being nearly as slow as you describe.) Meanwhile on Android, I'm lucky if the stock camera app loads in that time. Plus another three seconds to muck with the focus circle, and another two seconds of latency while it actually takes the photo. The whole time I'll be starting at the screen trying to find the tiny circles for my fingers to tap. If I managed not to actually miss the moment (unlikely), I later get to go back and crop the photo, because pinch zoom while shooting is too slow to even consider using while shooting. I have missed a lot of good shots when all I had was my cell phone. (Yes, I could get an iPhone and it will probably perform better, and buy some contraption to give it physical buttons.)

zimpenfish 5y ago
> I can turn on my DSLR, zoom, focus on the subject, and get a shot in under two seconds To be fair, I can probably do that on my DSLRs as well if they're left in standby mode -but- there's a certain amount of weight and bulkiness inherent here that moves it out of "why is a phone better than a compact" territory because I damn sure can't fit any of my DSLRs into my pockets.
- foobarian 5y ago
  I don't know if DSLRs changed while I wasn't looking, but my old Nikon D5100 turns on and takes photos without delay, i.e. as fast as my fingers can actuate the levers. My phone takes 5s to wake up, 5-15s for the camera app to wake up. It is actually kind of a travesty how slow it works (Android on Nexus 6P) given how modern the hardware and software is. Clearly you could run a lean BeOS style system on it that would rival the DSLR.
  - jmiserez 5y ago
    It's slightly slower with the mirrorless systems because you have to wait until the viewfinder is ready before looking through it. It's fast enough, but the viewfinder is black while the camera is off.