I love taking pictures, but I often have the problem of not being able to get good action shots because my camera has such a long delay. Is it like this for all digital cameras, do you have to buy really expensive ones to solve the problem, or is there an easy way to get rid or lessen the length of the delay?

There are digital cameras out there which are designed for "fast action" usage. Some digital cameras feature this as "action shots."

Here are few tips you can speed the shutter speed (this is the one that clicks and captures your image):

1) Turn off AiAF
This is a fancy term for auto focusing program built-in to just about every digital cameras out there. Turning it off and having just the center of your screen to come to focus speeds calculation time.

2) Turn off Auto Flash
If you're taking photos in well lighted places you do not need extra time for a digital camera from thinking...'do I need flash?'

3) Use faster Read/Write digital film
Having Sandisk Ultra II, for example, verses some generic digital film makes a world of difference when it comes to saving (writing to disk) time. The faster you save to digital film the faster you're ready for your next shot.

4) Increase your film ISO speed
Increasing your ISO from 100 to let's say 400 can help your situation. There might be more pixel noise but sometimes it's unnoticeable.

But, if it is your camera that's taking so long to take a shot perhaps it's time for an upgrade. Make sure you weigh out all your options before plunging into a purchase.

Thanks for all those tips... I didn't know you could do things about the disk speed and auto focus. I'll have to look into that stuff.

Silly me, I bought myself a digital camera and have been annoyed to no end with how slow it is to take the pictures. I've found an action shot section to my camera, which does speed it up, but it makes the picture quality horrible and very grainy/dark. It's better than nothing for the shots that I would otherwise miss, but I don't really like it, because it seems like it could be so much better.

Plus, I really suck when there is bad lighting, because I can't hold still enough to get the shot with a flash. It all gets moved and strange looking. I work almost entirely without a flash now. Funny thing though, if I use it in the complete dark with the flash, I get excellent shots of things and it looks as bright as day, so when I need to do photo shoots around the house, I tend to do them in the dark. Call me weird, but it seems to get the job done for me

I do what I can lol.

Next time I won't just buy a camera because it looks cute lol... I had a big plan of what one I wanted with lots of research, and then went to the store, and when they didn't have it, I just settled on one. Next time, research, then shop, and if it's not there... research more of the ones that are there I've learned my lesson, I hope.

Manufactures of digital cameras establish two terms when they claim "action shot" mode.

1) Burst Mode - it's a simple term where digital camera captures multiple frames (pictures) and instead of saving them right away, it stores them on its buffer. When the buffer is full it then dumps to digital film. So instead of Click...Save...Ready it's Click...Ready (buffer)...Ready (buffer)...etc...Save

2) High Film Speed - instead of capturing a moment any faster, another mode is to "freeze" the water drop. More widely known as waterfall effect. In an action shot you can see all the little droplets of a waterfall instead of one giant blur. This mode requires high, intense light because the film ISO is set at the highest to capture instantaneously. Perhaps that's why it comes out darker.

Point and Shoot cameras fall either one of the two mentioned above. Manual cameras (DSLR) offers both options. So you can see why DSLR's have price tag of $500 and up.

@disneyreporter
you didn't mention your camera make and model.
Kindly do that. I am also into photography, I might be able to help you with the problem.

At times, there are delays due to the firmware and upgrading is the only possible solution, though it is very rare but a possibility



and No you don't need to buy very expensive Cameras for decent photography, in most of the cases a semi-professional camera is more than enough.

btw, I have clicked some great snaps with just a Nikon E4300. All you need to know is the right settings and right mode for the occasion.

Unfortunately you've run into the problem that a lot of people will do at some time with normal portable cameras. The delay from when you press the button to when the shot is taken really can't be helped and some cameras are worse than others. You are right, one of the major reasons to buy a more expensive (SLR-type) camera is to reduce this to almost non-existant delay.

What you can do to help, I wouldn't recommend disabling the AF or turn off auto flash as Buffalohelp suggested. For small cameras, they need a bright light source otherwise the picture will come out grainy (as you have discovered!) or blurred. The grainy is the camera increasing the ISO automatically (as buffalohelp suggested an increase, which will help "freeze" an action shot to not be blurred, but will make the picture grainy as a result, try to avoid this by taking in good light or using the flash) So it may well require a flash if you're indoors, possibly if outdoors at dusk. The AF will improve the photo-quality a LOT.

Instead, Try aiming the camera where you are going to take the action shot, and press the shutter button halfway down. The camera will not take the photo, but should focus, set the right exposure (to avoid a picture too bright or too dark) and prepare to take. When you're ready press the button. You may have to look ahead and allow for some "lag", but there should be much less than before using this method. Play around, see if this is bearable. Other than this there is really nothing you can do apart from purchasing a more expensive camera, which should not be necessary for most situations. I'd stick with what you have

Oh and one more thing... without a quick responding SLR you really have to be lucky to get a high speed shot such as this!! Sorry, couldn't help flogging one of our holiday shots

@Bluedragon: My camera is a Canon PowerShot A80. It's at least three years old now. It seems to me that cameras are phased in and out so quickly. This camera that I have was one of the best on the market when it was unveiled, but after less than six months, it soon fell below par. More and more advancements continue to be made, and prices continue to rise. It seems awfully difficult to keep up with it all.