Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/10/09

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Subject: Re: [Leica] R8 Shutter release time lag
From: Ted Grant <tedgrant@islandnet.com>
Date: Sat, 9 Oct 1999 15:58:57 -0700

Robert G. Stevens wrote:
I was just looking at a table which showed the release time lag for the EOS
1N, EOS 3, and EOS A2e.  They were 55ms, 64ms, 105ms respectively.  I can
see now why the 1n is still considered Canon's top pro level camera.

I have found the R8 to be pretty quick, but was interested in how it
compares.  I also notice I can preload the R8 shutter release similar to
how you can.........clip   Anybody have the lag time numbers? >>>>>>>>

Alexander responded:
>I once read a test report that compared the release lag time of the Contax
>RTSIII and the Leica R8.  it was somewhere in the area of 35-45 ms.
>Also, i remember talking to someone about the same issues, and he told me
>the >R7 has less lag time than the R8.>>>>>>

Guys, Guys,

Save the grey matter and shoot by feel!  Your reaction time is far more
important than some millisecond delay in a camera release.

Don't think about these kinds of things, trust me, sports or not. It
doesn't make a difference in real life, only you the photographer makes a
difference "whether you are working in slow time lag or not!"

The more of this kind of stuff you think about, the more it interferes with
your thought reaction time doing action photography, sports or otherwise.

I know all these numbers are there, but if you didn't read about it, you'd
never know about it. Therefore, you would still go on shooting incredible
sports pictures.

The minute it gets into your thought process and you start worrying about
time lag, rather than the moment of peak action! I guarantee you'll miss
the peak action, simply because all those damn numbers will slow down your
brain thought process because it's screwing around thinking numbers,
instead of instinct to shoot!

In all my years of doing Olympics and many other sports, I have never
thought of, knew off, didn't care to hear of, anything pertaining to
"camera release lag time" until I got on the LUG. Then I realized "how
badly" I'd been doing these many years not knowing it! :)  Yeah right.:)

Trust me Robert, burn the book right now, read no further! You're a damn
good sports photographer at the moment and have only one way to
go...getting better!!

Knowing and thinking about "time lag" will not improve your ability one
whit of a millisecond, it will however, take away from your reaction time
many milliseconds. Just keep doing what you've been doing and that's all
you have to worry about,

It's all this theoretical number stuff that gets in the way of natural
instinct reaction time. Forget it!

ted



Ted Grant
This is Our Work. The Legacy of Sir William Osler.
http://www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant