A70! >Continious Shoting Results on LCD on/off!

[MeGotsACanon]

Well, i fianlly did the test. This stems from the WP-DC700 post (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14585).


I got a mini tripod and placed it over my watch in marco mode. I then took continious shooting with the LCD on, recorded the results. I then did the test with the LCD off. I didnt move the camera or watch and the lighting was the same.

I then re-did the test once more, this time did the LCD off first, then on.


Below is the results. The *'s are the 5 photos which i woudl want to capture the fastest as thats when all the action in wakeboarding is. The first photo always takes a bit longer. so i would take that one just a bit earlier to get the quickest shots while the rider is in the air.

I recorded the quickest intervel between shots, and got the average of the important 5 shots. The LCD off wins both times. And i also checked, the first shot is the quickest with the LCD off both times. The quickest shot was with the LCD off.

If the math is off its because its 1:26am and a bit tired.

I'd be interested in your thoughts:

(These shots were taken in Large/SuperFine)

********************************************
Test 1
LCD ON
10.29
11.08 +0.79
11.55 +0.47*
12.19 +0.64*
12.78 +0.59*
13.24 +0.46*
13.88 +0.64*
14.44 +0.56
18.89

47+64+59+46+64=280/5=56
Best=0.46


LCD OFF
19.99 +0.
20.75 +0.76
21.28 +0.53*
21.79 +0.51*
22.28 +0.49*
22.75 +0.47*
23.34 +0.59*
23.85 +0.51
25.08

53+51+49+47+59=259/5=51.8
Best=0.47

********************************************
Test 2

LCD OFF
42.38
43.12 +0.74
43.69 +0.57*
44.12 +0.43*
44.69 +0.57*
45.18 +0.49*
45.69 +0.51*
46.29 +0.60
47.39

57+43+57+49+51=257/5=51.4
Best=0.43


LCD ON
08.09
08.93 +0.84
09.43 +0.50*
10.03 +0.60*
10.52 +0.49*
11.19 +0.67*
11.72 +0.53*
12.29 +0.57
12.82 +0.53
14.49

50+60+49+67+53=279/5=55.8
Best=0.49
********************************************

What cha think?
The LCD off is the winner in my opinion, but that doesn't solve my problem with the WaterproofCase (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14585). Only makes me wanna rip the front bit off more.

[stopbath]

Looking at your results you can see that yes LCD off is fastest, but the speed is only incrementally better in when measured in 100ths of seconds. If you are looking only at 10ths of seconds, the LCD does not really slow things down too much. (The five shots you are interested in took only .3 second longer too shoot - that's only a 3rd of a second over five shots.)

Perhaps having the LCD on would be a benefit for ease of shooting that would offset the small loss of speed?

[MeGotsACanon]

I think i'll have to use the LCD when shooting first. I do like usign the view finder because i can open the other eye to see whats comming and the whole picture and use the other eye to keep the little marks on the screen on the subject. If i look away when using digital my aim usually slightly drifts then its hard to find the subject again.

All i need now it to get the case! I think its up to its 6th month is order now.

[FLL Diver]

MeGotsACanon wrote:
All i need now it to get the case! I think its up to its 6th month is order now.

Where are you located? Can you cancel your local order?

Look on ebay - you could use Buy It Now and have it your hands within the week. And much cheaper.

I paid US$169 plus US$8 shipping for mine.

Marc

[MeGotsACanon]

Thats still alot mroe that i'm paying for it atm. They made a deal with me that if i bought the camera off them that day, they would have it for me the next day. I went in, about to go on holidays and no camera.

So for compensation, they threw the case in for free. It took about 3 months to then get the camera so it was worth it.

[stduc]

I did a few quick tests in a spare moment this weekend. Without actually doing any math because Ican't due to the fact that you can't tell what the 100ths are on my digital stopwatch (they generally showed 88 in all shots!). I have to say though that there was no difference in the number of shots taken before the camera slowed down whether review was on or off or whether the screen was on or off. There was a big difference however depending upon the compression level chosen. The number of fast shots taken was doubled by using normal compression. I took all shots at highest resolution and used P mode in bright sunlight.
So, my conclusion is that if you want to maximise the number of shots taken in multishot mode switch down to normal compression. It probably also helps to drop resultion but I ran out of time.

[MeGotsACanon]

I was hoping to blow up a sequence of 3-5 images. Therefore i would need to have them all on large-superfine. Any lower res and i might not be able to print to the full 8 x 10, lower compression might take away some of the sharpness of the image.

[stopbath]

This would make sense... With more compression the file size drops, which means less data to throw into the card.

As for the 100/ths seconds blurring into 88's, this really sounds like a slow shutter speed problem.

[stduc]

MeGotsACanon wrote:
I was hoping to blow up a sequence of 3-5 images. Therefore i would need to have them all on large-superfine. Any lower res and i might not be able to print to the full 8 x 10, lower compression might take away some of the sharpness of the image.

Ignoring the fact that you obviously mean higher compression! I think you will find little difference between superfine/fine/normal in a printed image. Viewed on screen and zommed in you would probably be able to see more jpeg artifacts. I suggest you do some test shots to see whether superfine/normal makes any difference. I tend to use superfine in panoramic mode only as it appears to ensure a better stitch. Using Normal (mostly) also means I can get over 1000 pics on my 512 card - so I don't need to take anything else (like a computer) on short trips!

[MeGotsACanon]

Yeah, thats what i meant. Haven't tested superfine to fine yet. I gatherd that superfine was the best so i just stuck with it untill i get around to testing that part of my camera.

The file size doesn't worry me, for the rest of the day i could shoot on 640, if they were going ot the computer and tv only. But i probally wont incase i get a nice one like a face plant (wakeboarding) and then wanted to print that one.

The worst thing about cameras is that you never get time for uni. So i've had to turn it around and do more work these days.

As for the reading of the numbers, id say its not slow shutter speed. I had a few that i had trouble picking, had to go through the process of elimination and figure out which numbers used the lines that had been lit, because the rest hadn't come yet. So for them being all 8's, id say u might of cause it when the ink was re-filling or something, dont know how watches work. I had mine on fast pre-set mode if that helps.

[stduc]

Obviously the LCD segments just don't switch fast enough! So when the camera shutter 'freezes' them - all of them are still 'on'. Maybe one day I'll run the test again and used a mechanical stopwatch!

On the subject of continuous shooting - If you plan to drop to 640*480 at any time then I would use movie mode. If I want to extract a single frame I use Paintshop's animation pro. That way you will get a 30 second movie with sound!

Just a thought.

Superfine is the 'best'. I haven't found much use for fine as it doen't seem to have any worthwhile advantages in terms of either file size or speed. Normal to my mind gives the best all round results - unless you need superfine which I use for closeups or anything with a lot of detail in it. On holiday I tend to use normal as any pic is better than no pic and running out of memory is a pain. On a day out I have never come close to filling my 512 card so I use superfine unless I am at a sports event when in future I will switch to normal mode when using multi-shot. The great thing is you can keep changing your mind and take millions of test shots. When I think back to the days of my 35mm SLR - 2 tons of gear and maybe 3 rolls of film to show for a day out! OK the picture quality is down a tad - but hey, who cares!!!!

[stduc]

P.S.

Now - put that A70 away & get back to your studies!!

(I should talk!)

[MeGotsACanon]

Its 1:40am atm and i have to be up at about 6:30am tommorow. Work = 0, camera = 90, chat = 10