How's the shutter lag on an SD1400?

I'm thinking about getting my wife an SD1400 IS for Mother's Day (it's kind of a "fathers day" present too, since I'd regain full control of my T1i!! :lol. I was wondering though, what is the shutter lag on this camera like? I think she would be totally happy with all the features, but I know this is the one thing that would really bother her. Her last P&S camera (which is pretty old now) took like 1-1.5 seconds to shoot, which drove her crazy. With a baby around, she doesn't want to miss all the cute stuff that she's taking pictures of!

Imaging resource, which is usually pretty accurate, puts the shutter lag at about 0.58 seconds. In comparison, an s95 is 0.63, and a t2i is 0.25. So it's a lot better than 1-1.5 seconds, but not as good as the dslr.

If you're looking for other suggestions for compact cameras with little or no shutter lag, see this recent thread on that exact topic:
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1032843

If you can afford a slightly higher price ($184 vs $169 @amazon),
I'd get the new ELPH 100 instead of last year's SD1400.
It has a better CMOS sensor and 1080 video.
Not sure about its shutter lag, but I can only guess it's better than the SD1400's.

On top of that, I know how frustrating a slow functioning camera is,
but your wife should set her expectations correctly in order not to be disappointed.
Point and shoots are slow to focus. There are faster ones and slower ones but all in all,
if a child runs across the room, chances are you won't catch a well composed frame.
A good practice is to pre-focus by half pressing and then fully press at the right moment,
but I also know many people don't like that solution.

Actually, I think you should buy a new dslr for yourself and give your wife the t1i as a "present"...

PaulRivers wrote in post #12363307
Imaging resource, which is usually pretty accurate, puts the shutter lag at about 0.58 seconds. In comparison, an s95 is 0.63, and a t2i is 0.25. So it's a lot better than 1-1.5 seconds, but not as good as the dslr.

If you're looking for other suggestions for compact cameras with little or no shutter lag, see this recent thread on that exact topic:
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1032843

yea, i was reading this thread before I made my post, but since it didn't mention any specs for this camera, I thought i'd still ask. There are certainly going to be better (and faster) cameras, but I can get the 1400 for a pretty good price. She doesn't necessarily want a new camera, but wouldn't mind not having to lug my SLR around wherever she goes.

I think she gets the half-shutter press, full-shutter press concept though, since focusing/shooting is pretty much the same on any camera (including SLRs), which definitely makes the actual shot time much quicker. I just wanted to get some people's actual feedback about the camera.

I was pleasantly surprised when I used the S95 for the first time. The shutter lag isn't bad at all.

As long as you pre-focus with a half press, it is instant. If you don't prefocus, then the camera adds focus time into the shot, so it will be fairly bad.

tkbslc wrote in post #12389751
As long as you pre-focus with a half press, it is instant. If you don't prefocus, then the camera adds focus time into the shot, so it will be fairly bad.

I agree with you personally.

But when people who haven't bought a new digital camera for 5 years what was "long shutter lag" 5 years ago isn't necessarily long shutter lag today, you know? I mean the s95 is absolutely fast and zippy compared to much older cameras that took 2-3 seconds to autofocus. But compared to a good modern dslr with a good lens it's abysmally slow - in comparison.

The OP mentioned 1-1.5 seconds. The s95 is about twice as fast as that. Though I agree 100% that the s95 is definitely not a fast focusing camera compared to a good dslr with a good lens...

(On a side note, I was recently in a camera store and was a little surprised to find out how much faster and slower some of the Nikon dslr's were when using an older cheaper screw drive lens vs the a newer internal focusing lens - you could really tell the difference on a d7000 if you're as picky about it as I am).

I bought my girlfriend a sd1400. I fond it very quick for it's intended purpose and she loves it.

thanks for all the info. I ended up buying the camera. It should arrive on Monday.