What is "shutter lag"?

What is "shutter lag"?

Mark Comon (Vice President, Paul's Photo, Torrance, CA) gives expert video advice on: Why would I use the "image stabilizer" feature?; How do various image stabilizers differ?; What shutter speed range do I need for my digital camera? and more...

When you're taking a picture on any camera, there's always a delay between when you push the button and the camera takes a picture. This is called shutter lag. On your compact digital camera this shutter lag or shutter delay can be quite long and frustrating, so you're not able to take pictures of moving subjects. Even the children at Christmas time you can't manage because you press the button, wait, wait, wait, and finally shoot the picture. What causes the shutter lag is the electronics in the camera doing all the things that need to be done before it can take the picture - like focussing for distance, setting the light, getting the picture ready to go and warming itself up. Better cameras have lower shutter lag. And if shutter lag or lack of shutter lag is important to you, the best way to get rid of shutter lag is to buy the SLR camera type because they have practically no shutter lag and can shoot virtually instantly.