childhood Farewell, Mr. Superpants (20070801-IMGP4902-Edit-2)

With my D40 broken down and off for repairs I am left with my PentaxOptio 230.

There are many things I actually really like about this camera, butone of the things that I really hate about it is the shutter lag. When I hit the shutter my son was looking over his shoulder (towardthe camera) with somewhat of an evil grin on his face. I know that myD40 would have been able to capture that instant, but with this cameraby the time the exposure was recorded he had moved and this was theend result.

I like the picture, otherwise I wouldn't have posted it. But it isnot what I was aiming for and in that sense it is a dissapointment.

So, here's a question to all those who say "the camera's not theproblem, it's the photographer!" - how do you compensate for a secondlong shutter lag? Predict the future rather than try to capture thepresent? Or simply get a better camera because the camera IS theproblem?

It is a very nice picture... in fact, the 'intended' moment (looking back over) would have worked less well with the lighting and low contrast to set the very evocative mood of this shot --- sometimes, serendipity is a great thing.

As for the lag, assuming you are already pre-focused (so we are only talking about the half-to-full-press lag) there isn't much you can do but to anticipate what what your subject is about to do... A lot of practice with the particular camera, so that you body sort of unconsciously adapts to the timing, helps. In fact, even with an SLR you'll have to do this some, because there is 'lag' (though vastly shorter than that of most digicams) in the camera (mirror clearing, etc) and even in your body's reaction time.

Again, I like a lot of the details of the shot *a lot* -- the placement of the car with headlights on the street, the softening effect from shooting into the sun and the fact that it is more pronounced near the top of the frame, with the effect of softening the background. It has a great mood and feel.