Fuji FinePix vs. Samsung UC-5 shutter speed... how drastic a difference is the shutter speed lag?

I have an old 5 MP Samsung UC-5. The shutter lag is really bad (over 3 seconds, for darker photos I've noticed up to 16 seconds). It drives me crazy.

Compared to modern 10 MP cameras, is the Fuji FinePix Z20fd have a very fast shutter speed? How does it compare in terms of lag to similar 10 MP cameras? I know that it depends on the lighting, but in general, if shutter lag drives me crazy, should I buy this camera or something else?

The lag has nothing really to do with the megapixel count. It can vary from camera to camera depending on the kind of processing chip it has. Some are faster than others. But there are ways to combat the dreaded shutter lag:

1. Prefocus. Hold down the shutter half way to get a prefocus of the image you're shooting. When it changes, prefocus again. This will speed up your camera's performance during picture taking since it won't have to autofocus before it shoots the shot.

2. Use faster SD cards. Yes, there are faster cards and it does make a difference in writing the image file to the card. This is especially key if you're taking multiple or burst images.

3. Fresher batteries. Use alkalines at least. But I recommend using high energy batteries designed for digital photography. Varta is a good brand. They are usually sold in camera shops, are long lasting (because they are sold in small quantities) put out alot of energy.

4. Pan with the action. You can create some pretty cool shots by panning with your shot, focusing on your subject. This will create the effect of your subject in sharp contrast to the blurry background.

6. Stick with 100-400 ISO. Going higher will cause more noise/grain in your shots, particularly in darker settings.

Doing these, particularly prefocusing and panning with the action will cut your shutter lag by as much as 80%.

As for the Fuji, or any other large megapixel camera, frankly, in the point and shoot realm, more megapixels doesn't mean a better or even faster camera. But it will certainly mean noisier pictures, particularly in low light.

Let me explain. I came across an interesting article today about how more mega pixels is not necessarily a good thing. According to Image Engineering – a company that does testing of digital cameras for photo magazines in Germany – the quality of digital pictures has steadily decreased since the state of the art was six megapixels back in 2004. And because they don’t have a “dog in this hunt,” they put forth a compelling argument for buying new digital cameras with less mega pixels and not more.

The argument is essentially this: CCD chips on point and shoot cameras a smaller and as such, fitting in more pixels causes them to lose light sensivity. Sure, there’s more data on the chip, but the chip can’t absorb the light data and what it ends up with is a picture that has more noise than image quality. In addition, the more megapixels a camera has, the larger the lens it needs to provide the clarity it deserves and prevent diffraction due to a loss of detail with smaller apertures. But since we’re talking portable point and shoots here, those large lenses simply aren’t being made.

Finally, with larger mega pixels comes longer saving time due to their requires huge storage capacity, or more compression if not storing images in RAW format. The result is a noisier image and a dissatisfied camera user who thirsts for high quality and speed but fell into the trap of "more must mean better."

In the end, relying on a smaller MP that can balance all these needs may indeed be a better answer.

Thanks for the very detailed reply. That's helpful.

I guess what I'm getting at is: is it worth 'upgrading' to the Fuji FinePix from the Samsung UC-5? The shutter lag is unbearable on the UC-5, in my opinion, even after changing the resolution to the lowest, switching SD cards, etc. Thanks.