Shel, I've used the pre-focus tricks to reduce the shutter lag on the Sony S85. I've even used it for gymnastic meets and girls vaulting. You can make it work, but it's still a pain to do.
I had a Sony S75 but passed it onto my son Bill. About the only thing different with the S85 is it is black and 4 megapixels vs 3. The lens is the same between them, the software is the same, and the display is identical. Only the sensor is different. Strangely, I get less consistent exposures with the S85 than I did with the S75. Overall, it makes very nice pictures. Regards, Bob S. On Fri, 3 Dec 2004 05:55:37 -0800, Shel Belinkoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi Bob, > > I think we have the same Sony model. There are a few things you can do to > reduce shutter lag, which, I agree, can be a PITA on these P&S cameras. > You can put the camera into full manual mode, or aperture priority, > pre-focus or use manual focus, and partially depress the shutter release > until the decisive moment. You'll still experience more lag than with an > slr, but it will be reduced. > > BTW, it's the shutter lag to a great extent, as well as being relegated to > 8-bit images and not being able to shoot RAW, which is moving me towards > the istds. > > 8 mp is not really much of an issue. The 4mp Sony, when shooting TIFF, can > make some rather nice prints in the 8x10 and 11x14 range. And while 16x20 > prints are not that good, when viewed from an appropriate distance, produce > accepatble prints (and, as you know, I'm quite fussy). The 6 mp of the > istds should be a BIG improvement over the 4 mp of the Sony, not so much > because of the pixel count, but because it's producing 16-bit files (well, > 12-bit, but let's not quibble) and RAW. > > Two tests were run at one of the labs I use ( http://www.lightroom.com/ ) > in which Rob made an 8x10 and a 16x20 for me on the Epson 9600. The tests > were mainly to compare printing profiles and to determine what might be out > of gamut for his system, but we figured as long as the 9600 was fired up, > we'd see how well the Sony could do. > > Another time a friend (who just loves testing gear) and I shot a brick > wall, with me using both the Sony and a film camera loaded with slide film. > Running the images through PS and printing them on his Epson > something-or-other printer, gave surprising results. Bill, who is away > right now, frequents this list, otherwise he'd probably jump in with some > more details. > > Anyway, I'm not trying to dissuade you from getting an istds, just trying > to encourage you to enjoy the Sony while you're using it, and maybe help > you get some better results. Hmmm, you've the DSC-S75, don't you? Mine's > the S85 ... do you know if the sensor and the lens are the same in both > cameras. > > Shel > > > [Original Message] > > From: Bob Sullivan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > Thanks Bruce, I trust your opinion. > > I handled a *ist DS the other day and wondered. > > The price was good, very enabling. > > If an 8 megapixel version of the *ist D was next, > > I'd probably be a buyer. > > The shutter lag on the Sony is killing me... > >
