Camera question

[tbburg]

I'm thinking about getting a new camera. Probably not going to bother with another point & shoot. Aiming for a low end/mid range DSLR. Here's my question: Is anyone aware of a digital camera that actually takes a photo when you press the button?(or for that matter, a way to "force" a shot?) I'm sick of the delay built into the last 2 cameras I've bought.

My experience:
I'm not a "professional", a "photographer" or anything else like that. I just like to take good photos.

Background:
I started shooting with a "semi-auto" film camera, Pentax ME-super (auto aperture, manual focus, manual film advance) Love that camera, that thing was a great shooter and tough as nails.
When the light meter/auto aperture went dead, I replaced it with a P-30(film) for lens compatibility.(Again, auto aperture, manual focus, this time 'round with auto film advance)every bit as good as the ME, maybe a little fragile, never got a chance to find out long term.
The P-30 got stolen, and I replaced it with a Canon EOS Rebel 2000(film, full auto everything) Full digital control. Hated it.(still have it, still hate it) I've missed more shots by pressing the button and waiting for the camera to think about it for a while before it trips the shutter,..
Upgraded to a digital point/shoot: Canon Powershot A560. At this point, everything is automatic of course. It shoots really good pics(at least for what it is). But,... Still has that annoying delay between button press and "shutter trip"(It doesn't even have a shutter dammit!)

 

[vigman]

.I have a canon powershot sd1000 its not an SLR but it takes instant shots at a really good quality

 

[Handlebars]

That delay is one of the best reasons to switch from a point-n-shoot to a DSLR. I am pretty sure all DSLRs have ZERO delay when tripping the shutter as long as it is not set to "focus priority" mode. In that case the camera will take your button press as a suggestion, then wait until the lens is focused, then the shutter will release. Focus priority mode can be turned on or off in the shooting menu at will. In manual focus mode it is irrelevant.

 

[joe_peters]

That delay is one of the best reasons to switch from a point-n-shoot to a DSLR. I am pretty sure all DSLRs have ZERO delay when tripping the shutter as long as it is not set to "focus priority" mode. In that case the camera will take your button press as a suggestion, then wait until the lens is focused, then the shutter will release. Focus priority mode can be turned on or off in the shooting menu at will. In manual focus mode it is irrelevant.

I believe Handlebars has it correct. Even my cheap Fuji FinePix S700 shoots in manual mode about as fast as my old Canon F1.

 

[bigalpha]

I've bought three different digital cameras lately and the picture quality on all three sucked so bad. I'm still on the hunt; what a PITA.

 

[tbburg]

I've bought three different digital cameras lately and the picture quality on all three sucked so bad. I'm still on the hunt; what a PITA.

Read these:
http://fpixel.wordpress.com/2008/11/17/the-megapixel-race-to-nowhere/
http://petavoxel.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/mp-swindle-example/
http://petavoxel.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/diffraction-fraud/
http://petavoxel.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/megapixel-recap/

Some interesting background theory on chip size/pixel count that might be news(it was to me).

As far as pic quality, when I bought my last camera,(first digital) I didn't know anything about the mechanics of the camera itself. The things I looked for were:
above 5MP resolution
standard battery type(non-proprietary)
standard(mini-USB)cable connections
standard memory card type
highest mechanical/optical zoom.

The Cannon I ended up with takes good pics, but from what I've read(see those articles above) I just got lucky. The 7MP CCD chip is probably about the highest resolution chip(of that size) you can buy before quality starts to suffer.

 

[bigalpha]

The three different cameras I bought recently didn't take pictures that were as clear and crisp as my girl's Canon P&S that's a few years old. I'm ultra-picky about having pictures that are clear, in focus and look crisp.

 

[tbburg]

Does your girlfriend have a Cannon Powershot? Mine's about 3 years old now. When I'm doing my job, it shoots very crisp clear photos. Like I said, I got lucky, and ignorantly picked a good shooting camera while looking at other features.

 

[bigalpha]

Hers is a Sony Cybershot W120. It takes really good pictures, IMO.
I used to have a Sony Cybershot DSC-S60 and I thought it was pretty good.
I purchased a W370 and its pictures were severely lacking in detail and clarity. I also tried a Casio FC-150 and an Olympus Tough 6020. Both of those lacked pictures with good clarity which is surprising because the FC-150 is a real high speed camera.