Shutter lag

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When a photographer presses "the button," there is a delay before a photograph is actually recorded. This is called shutter lag. This is a common problem in the photography of fast-moving objects, and is usually solved by pressing the button with forethought.

In film cameras, the delay is caused by the mechanism inside the camera that opens the shutter, exposing the film. Because the process is mechanical, however, and relatively brief, shutter lag in film cameras is often only noticeable (and of any concern) to professionals.

Shutter lag is much more of a problem with digital cameras. In digital cameras, the delay results from the charging of the CCD and relatively slow transmission of its capture data to the circuitry of the camera for processing and storage. Recent improvements in technology, however, such as the speed, bandwidth and power consumption of processor chips and memory, as well as CCD technology, have made shutter lag less of a problem. As of the writing of this article in 2006, however, these advancements have been limited mostly to professional, "prosumer," and high-end consumer-grade digital cameras. Inexpensive (most "point-and-shoot") and early-model digital cameras, however, are still prone to pronounced shutter lag of one second or more, making these cameras useful mostly for posed or intentionally styled photography.