I have been tasked with the purchase of a 3-megapixel camera that can snap more pictures per minute. We currently have a digital camera that needs a ten-second pause between shots. I read in a blurb from PC Magazine that recycle time is important, however there is little information regarding the "recycle time" of a camera. I wonder if there is a new term to label the changing technology. Some offer continuous burst modes. Some offer video imaging. I don't understand that stuff. I would simply like to know of 3 or 4 models that have a recycle time around 3 seconds, preferably with few bells and whistles. Thanks for your help. Patrick Chapman

-- Patrick Chapman (trickdc@aol.com), August 17, 2000

Answers

Have a look at the www.imaging-resource.com reviews of the Olympus 3000 & 3030 models, the Nikon 990, and the Toshiba PDR-M70.

The IR reviews usually list a shot to shot time, and document the burst speeds as well as listing shutter lag timings.

Good Luck!

-- Gerald M. Payne (gmp@surferz.net), August 17, 2000.

Patrick--recycle times depend on lots of things, but in my experience, the most-important factor is the size of the file the camera is transferring to its storage device. In 'single shot' mode, the camera must complete the transfer of the file just created (ie the pic you just took) before you can create another file (ie take another picture) whether the buffer is full or not. In 'burst' (or whatever the manufacturer may call it) mode, GENERALLY, you may take as many pics as will fill the buffer before the camera won't take any more. As soon as the buffer will hold ONE more pic, you may take another picture.

File sizes vary greatly depending on the resolution and the compression mode chosen. As I recall, my former Olympus 2500 would create very-small files in its 640x480 mode (say, a couple-hundred KB) and up to c. 6MB files in its highest-resolution, uncompressed (TIF) settings. Obviously, it requires LOTS more time to transfer a 6MB rather than a 200KB file.

SO...what's your requirement? High resolution or quick shooting? In other words, you must choose quality or quantity, OR PAY LOTS OF MONEY FOR A PROFESSIONAL-QUALITY digicam, many of which have HUGE buffers.

-- jeffrey behr (behrjk@uswest.net), August 17, 2000.

Actually, Jeff, some cameras can take a shot in single shot mode, drop it into the buffer, and begin compressing it and spooling it out to storage and still take another shot before it's done being saved.

A little informal testing with my Toshiba PDR-M70 proved this... I popped it into macro mode, left it in highest resolution(2048x1536) and Normal (medium or **) compression, and left the flash ON, no less! I could grab one frame after another at two second intervals, and did so for 13 consecutive frames while focused on my watch in stopwatch mode.

Since the buffer is 24MB and can only hold 8 shots at those settings in burst mode, and the indicator LED next to the viewfinder stayed on for several seconds after I was done, I'm forced to conclude that a number of images were spooled out to the smartmedia during the two second pauses between shots, and for all I know while capturing others.

Now, I'm left to wonder whether it uses more than one microprocessor, or whether they managed to multi-task it with a really zippy microcontroller? :-) I'm betting on a dedicated chip like the Raptor II from Sierra Imaging and maybe a microcontroller to pick up the slack and handle user input, etc. Impressive at any rate.

-- Gerald M. Payne (gmp@surferz.net), August 18, 2000.