In photography, the delay between triggering the camera shutter and when a photo is taken can affect how fast-moving objects or people in motion are photographed. The term “shutter lag” generally refers only to those elements that reduce camera responsiveness but broadly includes any delay from pressing the button to take a picture.
Shutter lag references typically only discuss the shutter delay rather than other delay factors that contribute to shutter lag. Metering (determining the amount of light) and autofocus also contribute to shutter lag, but both can be used concurrently with shutter activation in many camera settings.
Shutter delay alone can be as short as 100 milliseconds one while shutter delays without metering or focusing have been measured up to 1000 ms 2 . The latter requires a dark room so the photographer can see that they’re pressing the button before estimating when it will go off—quite possibly too slow for photographing most events. The former involves setting an appropriate mode on a particular type of camera under particular conditions.
With less lighting available, shutter lag and shutter delay increase. In addition, shutter speeds must be decreased to compensate for shorter shutter lag—resulting in a greater chance of camera movement affecting the shot. As shutter speed decreases, shutter lag increases. The only way to determine shutter delay is with scientific equipment that measures shutter time based on light intensity instead of measuring time from the camera button press.
Shutter lag
Archie Hayes updated
