Ricoh GRD III shutter lag in manual vs snap focus + few question about RAW

[jazzle]

Hi everyone, just got a couple of questions after playing with the GRD III for a few days .

If i set focus mode to manual and focus distance to 2.5m for example, will i get the same shutter lag time as setting the camera to snap focus with focus distance at 2.5? I did some testing and it seems to be the same. It would also be interesting to compare the shutter lag of other models in manual focus too bad i dont have my s90 anymore.

Another question, what do you recommend for post processing the raw file? Im a big noob and i have started shooting raw hehe. I would like to know if there's something thats is easy to use? Or is the software that came in the box sufficient? I find it hard to use

Thanks for your help!

 

[Streetshooter]

Second part first, Save yer money and get Light Room. Nuff said.

The lag is due to a combination of the metering and also the focusing. In snap focus mode, make sure you have full press on. That will quickly meter and release as fast as you press the release. You must do a FULL press or it might not fire. That has been an issue for those with a gentle touch.
Even in snap mode, you can 1/2 press but you increase the lag....the camera is fast anyway so it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[jazzle]

So i will take it as the snap focus will still have a shorter shuttler lag than taking a photo in full manual + manual focus mode??

 

[Streetshooter]

Yes, I believe that to be correct. I use snap on my GXR. The interface is almost identical.
How fast are you trying to work anyway? The Ricoh's have about the best metering system of any camera I have worked with. It's lightening fast and extremely accurate.

 

[Ray Sachs]

I can't personally detect any lag in straight manual focus, snap focus, or full press snap focus. No difference between 'em that I can tell. Only AF has some predictable lag just for the time it takes to focus, and even that's pretty fast in good light.

And the S90 had TONS of lag, even in manual focus. Nice little cam but really bad in that regard.

-Ray

 

[Michael Penn]

Yes, I believe that to be correct. I use snap on my GXR. The interface is almost identical.
How fast are you trying to work anyway? The Ricoh's have about the best metering system of any camera I have worked with. It's lightening fast and extremely accurate.

I agree 100%. Best metering out there and never found shutter lag to be evident. Apparently the new GRD 4 has the fastest auto-focus of any compact camera by far.

 

[jazzle]

@Streetshooter,
no, I am asking purely out of curiosity , I actually find the GRD to be very fast even in spot AF mode (center focus). The 'Snap focus' has been talked about a lot so I was wondering if this can be 'imitated' with another camera by using Full manual exposure + Manual focus set to a certain focus distance.

@Ray,
ha, your post has answered a big question in my head. It would be very interesting to see how fast the other cameras can go.

Thanks.

 

[Ray Sachs]

@Ray,
ha, your post has answered a big question in my head. It would be very interesting to see how fast the other cameras can go.

In my experience, the S90 is a lot laggier than the Grd3. The LX5, OTOH, is just as fast as the GRD3 when its in manual focus mode (and also quite fast in AF). I don't have experience with other similar compacts to compare them. The LX5 doesn't have snap focus, but if you're content to set up hyper focal or zone focus each time you want to use it, the operation of the camera once it's setup is about the same as the GRD. I find snap focus and the ergonomics of the GRD to be worth the trade off some might feel from a fixed focal length vs a zoom. But I like the fixed focal length too, so no real tradeoff there for me. The LX5 is a very capable street camera, though - just not as sublime as the GRD.

-Ray