Shutter delay is a way of life in point and shoot digital cameras. It's a common problem with point and shoot cameras. But there are ways to combat it.

1. Prefocus. Hold down the shutter half way to get a prefocus of the image you're shooting. When it changes, prefocus again. This will speed up your camera's performance during picture taking since it won't have to autofocus before it shoots the shot.

2. Use faster SD cards. Yes, there are faster cards and it does make a difference in writing the image file to the card. This is especially key if you're taking multiple or burst images.

3. Fresher batteries. Use alkalines at least. But I recommend using high energy batteries designed for digital photography. Varta is a good brand. They are usually sold in camera shops, are long lasting (because they are sold in small quantities) put out a lot of energy.

4. Pan with the action. You can create some pretty cool shots by panning with your shot, focusing on your subject. This will create the effect of your subject in sharp contrast to the blurry background.

6. Stick with 100-400 ISO. Going higher will cause more noise/grain in your shots, particularly in darker settings.

Doing these, particularly prefocusing and panning with the action will cut your shutter lag by as much as 80%.


As for eyesight issues, most point and shoots are forgoing the viewfinder in favor of larger LCDs. And although I'm not too thrilled with this because that larger real estate will burn up battery life quicker, for those with glasses, they are especially beneficial.

The Canon G9 though, gives you the best of both worlds with a 3" LCD and a viewfinder. It also has a larger chip to give those megapixels some wiggle room in low light conditions.

And since the G10 just came out, it'll go through a nice price drop which makes it even more attractive.

And Screen Shade has an attachable diopter which can come in quite handy.