Posted by HOSTS on 12/5/2007, 11:54 pm, in reply to "Digital Cameras"
The kids/pets button works differently per make or model of camera.
Typically, kids and pets move around very quickly. Most consumer level point-and-shoot cameras have what's called "shutter lag", meaning from the time you press the shutter button until the camera actually focuses and takes the photo, might be up to a full second. In many cases, you miss the shot if the kids or pets are moving around quickly, or, they're blurred if you're moving at all when it's in the process of taking the photo (called "camera shake").
Some cameras have a "kids" setting. When you choose this, it may do one of several things. Some models simply choose a faster shutter speed so that when it does capture the image, movement is frozen better. Others pick a higher iso speed as well, giving a greater shutter speed in the process but adding a bit of grain to the image. A small handful actually speed up the autofocus ability when in this mode, but it drains the battery quicker. It varies depending on the model as to what it's actually doing in this mode, though.
If you're outdoors in good light, chances are you may not need this feature turned on, or you won't see it making any big improvement compared to other settings. If the sun's out, the camera will automatically pick a quicker shutter speed anyway regardless unless you have it set on a setting that does otherwise for a specific scene.
Digital SLR cameras are much faster than consumer models, by the way. There is pretty much no shutter lag with those (at least none the average person can perceive), which is why sales of DSLRs are increasing in the consumer crowd.
HOSTS
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