Any cameras with BestPic feature?

[Renman2735]

Dear Experts

I have been looking for a new digital camera and one feature I really wanted was the BestPic feature, which I've used in both my Sony Ericsson camera phones.

Basically here's what it is:

When you frame a shot and you're anticipating a special moment, you hold the shutter down a little. This will start a buffering process such that, when you press all the way, the moment, as well as three to four frames BEFORE AND AFTER are also taken. You then have the option of selecting just the right moment and discarding the rest.

I really love this feature and am surprised I can't find anything on the net about it. Unless I am searching using the wrong terms. I even went to Sony camera reviews, and they don't even mention this feature. Is there an alternate name for this feature?

I find it hard to believe such a useful feature is exclusive to Sony Ericsson camera phones only.

Could you enlighten me?

Thanks!

RM2735

 

[daredevil123]

Dear Experts

I have been looking for a new digital camera and one feature I really wanted was the BestPic feature, which I've used in both my Sony Ericsson camera phones.

Basically here's what it is:

When you frame a shot and you're anticipating a special moment, you hold the shutter down a little. This will start a buffering process such that, when you press all the way, the moment, as well as three to four frames BEFORE AND AFTER are also taken. You then have the option of selecting just the right moment and discarding the rest.

I really love this feature and am surprised I can't find anything on the net about it. Unless I am searching using the wrong terms. I even went to Sony camera reviews, and they don't even mention this feature. Is there an alternate name for this feature?

I find it hard to believe such a useful feature is exclusive to Sony Ericsson camera phones only.

Could you enlighten me?

Thanks!

RM2735

In the photography world this is called continuous shooting... it's been around for ages... before digital cameras existed.

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/how-to-use-continuos-shooting-mode-on-a-digital-camera
:bsmilie:

 

[CamInit]

IIRC, it's not just continuous shooting. The phone camera actually starts recording shots even before the shutter button is fully pushed. Technically not that difficult to achieve tho, probably through a FIFO buffer.

 

[daredevil123]

IIRC, it's not just continuous shooting. The phone camera actually starts recording shots even before the shutter button is fully pushed. Technically not that difficult to achieve tho, probably through a FIFO buffer.

Well, in place of half pressing on your sony ericsson, can't you just depress the shutter button fully, and capture more shots...and then select one you like???

What's the difference? you are the one controlling the shutter presses. If you want it to behave exactly like a sony ericsson phone... then use a sony ericsson phone.

 

[CamInit]

The things is, sometimes one is just a bit too slow to capture the action, esp on a handphone where ease of taking picture isn't exactly part of the ergonomics. According to SE's website, it's supposedly best for moving objects. The troublesome thing is having to select the desired pic afterward out of, I think, something like 9 or 11 shots. Gave up using it after sometime then, as I find selecting the desired pic on the tiny handphone screen is quite a chore. Imagine the number of pics one takes in a day and then multiply it tenfold for sorting!

 

[chiangkxv]

all you need is a camera with high fps, then shoot it like a machine gun. :bsmilie: you need a fast enough memory card too.

 

[Renman2735]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the responses. Appreciate you're trying to help.

Maybe I didn't express myself clearly enough. I'm not after multiple quick shots AFTER I depress the shutter button. I'm after a feature that starts recording frames even BEFORE I fully depress it.

First, there is a time lag between depressing the button and getting that shot. I'll cite two examples where this is useful.

In photographing a kid, I would love to catch the perfect moment. Sometimes I wait for her reaction, I konw she's just going to break into that smile, and I don't know when. But as soon as I perceive it I click fully, knowing that even before that a few frames have been captured. It lets me select the exact moment, the start of the smile perhaps, that I want.

In photographing my kitten, I sometimes knows she's coiled to spring. However between me perceiving it and fully pressing the shutter button, I can lose just that correct moment I want. The BestPic feature lets me choose that exact moment of transition between coil and spring.

Secondly, I do have the Sony Ericsson camera phone already. I am thinking surely this is a very useful feature but I'm sensing now that it really isn't something available on other cameras. Otherwise there'd be more recognition of it.

I think the nearest parallel I can draw is in camcorders, where there is sometimes a pre-record feature that starts buffering frames before you even fully press the record button.

Thanks once again guys, I really appreciate the time!