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Canon PowerShot A20

Canon's "value priced" 2 megapixel camera has 3x zoom, takes great pictures!

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Page 7:Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests
Review First Posted: 5/10/2001

Shutter Lag/Cycle Times
When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time before the shutter actually fires. This time is to allow the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is almost never reported on, and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, we now routinely measure it using an Imaging Resource proprietary test system.

Canon PowerShot A20 Timings

Operation Time (secs) Notes

Power On -> First shot 4.5
Faster than average for cameras with telescoping lenses.

Shutdown 2.4/4.8
Shorter time is for lens retraction, longer is for max time after a shot until you can remove the card. Faster than average overall.

Play to Record, first shot 2.7
A bit faster than average.

Record to play (max/min res) 2.45/3.9
About average.

Shutter lag, full autofocus 0.96 Faster than many low end cameras, a bit slower than most higher-end models.

Shutter lag, prefocus 0.068
Amazingly (!) fast.

Cycle Time, max/min resolution 1.74/2.83 - 1.30 First 6 shots at max res at intervals of 1.74 seconds, 2.83 after that, due to full buffer. Min res 1.30 seconds all the time (we shot 12 frames, buffer never filled). (NO benefit from high-speed CF cards though.)

The PowerShot A20 was a surprisingly fast little camera, with good shutter lag in full autofocus mode, and absolutely astonishing speed when prefocused by half-pressing and holding the shutter button before the exposure. Cycle times are very good as well, as the camera apparently has about 5-6 frames of buffer memory, providing cycle times of less than two seconds for that many shots at the highest resolution/quality setting. Startup and shutdown times are both faster than average. Overall, a surprisingly nimble camera, particularly for its price point.

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Canon PowerShot A20 Timings
Operation	Time (secs)	Notes
Power On -> First shot	4.5	Faster than average for cameras with telescoping lenses.
Shutdown	2.4/4.8	Shorter time is for lens retraction, longer is for max time after a shot until you can remove the card. Faster than average overall.
Play to Record, first shot	2.7	A bit faster than average.
Record to play (max/min res)	2.45/3.9	About average.
Shutter lag, full autofocus	0.96	Faster than many low end cameras, a bit slower than most higher-end models.
Shutter lag, prefocus	0.068	Amazingly (!) fast.
Cycle Time, max/min resolution	1.74/2.83 - 1.30	First 6 shots at max res at intervals of 1.74 seconds, 2.83 after that, due to full buffer. Min res 1.30 seconds all the time (we shot 12 frames, buffer never filled). (NO benefit from high-speed CF cards though.)