Time between photos far too long

ubeonek

I was at a christening recently and really was very dissapointed with the time it took before I could take another photo. I have a Nikon L18 compact and was using the auto mode . It took up to 14 seconds between photos needless to say I missed the holy water. Can any one help or have I a bad camera and should I consider buying a new one , if so what is a good all round camera circa 150 euros thanks

pullandbang

Sounds like your batteries are knackered. Did you try putting fresh ones in?

ubeonek

No brand new Duracell batteries on the day ,

the_tractor

If you had your flash on, which was probably the case in Auto mode, then that's what caused the delay. The camera was waiting until the flash powered up again before it let you take another shot.

Any low end compact will have the same issue - any camera with a built in flash will have the same issue.

To get around it, ensure that your battery is fully charged, try with flash off, get closer - so you don't need to zoom - this will help keep the aperture larger.

Other than that there's not much any P&S shoot camera can do.

the_tractor

ubeonek wrote: »

No brand new Duracell batteries on the day ,

If the camera takes AA's you might find that the duracells are not up to the job - especially if they are normal types - fine for toys/remotes etc.

You would be better getting quality rechargables, with at around 2000mAh or more power.

Buy some, and try them. If they are no better use them for something else.

My SLR uses AA's, and I recommend Sanyo Eneloop AA batteries.

But you can get good quality ones in most decent supermarkets or electronic shops, stick with decent brands like Engergisers or Uniross etc, and remeber around 2000mAh

ubeonek

I used Duracell rechargeable which were nearly 20 euro s for 4 and are just about the best I have ever had. The problem seems to be when the snap is being loaded, and nothing to do with the battery .

the_tractor

ubeonek wrote: »

I used Duracell rechargeable which were nearly 20 euro s for 4 and are just about the best I have ever had.

What was the rating on the batteries? Also ensure they were fully charged.

ubeonek wrote: »

The problem seems to be when the snap is being loaded, and nothing to do with the battery .

Not sure what you mean by this? It takes a long time to store the photo after it has it was taken or what?

It could be a very slow SD card, but it shouldn't be that bad.

It could still be that the flash takes a long time to recharge, some camera will not let you take a photo until the flash is charged, even if it's not going to discharge.

Try and turn the flash off, there should be a 'Forced off' setting or something similar. See if that helps. I'm not familiar with Nikon compacts so I'm not much help other than general suggestions.

ubeonek

Thanks for showing an interest any way I was hoping that some one had a similar problem.

Rainbowsend

if you are using the original SD card, maybe a newer faster card? It just sounds like a very slow read card, you can get decent cards quite reasonably now so worth a try before you ditch the camera!

ubeonek

When the card is full I just get another card , I know its sad but until I master the computer that's how it is ,

Kenny Logins

Try taking 5- 6 photos in quick succession with no flash, if only to rule that out, then it may be your memory card - there should be a small circle with a number in on it somewhere, what is it?

ubeonek

The present card is a PNY OPTIMA SD HC CLASS4 HEIGH SPEED. 4 is in a circle

Blut00

Try Energizer Lithium Batteries, well under €10 on EBAY. You'll be good for 1000's of pictures and your flash will be ready for use super fast every time.