[jasonnaylor]

I'm questioning anyone out there using a Canon SX110 camera and PSRemote software and whether they experience a reasonable delay between the taking of the photo and the system being ready for the next.

Essentially, after the configurable 4-second countdown and the capture of each photo, there is an ~8-second pause whereby nothing appears to happen - the screen locks up, the lights on the back of the camera are doing nothing, the PC isn't actively processing anything either. At the end of the this period the camera flashes, the file is transferred down USB to the computer and the 4-second countdown commences for the next photo.

It doesn't appear to be related to image size: a PSRemote setting of small/normal will still take ~8seconds and produces a 16k file, a setting of medium/fine also has the 8second delay and will product a ~400k file. It doesn't look to be related to the image size or time taken to download the image, so I'm curious what is going on during this period?

Is there another setting within the software, or *perhaps* in the camera, that I'm missing that will improve this?

(I've tested NKRemote and my Nikon D300s and don't experience this, although that's obviously different software / hardware so might not be comparable.)

(Operating System is Windows XP (SP3), almost *nothing* else running on the PC at the time.)

Jason

[jasonnaylor]

Flash recycle time. It's the flash getting itself ready.

Damn.

I'm using the popup flash on the SX110 to 'trigger' a Slave flash unit (here (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/121845-REG/Smith_Victor_690001_45_W_S_Screw_in_Strobe_.html) if anyone's interested), which works really well.

Except that the popup flash on the SX110 seems to require about ~8-seconds of recycle time. This is what everything is waiting for.

Damn.

[jasonnaylor]

So, now that I've solved that - does anyone have any suggestions?

I love the idea of the Smith-Victor strobes - they're powerful enough, have a quick 3-second recycle time and were affordable.

I just need to trigger these better, and the Canon SX110 doesn't have a PC sync port.

Damn.

Suggestions???

P.S. This should probably be moved to another forum, or closed if deemed not suitable. Sorry Chris.

[Chris Breeze]

You could reduce the flash recycling time by setting the camera to manual exposure mode and the flash power to minimum. This may not work though, because the live view might be too dark.

Another thing you could try is setting the camera shutter lag in the photobooth settings. The maximum this can be set to using the dialog is 3 secs (30 tenths). You can set it to a higher value by using regedit to change the value directly but please take care not to set it to more than the delay between photos otherwise it may not work.
The registry value is (stored in ms):
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\BreezeSystems\PSRemote\ 102\PhotoboothCameraReleaseLag

If none of the above helps you could try using a G series camera (e.g. G7, G9, G10 but not G11) which has a hot shoe.

[jasonnaylor]

Ahhhhh! A flash value of "2" is substantially less. Recycle time of ~2-seconds which is MUCH more respectable. Great stuff!!!

Thanks *again* Chris. Legend. Loving your software.

- J

[hermanjc]

I too use the SX110 IS, but I am not experiencing the same problem, and I am using the popup flash only. My question is are you using an AC power adapter to the camera? Also, could it be taking too long to download the image, and not the flash being the issue? I have my picture quality set to "Medium 2" to try and speed that up a little.

Hope that might help your problem at least a little.

PS- I got the AC adapter off of ebay for under $10, and it is an actual Canon brand adapter.

[jasonnaylor]

Hey,


My question is are you using an AC power adapter to the camera?

Yeah I am actually - probably the same AC adapter as you (off eBay!).


Also, could it be taking too long to download the image, and not the flash being the issue? I have my picture quality set to "Medium 2" to try and speed that up a little.

Medium 2 or even smaller - this doesn't appear to make a difference, the image actually zips down the USB cable *really* fast.

It's def. the flash recycle time. If I simply close the pop-up flash the problem goes away, and the system is ready for the next countdown and image immediately. It's really quick.

I got the flash power down as low as possible (using a value of "2" in the software) and get this recycle time down to ~2 seconds, which isn't really noticable.

- Jason