Looking for a new compact to replace a 5 year old Olympus Mu.

Want something that starts up and fires off very quickly and with as little shutter lag as possible. Preferably SD/mini USB compatible.

Any contenders guys?

Panasonic Lumix are worth looking at. start up, shutter lag and changing between all the functions on my camera are pretty fast. I also use the faster speed Kingston 120x ultimate SDs (there might be faster ones now), so it displays pics quickly aswell.

cheers Eve. Will go look see.

What eve said, the SD card as a bigger influence on the speed. There is little comparable to the µ to be honest. Well not for the same price tag.

My Canon G9 is great in every way – except speed! I couldn't recommend one for biking action pics, because you need to press the release a split second before the image exists.

As juan says use the fastest SD card you can – I've been pleased with Sandisk Extreme III

HTH 😉

One of the problems with the mu, Juan, is a slow AF speed and it drives an XD card, not an SD. Im rather hoping that technology has come on since 2004 (mine is the old style, not the new ones) and current compacts have faster point and shoot times. What do people think of the Ixus?

Juan, is a slow AF speed

Well if you are hoping in a point press and shoot for biking picture I am affraid to tell you that even with a (d)slr you are going to have to pre-focus first (unless you use bazooka like lenses). If you use it for what it is (a compact) then the new µ should be fine. Eventually the lumix with the wide angle leica lenses can be more bike friendly.

My uncle (studio pro shooter) has a canon G10 and likes it a lot. However you reach the hedge of what is compact (or not).

I like the GXX but since I have an SLR I dont really need one. Just after a point and shoot – not neccessarily even for MTBing.

So Lumix, possibly the new mu's and maybe an Ixus then?
Any of those have IS for less than £200?
I wont have a sony.

I have an ixus 80is, great for point and shoot, biking pic I had in the mag was taken with that, for the money its great, id like a G11 though

Lag chart here Stoner, that covers a few compacts for you:

http://www.cameras.co.uk/html/shutter-lag-comparisons.cfm

I am yet to find one though that feels as instant as my SLR.

cheers guys. I think Im sold on the Lumix over the Ixus – wider angle Leica than the Ixus and superior battery power and burst speed. Both have optical IS.

Will give both a fondle in the LCS and pick one.
Thanks for the help.

I am affraid to tell you that even with a (d)slr you are going to have to pre-focus first

A DSLR will track the focus on amoving subject.

I reckon Stoner is after a camera that will power up very quickly more than anything. Shutter lag is a lot better these days.

One tip – Turn off all the sounds and start-up messages. This made my old Canon noticeably faster. I used to keep the screen turned off as well and shoot through the viewfinder. 🙂

Ixus is pretty fast I reckon – fast to switch on too.

The gx100/gx200 have a hyper-focal mode so they don't have to focus. Not sure how much they have to stop down to do that though, so the shutter speed may be too slow. Worth a look at the specs though.

Have a look at the Canon range.

I've recently changed from a 5 year old Canon Powershot A610 to a 2009 Olympus Mju, and the canon is far FAR FAR!!!!! faster at everything. I'm actually very dissappointed with the Olympus, and wish I could get a refund. This was using really cheap shit card in the Canon and an Olympus branded card in the Olympus.

The Canon takes by far better pictures, yet is only 2 megapix, whereas the Olympus is someting like 7 megapix. I think it must have a better lense and it's far easier to use.

GX200 looks nice, but a bit more than I want to pay, and a bit to far along the spec line towards the G9/G10/DSLR end

The GX100/200 are great camera's, we use them here in the office.

I use the Ricoh GRD the fixed wide angle version, but tbh its not really aimed at the typical point and shoot type of photographer, if that's what you are looking for, optically very good though and they feel very solid.

I'd disagree there ski I have a GX100 and bought it as thought it would feel solid it doesn't i'm scared of chucking it in my bag. Neither does it take quick pics the GRD might well be a different beast as I remember a very flattering review in Ride BMX in regards to its shutter speed.

what about the ricoh cx2

People mentioned the Lumixes but my TZ7 isn't particularily fast to start up. It's got a pretty quick recycle rate though, even on high quality and minimal shutter lag in most modes, but it's slower than my Ixuses ever were to get to the first shot. Big lens to move I guess.

My Ixus is far faster than my old Pentax or my sister's Nikon.

incidentally, in response to some of the earlier posts, the speed of the card has no relevence to shutter lag, and very little to startup time – only comes into play when writing multiple shots to disk