Who makes the fastest super-zoom camerea?

I was about to purchase the FZ20 till I saw the lag times/write speeds.
This is just unacceptable to me; I can deal with a slow start-up, but
having to wait sereval seconds between shots is a deal breaker. Much of
the photos I'll be done while mountain biking with friends... imagine
getting a picture of one friend, but missing the next one because the dang
camera wasn't ready

Anyway, it's a shame because the FZ20 looks to be a great deal in all
other respects.

So, who makes the fastest acting (shutter lag & write speeds) P & S or am
I limiting myself to a DSLR?
--
Slack

Slack wrote:
 > I was about to purchase the FZ20 till I saw the lag times/write
 > speeds. This is just unacceptable to me; I can deal with a slow
 > start-up, but having to wait sereval seconds between shots is a deal
 > breaker. Much of the photos I'll be done while mountain biking with
 > friends... imagine getting a picture of one friend, but missing the
 > next one because the dang camera wasn't ready
 >
 > Anyway, it's a shame because the FZ20 looks to be a great deal in all
 > other respects.
 >
 > So, who makes the fastest acting (shutter lag & write speeds) P & S
 > or am I limiting myself to a DSLR?

I don't know that "seeing" lag times and write speed is all that useful
in gauging the real-world performance of a digital camera. In 2003 I
took a series of a couple dozen photos of racing cars as they entered
the track, one after another. According to the EXIF data they were as
little as two seconds apart, averaging something right under three
seconds. I don't remember having to wait for the camera to prepare
itself. The buffer seemed to be emptying itself fast enough to accept
another image by the time I was ready to give it one.

That was "old" technology: Nikon Coolpix 5700. I reckon you could find
lag time and write speed data on that one. Whatever it is, one picture
every three seconds or so is about all you're going to be ready to take,
your own self.

Have a look at the difference in bulk between a CoolPix 8700 (close to
the same size as a CP5700) and a 20D Canon. Lotsa weight difference,
too.

Comparison of the 20D with 24-70 (38.4-112 equiv) and CP8700 with
35-280mm equivalent zoom range:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.fototime.com/C898491FBD2A2CB/orig.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.fototime.com/C898491FBD2A2CB/orig.jpg</a> front
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.fototime.com/A71907824F117BA/orig.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.fototime.com/A71907824F117BA/orig.jpg</a> top
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.fototime.com/4DED1BD0306F225/orig.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.fototime.com/4DED1BD0306F225/orig.jpg</a> rear
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.fototime.com/CBF8735023E6ED7/orig.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.fototime.com/CBF8735023E6ED7/orig.jpg</a> Left


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Frank ess<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->