Mobile imaging guys Scalado say they’ve got a way to reduce shutter lag on camera phones to zero, as ridiculous as that sounds. I wrote a whole paragraph here questioning whether it was in fact shutter lag they had reduced, or the delay between the picture being captured and it being displayed. However, I just deleted it as it appears that they compare their shutter lag to DSLRs and other near-instant capture cameras. If the cell camera has a fixed-focus lens and is quick to adjust aperture, I see no reason why this should not be possible.
I believe the technology is essentially a major improvement in the ability of the camera to handle JPEG data, allowing it to, in camera mode, essentially take a continuous motion JPEG, recycle it through the cache, and then save just the frame during which you depress the capture button. Other cameras, like the Casio EX-F1, do the same thing with more data, but the concept is the same (if I’m right). If this works, it’ll be a major improvement on cameraphones, although I get the feeling it won’t improve battery life.
[via Slashphone]