Which AF camera has least amount of shutter lag`?

[paniolo]

As a big fan of the Olympus XA, I am quiet interested in a compact AF camera with minimal to no shutter lag. Premium compacts fall out of the bill, their prices climbed for some reason to insane values nowadays. A Contax T3 sells for more than a Leica M6...realy? Great who got one... but not me. ;-)

So I would like to concentrate on the cheapies. Any user information about the Nikon RF(2) or the Minolta AF-C?

Most Important things:

1. Viewfinder must be bright and color neutral. (I hate those blue or yellowish tints) 0.5-0.6x mag would be fine.

2. No bright LED inside the viewfinder (one for long speeds is "ok", like in XA, but nothing that distracts or blinds)

3. No shutter block if there is no focus distance set or speeds are out of range. AF lock feature would be nice.

4. Minimal to no shutter lag and a positive shutter release

5. The camera should be a joy to use with just one hand (I need the other hand for different things... ;-) )

My initial thought was the Konica Hexar AF I handled once, but it is too big to be a compact. Same for Contax T2. My dad gave me his old Praktica when I finished school 10 years ago. It's a fine camera and the flash only pops up when you pushed a switch. Too sad its fixed focus and the image quality is beyond good and evil.

Lets say ->300,00€/$ is a good budget. Anything cheaper is welcome.
As I mentioned. The Nikon RF(-2) and Minolta AF-C caught my interest.

Cheers!

 

[ForestCap]

There is no cheap hi-quality AF these days, thanks to Korean popstars.

I'd recommend Olympus Mju II.

 

[Arbitrarium]

I'd agree the Mju II probably fits. The auto focus is fast enough and it's the perfect shape for holding one-handed. Plus if you like the XA, it's pretty much an AF/AE version of that.

Only problem's the flash turning itself on but it can be modified to disable it.

 

[John Bragg]

Canon Sureshot Supreme has less shutter lag than Mju models and is cheaper. Mju I is also very easy to use one handed and some say more ergonomically friendly than the Mju II.

 

[FalseDigital]

I'm a big fan of the Fujifilm Cardia Tiara Mini.
No shutter lag, SHARP lens. But they are getting harder to find these days.

 

[petronius]

The Minolta AF-C has bright red (long time) and green (AF) LEDs in the finder. The shutter lag beats any other AF compact I own. There is no shutter blocking when you are too close. The manual transport via thumbwheel can be done one-handed. I recommend a wrist strap. The ASA setting ends at 400!