Hi helenandbessie, welcome to the site. Have you used a DSLR camera before? If not, the HS20 is slow compared to what? The HS20 is almost similar to a DSLR, so it is best to learn how to operate a camera with full manual controls. You can start by studying the PDF Owner's Manual (in the CD)  and learn how to attain proper exposure using different settings. Check out this site and click TUTORIALS tab: http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/. Hope to see some nice photos in your gallery soon. Tex

To every other camera I've had, my HS20 is blisteringly fast. But to SLR's (film & Digital) it can seem slow. Ask to use a few of your freinds point & shoot models, then you'll see how fast it is. If it is slow, then you're probably waiting for it to restart from either playback, sleep mode or switched off. To speed it up, press the shutter straight away (don't wait for the screen to ready itself) and you'll see it speed up a lot.

Could it be your memory card? Some are faster than others, as in they take a while to be written to and the software in the camera has to 'wait' before it is able and ready to capture another image.

Another reason could be that you have it set to continuos auto focus, therefore the camera is constantly trying to focus, which in turn is a drain on the batteries, set this to single auto focus (unless you are trying to capture a moving subject)  this way it will only come into play when you have composed your shot and partly depressed the shutter button. 

The last suggestion would be the batteries, are they up to scratch and fully charged.

Viv

 I think I know what you mean, theres certain settings on the Hs20 that make it seem longer, have you half-pressed the shoot button? It takes a bit longer if you click it without focusing first, so try to get your focus and then shoot, it shoots instantly that way