In your case, the internal camera settings determine the delay time. There is no delay in the pi's routine. One possible solution is to change the camera to manual mode, define all settings and disable auto-focus. Especially the latter one drastically increases the time per foto. I have a Canon M100 and there the auto-focus takes roughly 5-7s each shot...

Thanks for the quick response! I have everything set to manual, even the focus but there seems to be a 6-7 second pause between shots...I will test some more.

Also going to try to use external trigger to see if that speeds up the process.

Thanks again!

any workarounds that you found on this? I just borrowed a camera of a friend to try out the usb trigger and yes it works great but it has this 6-7 second pause between shots, makes everything take for ever. Is there a way to cut that wait time down? I have everything on manual as well and the the picture gets taken and processed right away.

would very much appreciate any help and advice!