I'm using a raspberry pi to monitor a self-service fridge. When the door opens, a shell script is being executed to capture pictures until the door closes again. The problem, however, is the speed of the ARM-processor. Capturing in full resolution using fswebcam takes 2-4 seconds, which is too long.

Our idea to solve this is to split the process:

1. Capture raw images and save to memory card
2. After the door is closed, process the raw data. This is not time-critical.

Now, my questions are:

1. Is this possible / wise?
2. Which program should I use?

Thanks in advance!