diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index e7a520b82bd..f3f2a2eac83 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+- Reduce updates for image/heatmap, improving performance [#4130](https://github.com/MakieOrg/Makie.jl/pull/4130).
 
 ## [0.21.7] - 2024-08-19
 
diff --git a/GLMakie/test/runtests.jl b/GLMakie/test/runtests.jl
index 31173bd8d4c..9bb97615171 100644
--- a/GLMakie/test/runtests.jl
+++ b/GLMakie/test/runtests.jl
@@ -61,24 +61,21 @@ end
         rm(filename)
     end
 
+    f, a, p = scatter(rand(10));
     filename = "$(tempname()).mp4"
     try
-        GLMakie.closeall()
         tick_record = Makie.Tick[]
-        @time record(_ -> push!(tick_record, events(f).tick[]), f, filename, 1:10, framerate = 30)
+        on(tick -> push!(tick_record, tick), events(f).tick)
+        record(_ -> nothing, f, filename, 1:10, framerate = 30)
+
+        start = findfirst(tick -> tick.state == Makie.OneTimeRenderTick, tick_record)
         dt = 1.0 / 30.0
 
-        i = 0
-        for tick in tick_record
-            if tick.state !== Makie.OneTimeRenderTick
-                @warn "Unexpected tick during recording. Full tick record: $tick_record." maxlog = 1
-                continue
-            end
+        for (i, tick) in enumerate(tick_record[start:end])
             @test tick.state == Makie.OneTimeRenderTick
-            @test tick.count == i
-            @test tick.time ≈ dt * i
+            @test tick.count == i-1
+            @test tick.time ≈ dt * (i-1)
             @test tick.delta_time ≈ dt
-            i += 1
         end
     finally
         rm(filename)
diff --git a/WGLMakie/src/imagelike.jl b/WGLMakie/src/imagelike.jl
index 81a77a2b3a3..62d365ac929 100644
--- a/WGLMakie/src/imagelike.jl
+++ b/WGLMakie/src/imagelike.jl
@@ -162,7 +162,8 @@ function limits_to_uvmesh(plot, f32c)
     # Special path for ranges of length 2 which
     # can be displayed as a rectangle
     t = Makie.transform_func_obs(plot)[]
-
+    px = lift(identity, plot, px; ignore_equal_values=true)
+    py = lift(identity, plot, py; ignore_equal_values=true)
     if px[] isa Makie.EndPoints && py[] isa Makie.EndPoints && Makie.is_identity_transform(t)
         rect = lift(plot, px, py) do x, y
             xmin, xmax = extrema(x)
@@ -171,8 +172,9 @@ function limits_to_uvmesh(plot, f32c)
         end
         ps = lift(rect -> decompose(Point2f, rect), plot, rect)
         positions = Buffer(apply_transform_and_f32_conversion(plot, f32c, ps))
-        faces = Buffer(lift(rect -> decompose(GLTriangleFace, rect), plot, rect))
-        uv = Buffer(lift(decompose_uv, plot, rect))
+        # UV + Faces stay the same for the rectangle
+        faces = Buffer(decompose(GLTriangleFace, rect[]))
+        uv = Buffer(decompose_uv(rect[]))
     else
         px = lift((x, z) -> xy_convert(x, size(z, 1)), px, pz; ignore_equal_values=true)
         py = lift((y, z) -> xy_convert(y, size(z, 2)), py, pz; ignore_equal_values=true)
diff --git a/WGLMakie/src/meshes.jl b/WGLMakie/src/meshes.jl
index 834236b679b..aaffa290452 100644
--- a/WGLMakie/src/meshes.jl
+++ b/WGLMakie/src/meshes.jl
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ function handle_color!(plot, uniforms, buffers, uniform_color_name = :uniform_co
     color = plot.calculated_colors
     minfilter = to_value(get(plot, :interpolate, true)) ? :linear : :nearest
 
-    convert_text(x) = permute_tex ? lift(permutedims, plot, x) : x
+    convert_texture(x) = permute_tex ? lift(permutedims, plot, x) : x
 
     if color[] isa Colorant
         uniforms[uniform_color_name] = color
@@ -30,14 +30,14 @@ function handle_color!(plot, uniforms, buffers, uniform_color_name = :uniform_co
         buffers[:color] = Buffer(color)
     elseif color[] isa Makie.AbstractPattern
         uniforms[:pattern] = true
-        uniforms[uniform_color_name] = Sampler(convert_text(color); minfilter=minfilter)
+        uniforms[uniform_color_name] = Sampler(convert_texture(color); minfilter=minfilter)
     elseif color[] isa AbstractMatrix
-        uniforms[uniform_color_name] = Sampler(convert_text(color); minfilter=minfilter)
+        uniforms[uniform_color_name] = Sampler(convert_texture(color); minfilter=minfilter)
     elseif color[] isa Makie.ColorMapping
         if color[].color_scaled[] isa AbstractVector
             buffers[:color] = Buffer(color[].color_scaled)
         else
-            color_scaled = convert_text(color[].color_scaled)
+            color_scaled = convert_texture(color[].color_scaled)
             uniforms[uniform_color_name] = Sampler(color_scaled; minfilter=minfilter)
         end
         uniforms[:colormap] = Sampler(color[].colormap)
diff --git a/WGLMakie/test/runtests.jl b/WGLMakie/test/runtests.jl
index f6630c10dcb..5cad1aa584b 100644
--- a/WGLMakie/test/runtests.jl
+++ b/WGLMakie/test/runtests.jl
@@ -103,10 +103,13 @@ end
     filename = "$(tempname()).mp4"
     try
         tick_record = Makie.Tick[]
-        record(_ -> push!(tick_record, events(f).tick[]), f, filename, 1:10, framerate = 30)
+        on(tick -> push!(tick_record, tick), events(f).tick)
+        record(_ -> nothing, f, filename, 1:10, framerate = 30)
+
+        start = findfirst(tick -> tick.state == Makie.OneTimeRenderTick, tick_record)
         dt = 1.0 / 30.0
 
-        for (i, tick) in enumerate(tick_record)
+        for (i, tick) in enumerate(tick_record[start:end])
             @test tick.state == Makie.OneTimeRenderTick
             @test tick.count == i-1
             @test tick.time ≈ dt * (i-1)
diff --git a/docs/src/reference/plots/datashader.md b/docs/src/reference/plots/datashader.md
index d74da1cda67..df1fe1d2147 100644
--- a/docs/src/reference/plots/datashader.md
+++ b/docs/src/reference/plots/datashader.md
@@ -116,6 +116,8 @@ end
         axis=(; type=Axis, autolimitaspect = 1),
         figure=(;figure_padding=0, size=(1200, 600))
     )
+    # Zoom into the hotspot
+    limits!(ax, Rect2f(-74.175, 40.619, 0.5, 0.25))
     # make image fill the whole screen
     hidedecorations!(ax)
     hidespines!(ax)
@@ -144,7 +146,7 @@ points = Mmap.mmap(open(path, "r"), Vector{Point2f});
         # For a big dataset its interesting to see how long each aggregation takes
         show_timings = true,
         # Use a local operation which is faster to calculate and looks good!
-        local_post=x-> log10(x + 1),
+        local_operation=x-> log10(x + 1),
         #=
             in the code we used to save the binary, we had the points in the wrong order.
             A good chance to demonstrate the `point_transform` argument,
diff --git a/src/basic_recipes/datashader.jl b/src/basic_recipes/datashader.jl
index 6423596b330..40adefaf7dc 100644
--- a/src/basic_recipes/datashader.jl
+++ b/src/basic_recipes/datashader.jl
@@ -288,8 +288,9 @@ For best performance, use `method=Makie.AggThreads()` and make sure to start jul
 """
 @recipe DataShader (points,) begin
     """
-    Can be `AggCount()`, `AggAny()` or `AggMean()`. User-extensible by overloading:
-
+    Can be `AggCount()`, `AggAny()` or `AggMean()`.
+    Be sure, to use the correct element type e.g. `AggCount{Float32}()`, which needs to accomodate the output of `local_operation`.
+    User-extensible by overloading:
     ```julia
     struct MyAgg{T} <: Makie.AggOp end
     MyAgg() = MyAgg{Float64}()
@@ -299,7 +300,7 @@ For best performance, use `method=Makie.AggThreads()` and make sure to start jul
     Makie.Aggregation.value(::MyAgg{T}, x::T) where {T} = x
     ```
     """
-    agg = AggCount()
+    agg = AggCount{Float32}()
     """
     Can be `AggThreads()` or `AggSerial()` for threaded vs. serial aggregation.
     """
diff --git a/src/colorsampler.jl b/src/colorsampler.jl
index fa8baecd560..49c73afd5c1 100644
--- a/src/colorsampler.jl
+++ b/src/colorsampler.jl
@@ -262,6 +262,7 @@ function _colormapping(
     raw_colormap = Observable(RGBAf[]; ignore_equal_values=true)
     mapping = Observable{Union{Nothing,Vector{Float64}}}(nothing; ignore_equal_values=true)
     colorscale = convert(Observable{Function}, colorscale)
+    colorscale.ignore_equal_values = true
 
     function update_colors(cmap, a)
         colors = to_colormap(cmap)
@@ -300,7 +301,7 @@ function _colormapping(
         return Vec2f(apply_scale(scale, range))
     end
 
-    color_scaled = lift(color_tight, colorscale) do color, scale
+    color_scaled = lift(color_tight, colorscale; ignore_equal_values=true) do color, scale
         return el32convert(apply_scale(scale, color))
     end
     CT = ColorMapping{N,V,typeof(color_scaled[])}
@@ -333,6 +334,7 @@ function ColorMapping(
 
     T = _array_value_type(color)
     color_tight = convert(Observable{T}, colors_obs)::Observable{T}
+    color_tight.ignore_equal_values = true
     _colormapping(color_tight, colors_obs, colormap, colorrange,
                          colorscale, alpha, lowclip, highclip, nan_color, color_mapping_type)
 end