Rapid fire shutter

[grphx]

Does anybody use, and think that the rapid fire mode when shooting helps get good photos, or are you someone who tries to time it just right with one shot?

post up pros and cons about rapid fire while being involved in motorsports photography.

[matt mead]

when panning i usually burst into the shot i want. As i find if i wait for the shot the action of me pushing the button causes the camera to move and success rate isnt that high... but where talking aobut shutter speeds under 1/80th... with higher shutter speeds i tend to single shot it

[Cadwell]

Single shot mode all the time. I find no benefit in burst mode.

[smcclelland]

Burst modes good for:

A. filling up your memory cards quicker
B. increasing your throw-away count
C. Sometimes useful in a crash sequence of fast paced overtake.

I burst 3 shots if things get hectic, if I can't get a good shot in those 3 shots then it's not worth it imho.

[Jamie Holladay]

Burst modes good for:

A. filling up your memory cards quicker
B. increasing your throw-away count
C. Sometimes useful in a crash sequence of fast paced overtake.

I burst 3 shots if things get hectic, if I can't get a good shot in those 3 shots then it's not worth it imho.
this is pretty much my thoughts.

[gdrMatt]

i leave the camera in burst mode, but only shoot single frames normally.. It's mostly if something exciting happens like a crash or fire.. then I blast away..

[Tessa]

i leave the camera in burst mode, but only shoot single frames normally.. It's mostly if something exciting happens like a crash or fire.. then I blast away..
Same here.

[DC Fan]

Last year at an air show, there was a photographer on hand who carried three DSLR bodies mounted with long lenses, a photographer who made his living selling discs of images from air shows. When he took pictures of airplanes, he fired long bursts of frames at the camera's full speed.

Last month at a marching band contest, there was a photographer who was working for the event's official photo service, a service that made money selling images to participants and parents through a web site. When he took pictures of band performances, he fired long bursts of frames at the camera's full speed.

Last summer at a baseball game, there was a newspaper photographer who was getting pictures of the game and its spectators for a newspaper featuree story. He was working on deadline and had to get images to the newspaper through a wireless link before rushing to the next assignment. When he took pictures at the ball game, he fired long bursts of frames at the camera's full speed.

There may be a lesson from those examples, set by photographers who make a living by taking pictures.

[GSH]

There may be a lesson from those examples, set by photographers who make a living by taking pictures.

And that lesson is that they probably need to take thousands of shots in order to get a few decent ones to sell so they can pay for a new shutter every few months :)

[ryant35]

Burst modes good for:

C. Sometimes useful in a crash sequence of fast paced overtake.


The type of racing I shoot, there is a lot of crashes. I caught 6 crash sequences in a day once. So I shoot a lot.

[Bosscat]

My answer would be it depends on what I am shooting more then anything else, but alot of times its a 2-3 shot burst.

[Bill Roberts]

I think you could do with an option for "yes, but rarely"
It's handy on occasion but most of the time I'm on single shot. I couldn't ever see me just routinely using it, if only for the fact it would take an age to cull out all the crap shots in pp. I basically don't have the patience!

cheers

[Mike Hoyer]

I shoot quite a lot of pictures. I don't care what anyone else things, apart from the client. If I take one shot every time their car comes past and it's a bit soft, and then the car breaks down, they're not going to be happy.

I'd rather guarentee getting the picture for them, they don't care how it's achieved so long as they get want they want.

[ryant35]

I shoot quite a lot of pictures. I don't care what anyone else things, apart from the client. If I take one shot every time their car comes past and it's a bit soft, and then the car breaks down, they're not going to be happy.

I'd rather guarentee getting the picture for them, they don't care how it's achieved so long as they get want they want.


+1:)

[sando]

Depends what I'm doing.

Landscape: no need to shoot a burst of 3 frames.

Portrait shoot: Definitely need to shoot a burst, to cover blinking.

Weddings: Definitely need to shoot a burst, to cover blinking and people looking away or people who wander in and out of the frame.

Plus, I find that when hand-holding at slower shutter-speeds then the second or third shot is nearly always the sharper one, must be something to do with the movement made by initially pressing the shutter.

[twiggles]

My preference
Sports = 6.5 fps bursts to get sequence
Landscape = single shot
Portraits = single shot

It really just comes down to the shots you are looking for. I think anyone who tells you that they wait for that perfect shot in sports or other fast moving action is full of themselves, because even the best photogs use burst to increase the chance of getting awesome keepers...

[AB8ND]

Single shot - See the picture, shoot the picture
One shot, one kill whatever
Motordrives (oops dating myself) have there place, but using them to make good images is not one of them.

jack

[twiggles]

Single shot - See the picture, shoot the picture
One shot, one kill whatever
Motordrives (oops dating myself) have there place, but using them to make good images is not one of them.

jack

With all due respect, a motordrive on a film camera and rapid frames on digital are two totally different things. it is not economical to use a motordrive on film because of film and processing costs, but with digitals, it is relatively cheap (considering wear and tear on shutters) to use the cameras capability to capture a rapid series of shots...just my $0.02

[stathunter]

I would rather have too many photos than not enough. I love the burst mode---- I use it for sports-- weddings etc. Memory is cheap and it takes a second to delete--- but I an never make up for not getting the shot.

[restyles]

My 2 penneth .. I do tend to shoot with camera set to rapid sequence but unless something dramatic happens just shoot 1-3 frames. At least you are ready for the barrel roll sequence when you are in the right place at the right time once every 50 years !! You certianly do not have time to change settings once the incident has started. Better to be ready for the spectacular I think. Its just a bugger when they are all soft !!

Richard S

[ryant35]

I don't usually shoot a burst for landscape photography, but I don't usually change my drive mode.

Although lately I have been using one shot so I can use my Speedlite Transmitter's focus assist for low light portraits.

[Cadwell]

Oh well... I must be full of myself :lol:

I've never felt the need to use burst for motorsport, I don't get many blurry shots of cars (I have no idea how getting a blurry shot is in any way related to burst mode or single shot, it's a matter of technique not fps) and as for catching barrel rolling cars and other incidents; I can wiggle my right finger at better than 4 fps if I need to which is more than fast enough.

[restyles]

Only joking about the 'all soft' bit Glenn .. But I think its just a matter of what you are used to, and what you feel comfortable and confident with at the end of the day. The 'proof of the pudding' and all that. Certainly nothing wrong with your puddings !

[Cadwell]

Only joking about the 'all soft' bit Glenn .. But I think its just a matter of what you are used to, and what you feel comfortable and confident with at the end of the day. The 'proof of the pudding' and all that. Certainly nothing wrong with your puddings !

Indeed... my "digital" motorsport photography started off with the EOS 10D. At 3 fps, a 9 shot buffer for RAW and glacially slow compact flash card write speeds shooting bursts was a luxury I couldn't afford, particularly as the 10D couldn't shoot and write to the CF card at the same time; whilst the camera was shooting and focusing CF write was suspended. I had to learn how to time my shots to catch the peak action and I had to use shots sparingly.

One time at Brands Hatch when Scott Mansell in the EuroBOSS car was running 37 second laps around the Indy circuit, I could only shoot alternate laps because the 10D's buffer wasn't clearing before they came back around. :lol:

Of course, my current 1D series cameras are much faster but I still get better results in single shot than I do in burst mode, so that is what I use.

[GSH]

Oh well... I must be full of myself :lol:


You might think that, i couldn't possibly comment ;)

[Cadwell]

You might think that, i couldn't possibly comment ;)

Grrr.... where DID I put that "ban" button? :evil:

[restyles]

If I am shooting a specific car and need a good 'frame filler' one shot is the way to go ... I just do it with the camera set to burst and lift my finger. Thank god my shutter is quicker than my typing !!

[GSH]

Grrr.... where DID I put that "ban" button? :evil:

I have no idea, but remember to set it to single shot mode when you use it ;)

[Karl Johnston]

Burst all the time, never know what moment you're missing

[AB8ND]

Actually when shooting for a newspaper or any publication, film or processing cost/time where the last things to worry about.

jack


With all due respect, a motordrive on a film camera and rapid frames on digital are two totally different things. it is not economical to use a motordrive on film because of film and processing costs, but with digitals, it is relatively cheap (considering wear and tear on shutters) to use the cameras capability to capture a rapid series of shots...just my $0.02

[Mike Hoyer]

Indeed... my "digital" motorsport photography started off with the EOS 10D. At 3 fps, a 9 shot buffer for RAW and glacially slow compact flash card write speeds shooting bursts was a luxury I couldn't afford, particularly as the 10D couldn't shoot and write to the CF card at the same time; whilst the camera was shooting and focusing CF write was suspended. I had to learn how to time my shots to catch the peak action and I had to use shots sparingly.

One time at Brands Hatch when Scott Mansell in the EuroBOSS car was running 37 second laps around the Indy circuit, I could only shoot alternate laps because the 10D's buffer wasn't clearing before they came back around. :lol:

Of course, my current 1D series cameras are much faster but I still get better results in single shot than I do in burst mode, so that is what I use.

I know what you mean, my first DSLR was a Nikon D100 (still going strong, unlike this Canon rubbish...), pretty much the same as the 10D in performance. I was looking at some old shots the other day, and it's all one shot per car, occasionally 2, nothing more than that.

Seems times change though, especially as the workload is much bigger these days - often I'll need to get a good selection of every car in a race, and the best way is to machine gun it. It's a pain to edit, but I get the shots.

[DC Fan]

With SLR's and the mirror blackout, it's been said that if you see a perfectly framed image in the viewfinder, you've already missed the shot. That's where a rapid frame rate comes in handy, and why something such as the Casio EX-F1 (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/casio-exf1.shtml) can be so tempting.

[sandpiper]

As with everything in photography, it depends on what you are shooting and trying to achieve.

With many motorsport subjects, I agree with those that say timing the shot is more important than simply machine gunning.

However, there are times when there is no option but to hold the shutter button down and blaze away. An example would be drag racing, where cars have a tendency to suffer explosions without warning, causing chunks of engine to fly in all directions with a huge flash of fire. However, this happens so fast that if you wait until you see it happen then you have missed it. The technique to catch these sudden happenings is to hit the shutter button as the lights count down and hold it down as you follow the cars up the track.

Experiment and find what works best for you, your style and the results that you are trying to achieve.

[Echo63]

i use single shot mode, if something interesting happens i can move my finger at about 5 fps
i do sometimes use continuous, normally when i am doing really slow shutter speed stuff, and i find the second or third shot is sharper. i dont do it often though

i stood next to a young bloke (17 or so) at a drift event a few weeks back, and he had his 40d in burst mode, every car that went past he took 5-10 shots
i am fairly sure he filled a 4gb card with jpgs while i was standing near him (45 mins or so)

[rabidcow]

Burst is a tool in my toolbox, like any other camera or lens function.

All tools have their function and time of need.

I do not rely on burst for my shooting, but sometimes the shooting requires burst.

[nphsbuckeye]

I machine gun away.

[Rhodri.Lew10]

I was stood next to a media chappy at WRGB Shakedown last week, it sounded like an AK47 going off in my ear, at least 6-8 shots per car.

I usually take between 1-3 shots per car, depending on what the car is doing.