Capture more action with the help of continuous shooting mode.
Posted: 22/11/2013 - 00:00
Continuous shooting mode is a really useful feature to get to grips with as it's a mode that'll help you capture those high-action shots which are often hard to perfect in one frame, plus you can get creative with it too, as we'll explain shortly.
This mode can be found on compact cameras as well as DSLRs, however how many shots you'll be able to take in continuous shooting mode will differ from camera-to-camera. For example, the Pentax K-50 can capture shots in this mode at a maximum speed of approximately six images per second (in the JPEG recording format) while the K-5 IIs records as many as 30 images (in the JPEG format) in a single sequence at a maximum speed of approximately seven images per second. This number will also change depending on what mode you're shooting in (JPEG or RAW) and also on the size of the image you are capturing.
It's a mode which is useful for capturing images where movement is involved. An obvious example is sports photography but it can be just as useful for capturing images of pets running around, shots of children playing in the garden or even for some fun indoor portraits.
As sports tend to be fast-paced it can be hard to capture that one perfect moment in a single frame so by switching to continuous shooting, you increase the chances of capturing the one great image you're after in a sequence of many. For portraits, you can use this mode to capture a range of shots that show your subject in different poses, dancing, pulling different faces etc. which you can use to make a display from. A Triptych works well but don't be afraid to combine even more shots into a sequence.
As you'll be photographing a moving subject you need to think about your focus choices so your images remain sharp and remember that this mode will drain your camera's batteries much quicker so carry spares. You'll also need plenty of memory as you can soon fill a large card after capturing a series of images with this mode and do note that it can take cameras a while to process a large amount of images at once so do be patient if you are unable preview your images straight away.
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238 posts
13 years
Its also worth experimenting with catch in focus using a tripod and remote control.
Set the camera to "catch in focus" and the camera remote menu set to continuous. You then only get photos of anything which comes into the area you manually set the lens to focus on. It will continue to take images of anything in the focus range so beware if you have a busy bird table the battery could be flat quickly.