Pros and cons Continuous shooting

Running off lots of shots is a huge benefit

Being able to shoot sustained bursts of pictures comes in useful for a broad range of subjects, including sporting action, wildlife and even when photographing children running about in the garden. It can mean catching the peak of the action, the decisive moment or the perfect wing position of a bird in flight. But while fast shooting has many benefits, there are times when it can be a problem, so it needs to be treated with respect.

Perfect composition

Shooting lots of frames rapidly can mean you get the shot you want. With a subject such as birds in flight, where the wing position changes quickly, it can mean the difference between getting the perfect composition or just missing out.

Remember memory cards

Set a fast continuous shooting speed and you can rack up a lot of photos in super-quick time. If you are shooting raw images, that also means you’ll consume a great deal of memory, so make sure you have sufficient cards on your days out.

Sharpshooter

Handholding when the shutter speed is slow and shooting a burst in continuous mode can help get a sharp result. The first one or two shots might be blurred but because you’ve got the camera up to the eye, the third one could be spot on.

Finding the keepers

Rattling off lots of frames means you have to trawl through them to find the ‘keepers’. Scrolling through images in-camera consumes battery and, on the computer, Lightroom can be slow with high-res files so try the free FastStone Image Viewer (Windows only) or Phoenix Slides (Mac and Windows). Photo Mechanic (Mac and Windows) is better, but it’s $169 or $329 for the Plus version.

Rolling shutter

For the fastest shooting speed on a mirrorless, use the electronic shutter. In many cases, the sensor’s relatively slow readout speed means images suffer from rolling shutter, where the subject displays strange warping or distortion.

Buffering

Shooting lots of frames could mean buffering and the camera slowing up or even stopping until pictures have been cleared from the internal memory. This can mean missing out on a great picture so learn to manage the buffer by timing your shots and shooting shorter bursts.

Viewfinder blackout

Tracking a fast-moving subject during continuous shooting can be difficult if the camera suffers from viewfinder blackout. This happens on DSLRs and mirrorless cameras although many new high-end models don’t have the problem. If you have to pan with the subject, keep the subject in the shot.

Short bursts Shooting in short bursts can be more effective than long, sustained bursts and will avoid issues with buffering. For the clicks Setting fast continuous shooting for action is useful, but timing when to press the shutter release is still important, so don’t just expect to get great pictures by clicking away.

Continuous AF When burst shooting action, remember to set servo or continuous AF so the camera will attempt to track with the subject.