Burst mode (photography)

Burst or continuous high speed is a shooting mode in still cameras, most notably single-lens reflex cameras which allow several photographs to be captured in quick succession by either single pressing the shutter button or holding it down. This is used mainly in mixed-light conditions or when the subject is in successive motion, such as sports. The photographer can then select the best image of the group or arrange them in a sequence to study the transitions in detail.

Speed

The speed at which successive photographs can be captured depends on a variety of factors, mainly the processing power of the camera. Disabling certain features such as post processing which the camera applies automatically after capturing each image will usually allow a faster rate of capture. While some cheaper point and shoot cameras may have a multi-image burst function which allows them to capture a certain amount of frames within a second with a single shutter button press, most film and digital SLR cameras will continue to actuate the shutter for as long as the button is held down, until the memory card is full or the battery runs out, although the rate of capture may significantly slow after a certain amount of frames due to filling the camera's data buffer.

Use

Cameras capable of higher continuous shooting rates are much desired in situations where the subjects are in motion, for example sports, or any situation where the opportunity for the ideal photograph is only present for a very short time. Instead of having to time the photography, a photographer can simply start shooting from just before they believe the action will occur, and they have a high chance of at least one frame being acceptable. Modern digital SLR cameras are usually found with continuous shooting rates of between 3 and 8 frames per second, although very high end cameras such as the Canon EOS-1D X are capable of 12 frames per second with full autofocus, or 14fps when in mirror lock-up mode.