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Get to know drive modes
Techniques
24 October 2007 12:40
There are occasions when you need to take a sequence of pictures, or more than one photo to make sure you’ve caught the action. Fortunately, cameras offer a variety of different motordrive modes: here’s how to choose between them.
• In single shot mode the camera will only take one image at a time. To take the next shot you need to lift your finger from the shutter release and press it again. This prevents you from accidentally taking more than one shot of the same subject. This is perfect for shooting static subjects, such as landscapes or flowers when you have time to set up the perfect single image. You can also use it for moving subjects, especially when you want to capture ‘the decisive moment’ such as the split second the ball hits the bat or when an animal turns to look straight at the camera.
• In continuous mode the camera will fire a burst of shots when you press the shutter release. It’s great for shooting movement, especially when the action is tricky to predict – like in the car racing sequence here. The speed of your motordrive in continuous mode is measured in frames-per-second (fps).
• Some cameras offer low-speed and high-speed continuous shooting modes, which vary the number of frames-per-second. The faster fps setting is best for shooting bursts of images, while the slower speed option is best when you need the camera to be ready for the next shot quickly, but don’t need a whole sequences of images
The details of how to change modes varies between cameras, but almost all use the symbols shown in the picture to indicate continuous or single shot modes. You’ll find the feature either on a button marked with these symbols, or within the menu system.