Need to know the name of this camera feature..

[BunBun]

Ok, I'm a total camera newbie.. But I've seen a camera where when you press the take a pic button, it will keep taking pic after pic after pic, flashing the whole time, and taking 30 pics back to back without having to wait for anything. What is this called?! Appreciate any and all responses, even if only to laugh at me!

 

[Anewman]

Burst mode.

Honest question.

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

Yep burst mode. Just keep in mind not all cameras have the same burst mode. Example. K100d will burst mode for 3- 8 pics then the space gets farther apart. K10 it will stay the same speed until you fill the card.

 

[JR6ooo4]

Might be called "timed shutter release" like every 10 seconds or maybe every 30 seconds. I think the Canon S3 has a programable setting for that.

Otherwise I have not seen a camera that will do the 2-3 shots per second burst and have a flash that can keep up.

MIkeeee

 

[BunBun]

Ahh... Thanks for the reply! Now that I know what it's called, I can research it! I appreciate it greatly!

 

[BunBun]

Wow.. this feature just does not seem to come cheap. The camera I have now is a cheapo polaroid a520 (hey, it was pink.. what can I say?) and it takes like 10 seconds for first pic, and about 5 seconds between each pic. Umm.. That just doesn't cut the mustard. Especially when I know I'll miss my childrens moments while at WDW because I suck at taking pics. I'm thinking this feature will give me a bit of insurance. Maybe one out of 4 or 10 or whatever will come out.. Right??

 

[Anewman]

Might be called "timed shutter release" like every 10 seconds or maybe every 30 seconds. I think the Canon S3 has a programable setting for that.

Otherwise I have not seen a camera that will do the 2-3 shots per second burst and have a flash that can keep up.

MIkeeee

Would depend on the flash and battery pack(and maybe even flash intensity)...

Just imagine Britney Spears trying to sneak out of rehab in the middle of the night, there would be plenty of bursts with plenty of flash going around. Paparazzis have all the best toys.

 

[Anewman]

Wow.. this feature just does not seem to come cheap. The camera I have now is a cheapo polaroid a520 (hey, it was pink.. what can I say?) and it takes like 10 seconds for first pic, and about 5 seconds between each pic. Umm.. That just doesn't cut the mustard. Especially when I know I'll miss my childrens moments while at WDW because I suck at taking pics. I'm thinking this feature will give me a bit of insurance. Maybe one out of 4 or 10 or whatever will come out.. Right??

Yes it does help with getting that exact moment, but not as much as you think it would. It helps if you are ready(pre focused/etc...) but you still have to time it perfectly. During a baseball swing I can take a five shot burst(@5fps) and probably still miss the moment of impact.

And when it comes to exposure and focus being off, if one shot is off the entire burst will be as well.

 

[Groucho]

Actually, I usually see it referred to as "continuous shooting", I think that's a more "official" term than "burst mode".

Six quote marks in a single sentence... probably not a record, but a little high even for me.

 

[ukcatfan]

Might be called "timed shutter release" like every 10 seconds or maybe every 30 seconds. I think the Canon S3 has a programable setting for that.

Otherwise I have not seen a camera that will do the 2-3 shots per second burst and have a flash that can keep up.

MIkeeee

I agree, I do not think there is any non-professional equipment around that can do continuous flash shots. This goes for DSLRs as well. With those, you are talking about the quality of the external flash more than the camera, but again, I think it would have to be a pro level flash and a camera that can keep up with it. I have not seen any consumer level flashes that do not need time to recycle.

Without flash, there are now many cameras at many different grades that can do continuous shooting.

Kevin

 

[MICKEY88]

I agree, I do not think there is any non-professional equipment around that can do continuous flash shots. This goes for DSLRs as well. With those, you are talking about the quality of the external flash more than the camera, but again, I think it would have to be a pro level flash and a camera that can keep up with it. I have not seen any consumer level flashes that do not need time to recycle.

Without flash, there are now many cameras at many different grades that can do continuous shooting.

Kevin

the recycle time is more an issue of power source than the flash,

the addition of a quantum battery pack to power the flash will allow you to shoot one flash picture per second..

 

[jann1033]

Wow.. this feature just does not seem to come cheap. The camera I have now is a cheapo polaroid a520 (hey, it was pink.. what can I say?) and it takes like 10 seconds for first pic, and about 5 seconds between each pic. Umm.. That just doesn't cut the mustard. Especially when I know I'll miss my childrens moments while at WDW because I suck at taking pics. I'm thinking this feature will give me a bit of insurance. Maybe one out of 4 or 10 or whatever will come out.. Right??

if you have an older model, lots of times the lags are better now, like a fraction of a second...and i believe some point and shoot type cameras do that with their sports modes and some have pets and kids modes...( think that's what the canon s3IS sport mode does, kind of sets the auto focus and gives you a fast shutter to capture action) so you might check for that nomenclature as well. usually you can find somewhere on their websites what the different modes actually are. but otherwise the prefocus tip is a good one since it really cuts down the shot to shot time. about a yr ago i bought my daughter a canon with those features for about $250, the s2/3 is 250-300..not sure what your budget is

 

[MICKEY88]

if you have an older model, lots of times the lags are better now, like a fraction of a second...and i believe some point and shoot type cameras do that with their sports modes and some have pets and kids modes...( think that's what the canon s3IS sport mode does, kind of sets the auto focus and gives you a fast shutter to capture action) so you might check for that nomenclature as well. usually you can find somewhere on their websites what the different modes actually are. but otherwise the prefocus tip is a good one since it really cuts down the shot to shot time. about a yr ago i bought my daughter a canon with those features for about $250, the s2/3 is 250-300..not sure what your budget is

the problem is the OP wants this ability with flash pics...

 

[ukcatfan]

the recycle time is more an issue of power source than the flash,

the addition of a quantum battery pack to power the flash will allow you to shoot one flash picture per second..

I am thinking more on the lines of someone wanting something as fast as around 2-3 fps with flash. If speed is really what you are looking for, you can miss a lot in one second. If you have kids, think how much they can do in a matter of two seconds. Hopefully the OP is not really looking for flash shots that quick b/c something like that would cost a lot of $$$ (if it is even available at all?). The continuous ability really opens up when you forget about the flash.

Kevin

 

[jann1033]

the problem is the OP wants this ability with flash pics...

ooppps sorry missed that in the op

 

[handicap18]

Wow.. this feature just does not seem to come cheap. The camera I have now is a cheapo polaroid a520 (hey, it was pink.. what can I say?) and it takes like 10 seconds for first pic, and about 5 seconds between each pic. Umm.. That just doesn't cut the mustard. Especially when I know I'll miss my childrens moments while at WDW because I suck at taking pics. I'm thinking this feature will give me a bit of insurance. Maybe one out of 4 or 10 or whatever will come out.. Right??

Based on this post I think you bigger issues is with "shutter lag" rather than continuous mode or burst mode.

The older and lesser expensive the camera the LONGER the shutter lag is. My FIL has a cheepo digital, I don't even know what make or model it is, but my MIL got it for him for x-mas a few years ago. Cost was like $50. It has THEEE looooongesssssst shuuuuutterrrrrrr laaaaaaaaag.

So I'm thinking that you don't need to necessarily look for a camera with a fast burst mode or continuous mode. Actually that will come with a camera that has a good/fast shutter lag.

Most of the newer camera's are much better than they used to be and you don't have to spend big dollars to get something decent. ie: You can get a Canon S3 IS for not much more than $300. I'm sure there are also some other models under $300 that are fairly new that have decent shutter lags. There have been a lot of improvements over the last year or so.

If you want to get ride of it almost completely then you'll have to invest in a dSLR system like Pentax, Nikon or Canon. dSLR's have virtually no shutter lag and can take probably 4 or 5 pictures in the same amount of time it would take your current camera to turn on and take 1 picture. Though I'm pretty sure you wont need to go that route.

Take a look at reviews of camera's that are in your price range and go from there. If you want some questions answered about specific models, post it here on the photo board and chances are there is someone out there that has that camera or others that may know a lot about it.

happy shopping.

 

[extreme8]

the recycle time is more an issue of power source than the flash,

the addition of a quantum battery pack to power the flash will allow you to shoot one flash picture per second..

Recycle time is a major limiting factor but you also have heat dissipation to consider.
My Sb-800 will recycle fast enough with fresh ni-mh batteries that it will actually destroy itself if you shoot too many consecutive shots.
Nikon donesn't look kindly on that and won't fix 'em under warranty.

To acheive high flash rates you would need the Quantum battery packs and a flash head like the Quantum Qflash.

 

[MICKEY88]

Recycle time is a major limiting factor but you also have heat dissipation to consider.
My Sb-800 will recycle fast enough with fresh ni-mh batteries that it will actually destroy itself if you shoot too many consecutive shots.
Nikon donesn't look kindly on that and won't fix 'em under warranty.

To acheive high flash rates you would need the Quantum battery packs and a flash head like the Quantum Qflash.

that's interesting, how many is too many....I've done that often with my minolta flash and have never had a heat issue...

 

[BunBun]

if you have an older model, lots of times the lags are better now, like a fraction of a second...and i believe some point and shoot type cameras do that with their sports modes and some have pets and kids modes...( think that's what the canon s3IS sport mode does, kind of sets the auto focus and gives you a fast shutter to capture action) so you might check for that nomenclature as well. usually you can find somewhere on their websites what the different modes actually are. but otherwise the prefocus tip is a good one since it really cuts down the shot to shot time. about a yr ago i bought my daughter a canon with those features for about $250, the s2/3 is 250-300..not sure what your budget is

Whew.. That sounds more like my budget. I'm thinking I need to stay outside so I don't need that flash..lol

Ya'll are absolutely fantastic. I'm very entry level at all this stuff, and appreciate the information!

 

[MICKEY88]

Recycle time is a major limiting factor but you also have heat dissipation to consider.
My Sb-800 will recycle fast enough with fresh ni-mh batteries that it will actually destroy itself if you shoot too many consecutive shots.
Nikon donesn't look kindly on that and won't fix 'em under warranty.

To acheive high flash rates you would need the Quantum battery packs and a flash head like the Quantum Qflash.

did the flash destroy itself, or did the batteries heat up causing th damage ??