Any reason for Burst Mode?

mehguy · Mar 16, 2016

On a film camera, I don't see much point... You're going to burn through a roll in seconds and all the images will turn out like crap. With digital, I can see a point, but seriously, for film though?

Sirius Glass · Mar 16, 2016

I cannot see the use of burst peeing a film or digital camera all over the place. It is done by stupids who not only are unable to take a good photograph, but also would not recognize a good photograph if it bit them in the nose. The digital bits have addlepated the digi-snapers brains.

Les Sarile · Mar 16, 2016

Many uses of course. Probably the oldest burst mode, "was to determine whether a galloping horse ever lifts all four feet completely off the ground during the gait;" -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sallie_Gardner_at_a_Gallop

Les Sarile · Mar 16, 2016

mehguy said:
On a film camera, I don't see much point... You're going to burn through a roll in seconds and all the images will turn out like crap. With digital, I can see a point, but seriously, for film though?

I am not sure why you would think film would turn out like crap and digital ok in burst mode? Film cameras have had very high speed burst mode for some time.

I did this using Fuji Press 800 with my Canon EOS3+ "L" zoom at about 7fps. I thought it came out as I expected.

removed account4 · Mar 16, 2016

mehguy said:
On a film camera, I don't see much point... You're going to burn through a roll in seconds and all the images will turn out like crap. With digital, I can see a point, but seriously, for film though?

it's like an auto winder, if you like sequence photographs, or do portrait work, or sports
or anything that might give you a few views to look at if you are slow at cranking the film and cocking the shutter

Paul Howell · Mar 16, 2016

I often shot with a motor drive, sports, news even wildlife, I still shoot rodeo, rugby, not at 7FPS, I just got a bulk back for my Minolta 9000s which will shoot at just over 5 FPS. The difference between digital and film is I shoot in very short bursts, the digital guys just machine gun the event.

Poisson Du Jour · Mar 16, 2016

It's one of the major pressing selling points — even sough after, of digital cameras here in Australia — all about Burst mode. Not something I follow at all.

But your assumption that all the images on a film camera will be crap is spurious and unfounded. For film cameras capable of it, in use by a skilled photographer (not an amateur, think scientist or motorsport), it will have its uses. In scientific applications I've known a Canon EOS 1N to blaze through a roll photographing rapid bacterial synthesis (3.5-4 fps). That was in a major teaching hospital's bacteriorology/histology lab many years ago (all labs are now entirely digital).

From my experience, being interrupted and lectured to as a film photographer, the all-singing, bells-'n'-whistles burst shot "photographer" has no idea at all what he is doing, nor is he/she able to stop it. One example I've seen recently nearby my home is an irate "photographer" desperately trying to remove the battery to stop burst mode on Continuous high drive, but the camera warning him that removal of the battery is PIN protected! ).

Brian Legge · Mar 16, 2016

I haven't spoken with many film wedding photographers, but the digital ones I know believe in bursts when photographing groups of people. The more people there are in the shot, the more likely someone happens to be blinking at any moment in time. Shooting a burst maximizes the chances of at least one shot where everyone has their eyes open.

mehguy · Mar 17, 2016

I meant that without any attention to focus or composition, on film (and as well with digital,) I assumed the images wouldn't turn out well.

removed account4 · Mar 17, 2016

hey mehguy:

i think it all depends what you are after.
i've shot a lot of film this way and it worked fine. i also
have experience with 8mm, HI8 and 16mm too ...

people work in all sorts of different ways ...

Ap507b · Mar 17, 2016

Can see it being a prized feature back in the day when film cameras were being used to put the food on the table. Gun away & get the shot you want with sports or fast moving subjects. Not so needed now that professional photography has largely abandoned 35mm for the D word.

Luckless · Mar 17, 2016

Well of course if you don't pay attention to what you are doing then the odds of getting something decent out of the effort are exceptionally low.

The easier it is to take a given photo, the easier it is to toss it out if you don't actually like it. I've photographed sports for years, mostly with 8fps 4-12 frame bursts (digital of course). And it is a very rare time when a given burst doesn't have a usable photo, but more importantly most of the photos in a burst are perfectly usable. Sure, I could photograph them them in single shot, and I actually do just that when I run a flash setup, but then at the end of the day you have far less to pick from, and and minor mistakes in timing at greatly amplified.

You can always throw out an image you don't like or don't need, but it is very hard to get back a photo you never took.

When I'm photographing live events, I don't get to say "Okay, that was good, but lets setup and do that exact shot again, but this time..." because that isn't how they work. So I set myself up in a position where I expect to get the best angle, and start photographing just before I expect "something" to be happening, (ie, the jammer charging through a gap, or a blocker bracing themselves for a hit) and then I keep photographing till after I feel the interesting moment is over.

And rather often the hard part then becomes which photo to keep. It is rare when there is the one and only 'by far the best' photo in a burst, such as that one photo where a player is at the highest point in their jump, or the most extreme angle in a hit, and often it comes down to selecting "Which of these 6 photos has the least amount of 'derp-face' and/or which photo would make the most players happy to see?"

Rapid photography is a tool, and like any tool it has its place and it uses. It tends to be an easier and more practical tool to use when shooting digital, but it is by no means a useless tool when running film.

cowanw · Mar 17, 2016

When we visited a cheetah farm in Africa, a show was arranged in which the cheetah would run past (chasing a flag). We were not allowed to crouch down as the cheetah might have thought we were prey so I set my camera down on a low tripod and shot all 36 shots in burst mode, while I stood shooting with my second body. three of the standing shots caught the cheetah, only the first and last shots of the lower tripod were empty of the cheetah. There was no composing or focussing at cheetah speed. Preset focus and wide angle lens.

amellice · Mar 17, 2016

mehguy said:
On a film camera, I don't see much point... You're going to burn through a roll in seconds and all the images will turn out like crap. With digital, I can see a point, but seriously, for film though?

Sport photography

CropDusterMan · Mar 17, 2016

mehguy said:
On a film camera, I don't see much point... You're going to burn through a roll in seconds and all the images will turn out like crap. With digital, I can see a point, but seriously, for film though?

Many film photographers (especially if you're new to film) these days, due to rising costs, first think of
shooting conservatively. If you make a living with your cameras, generally, that plays little to no role
at all in your thinking. It's about getting the shot.

I used to shoot NFL football and a lot of downhill skiing back in the film days, always on chrome. All sports photographers use high speed motor drives. I don't care how good you are, or how good your autofocus is, percentages go up with it, and the point is in getting a shot.When I shot World Cup downhill skiing, I used to use a Canon F1 High Speed FD using a trap focus technique with usually a 400/2.8...it shot 15 frames a second, and of those 15 frames, only about 3-4 would be tack, and then only one or two would be perfect in terms of composition. Photographing a tackle in football is a dynamic thing, and anyone who says they can capture it with one shot is full of beans.

Having a motor drive doesn't guarantee success, it is merely a tool for special situations...it's knowing the subject and anticipating the action along with good equip. that lead to success. If SI (Sports Illustrated) send you to a football game, you better come back with the goods or they'll never call again.

An average game, I shot about 10-15 rolls of chrome...obviously, today would be shot digitally. Recently, I shot my son driving a golf ball off the tee, and as my 5D MII only does 5 frames per second, I used my Canon EOS 1N RS which does 8 fps. Only one image was perfect.

Paul Howell · Mar 17, 2016

mehguy said:
I meant that without any attention to focus or composition, on film (and as well with digital,) I assumed the images wouldn't turn out well.

News and JP often used and still burst and zone focus to grab a shot in a crowd, hold the camera up over your head, wide angel lens, AF and 5 PS and hope for the best. All you need is just one. I don't recall his name but a well known JP for the London times assignment was to cover the PM as he left his residence on Downing Street every AM, he shot an entire roll of 36 exposures in just 3 or 4 seconds to get one shot of the PM with an interesting expression as reporters yelled questions at him as he got into his car.

CropDusterMan · Mar 17, 2016

mehguy said:
I meant that without any attention to focus or composition, on film (and as well with digital,) I assumed the images wouldn't turn out well.

Who would ever take pictures without attention to focus and composition?

Peter Rockstroh01 · Mar 17, 2016

Birds in flight. You want to get a perfect image, you need to follow and use a burst mode. Still, you. need luck to get that image.

John Bragg · Mar 17, 2016

A Sniper needs but one shot. However, most of us mere mortals are not that brilliant all the time.

Gerald C Koch · Mar 17, 2016

Athletic games. racing, news photography, anywhere you have to get the definitive shot.

Ricardo Miranda · Mar 17, 2016

What is Burst Mode?
Never seen anything labelled like that in a 35mm camera.
Must be some parlance from Digitography forums.
Oh dear!

John Bragg · Mar 17, 2016

Ricardo Miranda said:
What is Burst Mode?
Never seen anything labelled like that in a 35mm camera.
Must be some parlance from Digitography forums.
Oh dear!

Ricardo, it is when, if you shoot any more shots of the same thing, your camera will burst !

benjiboy · Mar 17, 2016

Ricardo Miranda said:
What is Burst Mode?
Never seen anything labelled like that in a 35mm camera.
Must be some parlance from Digitography forums.
Oh dear!

I think the O.P. has got the expression from iPhone terminology, or, "burst mode" is what you do with machine guns to stop the barrel overheating and distorting by continuous firing to prevent ammunition cook off and conserve ammunition.

Ricardo Miranda · Mar 17, 2016

John Bragg said:
Ricardo, it is when, if you shoot any more shots of the same thing, your camera will burst !

Lol

Ricardo Miranda · Mar 17, 2016

benjiboy said:
I think the O.P. has got the expression from iPhone terminology, or, "burst mode" is what you do with machine guns to stop the barrel overheating and distorting by continuous firing to prevent ammunition cook off and conserve ammunition.

Well, I don't have an iphone and know nothing about ammunition.
Thanks for the explanation.

Any reason for Burst Mode?

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