David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual

Burst Mode or One-Shot?

Most people think that the shutter button does only one thing: Press it once, get one photo. But on many cameras, it also has a burst mode. That's where the camera keeps taking pictures for as long as you hold the button down. (Sometimes there's a limit on the total number, dictated by the camera's electronic memory or the memory card you're using. But you get the point.)

On your basic $200 pocket cam, the speed of those rapid-fire shots won't exactly set your hair on fire; you might get two photos every three seconds.

Note

Usually, the screen image pauses momentarily to show you each photo after it's snapped—which means you can no longer see the high-speed subject (biker, diver, dancer) you were trying to shoot.

This is yet another good argument for having a camera with an optical viewfinder, which would bypass that entire problem.

On an SLR, though, you can get some excellent bursts—three shots per second on the less expensive cameras, seven or more on the pricier ones.

Burst mode is great for sports and wildlife photography, of course, because those are famously brief photo ops; you want to fire as many shots as you can during those fleeting moments. (You can see an example of the result on Burst Mode.) Later, you can pluck out the one best shot.

But Burst mode is also great for portraits, because you can choose from multiple gradations of smile and expression.

In any case, the steps for changing your camera from single-shot mode to burst mode are different on every camera (and cheapo cameras may not even offer burst mode). On an SLR, you may have a physical Drive-mode button right on the camera, marked with a series of overlapping rectangles (representing burst mode); as you press this button and turn the control dial, the camera cycles from single-shot mode, to burst mode, to self-timer mode.

On a pocket cam, you may have to hunt through the menus for this option.