[dominikkolendo]

burst mode on a Pentax K3.
my most used shooting mode.
8.3 fps and up to 80 jpegs in a row... almost ideal for what i do.

but, sometimes i only get as few as 30 jpegs in a burst before slowdown.

does anyone know what exactly determines how many pics the camera maxes out at?

i have done some trials on my own, and this is what i gathered so far:

shooting the exact same scene, i found that i can double my burst length with the following settings:

1) lower ISO gives more pics
2) turning off most processing like CA etc off gives more pics, but some other processing doesn't seem to make a difference.
3) setting jpeg to full size gives more pics than scaling to a smaller jpeg
4) less dynamic scenes equal more pics

i am using a sandisk extreme and it's not an issue with a slow card before anyone asks. i can get up to 80ish pics sometimes.
jsut concerned about camera settings, so i can set one of my user modes to max out the burst.

so anyone have any advice about what determines maximum burst amount?
specifically long bursts of 8fps jpegs.

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Last edited by dominikkolendo; 10-28-2015 at 11:15 PM. Reason: specifying camera

[Adam]

One factor that can't really be controlled is the scene itself. More detailed images will result in larger files that end up taking more buffer space.

You're right on the money with your four points. Just as detail increases file size, so do higher ISOs, since noise interferes with effective compression.

2) turning off most processing like CA etc off gives more pics, but some other processing doesn't seem to make a difference.

The most processor-intensive enhancement is distortion correction, so make sure that's disabled at all costs.

sandisk extreme

The 45 Mb/s cards? You should theoretically be able to squeeze out even better performance with the newer 60 Mb/s extreme or 90 Mb/s extreme pro cards.

[manishved]

Any tests performed with DNG? Is the K3-II any faster?

[r0ckstarr]

The 45 Mb/s cards? You should theoretically be able to squeeze out even better performance with the newer 60 Mb/s extreme or 90 Mb/s extreme pro cards.

What is the highest Mb/s card you can run in the K3 before you reach the point of having a card faster than the camera?

[sharik]

burst mode on a Pentax K3.
my most used shooting mode.
8.3 fps and up to 80 jpegs in a row... almost ideal for what i do.

but, sometimes i only get as few as 30 jpegs in a burst before slowdown.

does anyone know what exactly determines how many pics the camera maxes out at?

i have done some trials on my own, and this is what i gathered so far:

shooting the exact same scene, i found that i can double my burst length with the following settings:

1) lower ISO gives more pics
2) turning off most processing like CA etc off gives more pics, but some other processing doesn't seem to make a difference.
3) setting jpeg to full size gives more pics than scaling to a smaller jpeg
4) less dynamic scenes equal more pics

i am using a sandisk extreme and it's not an issue with a slow card before anyone asks. i can get up to 80ish pics sometimes.
jsut concerned about camera settings, so i can set one of my user modes to max out the burst.

so anyone have any advice about what determines maximum burst amount?
specifically long bursts of 8fps jpegs.

There is a website where systematic tests of camera memory speed are posted, and they have done tests for one Pentax camera - K3ii. The K3 is probably similar. Here is the link: Pentax K-3 II SD Card Write Speed Comparison of Fastest Memory Cards for the Pentax K3 II Digital Camera - Camera Memory Speed Comparison & Performance tests for SD and CF cards.

If you are interested in getting maximum burst rate (fps), not only burst length, then don't use AF-C at the same time. With AF-C engaged, the burst rate drops from ~8fps to 4.5-5.2 fps, depending on the settings.

[dominikkolendo]

yes, af-c would certainly take more time than afs or manual, im more concerned with deeper or les obvious settings.
thank you adam for explaining why high iso takes longer, that didnt cross my mind but definitly revealing.

[charchri4]

Could I ask a couple dumb questions? How much slower is RAW and what are you doing that you need 80 shots in a row at 8 fps?


(I ask because I am going to shoot a drumline on Sunday and this is a very useful topic)

[Just1MoreDave]

With RAW, the K3 specs say 23 frames. I think you have to be careful with continuous RAW shooting, because when the buffer gets full, the fun stops. Then you have to be sure the camera isn't emptying the buffer while you miss the best shots. If you need lots of shots and limited downtime, JPG is better. Or choose one of the slower drive modes.

[charchri4]

Cool. I rarely shoot more than 10 in a burst and I'd really like to try RAW next time out. It's about 99% luck and 1% having a sense of where a driver might clip a cone anyway...

[dominikkolendo]

i shoot stop motion films, which are generally shoot, alter scene, shoot; but when working with live actors certain scenes are just shootshootshoot then ill add animation in in post. at max burst i get about 5 seconds of 10fps playback, the speed at which i can balance smoothness and time devoted to animating.

i also shoot bursts which are destined to be animated gifs.

i never do much traditional photography, you guys are much better at that so i leave it to you.

[charchri4]

Cool. Have any examples of your stuff we could see?

[dominikkolendo]

last vid thats actually live is this:

http://www.the1stfive.com/news/video-the-winter-sounds-shoulders-above-is-th...-eleven-months

working on a much bigger project now.