Understanding Shooting Speed on Your DSLR

Are you considering buying a new DSLR? There are certainly plenty of choices out there for you! One thing you need to keep in mind is the shooting speed. Most photographers find this the most noticeable change when going from compacts to a DSLR. Shooting speed is the term used to refer to the number of frames per second that your camera is able to capture. Another way to look at it is as the continuous shooting rate of the camera.

Let’s have a look at an example. Nikon makes the D3200 as their entry level DSLR. This camera will shoot up to 4 frames per second of full resolution images. This is far more than what most hobbyist photographers will ever need to capture their running pets or kids. However, for those photographers that are professional or dabbling in capturing more action shots, this may not be adequate. 

If you are going to be shooting wildlife, sports or other types of action, you are going to want to find a camera that has a faster shooting speed. A mid range DSLR at around 7 frames per second (at full resolution) should do the job. The Nikon D300S fits is such a camera. Of course there a many others.  If you don’t like doing anything half way, then you might opt for a top of the line camera that shoots 14 frames per second or more. The Canon EOS 1D X is such a camera, designed with wildlife photographers and professional sports photographers in mind. 

Don’t assume just because a camera costs a lot that it has a fast shooting speed. That’s simply not true. Other high-end cameras are designed for a different purpose like photography or professionals that are not shooting subjects that are fast moving. These photographers are seeking different requirements for their images. For example, they may be more focused on capturing the sharpest image for fashion layouts. 

The DSLR that has the fastest shooting speeds also has the largest buffer, which is where all of your images are stored before they are moved over to your data card. The faster the camera can process and place the image in the camera buffer, the more shots you are able to take in a given moment because there is less delay between the shots. 

Now that you understand, what shooting speed is and does, you can decide just how important it is to you and purchase accordingly. 

