Hi there
This is just a quick post to give a simple explanation of your camera’s different drive modes – what they are, what they do and when you should use each one.
Camera Drive Modes
You camera has a number of modes you can select to control how it reacts when you press the shutter button. These are the drive modes. You can choose to have single, multiple shots or to delay when you take the photograph when you press the shutter button.
Single Shot Mode

Continuous Drive Mode

American Osprey
- Transfer speed of the memory card in your camera – You need a ‘fast’ card to help the camera transfer the information quickly;
- The camera’s buffer size – This is the number of fames that the camera can store temporarily internally prior to writing to the memory card;
- The image quality that you have selected – The resolution/size of the RAW or JPEG files you are recording;
- Continuous autofocus/single autofocus – Some cameras give you the option for the camera to either just autofocus on the first image of the burst or for it to adjust focus for each subsequent frame captures in the burst mode. Single autofocus mode will naturally allow your camera to take faster subsequent frames.

Self Timer

Silent Shutter/Quiet Mode

Bright Green Hummingbird sitting in a tree close up
Remote
This remote mode works when you plug in a wired (or wireless) remote control to trigger the shutter button. This is advisable where you are using a very slow shutter speed and want to ensure that you do not shake the camera resulting in a blurred image.

London Bridge and St Pauls Cathedral Building Reflected in River Thames at night in Blue Lights
Mirror Lock Up

Dandelion Seeds Reflections Botanicals Nature Macro Close up
Once again please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments about this post (or anything else on my website), and to pass this tutorial onto any photographer friends you think may benefit from it.
Until next time!
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