Another frequent question I get asked is, ‘Should I buy a better camera because the one I’ve got can’t keep up with the number of shots I want to take? It just keeps lagging.’ So here’s a quick explanation/answer that may just save you spending hard earned money on a new camera that you may not need:
How many birds in flight shots do you get to keep because they are tack sharp and capture that fleeting moment? Or rather, how many shots have you lost when trying to capture a fleeting moment because your camera is buffering? Remember the days of dial-up internet connection when we tried to download something and it all fell to little pieces because of buffering? How frustrating was that? How many wildlife shots in general can’t you take because your camera has put the brakes on whilst it buffers what you’ve already taken? Put another way: you’re in high speed shooting and you’ve got a fast shutter speed and you’re in the process of trying to capture an Osprey just as it takes the fish from the water and you’re holding down that shutter button and everything comes to a grinding halt…all because of buffering. So what is buffering?
Buffering problems with photography are when your camera slows down or stops taking photos because its memory card cannot keep up with the amount of data it is producing resulting in a delay or a loss of images. This can happen when you shoot in burst mode or continuous shooting mode, especially with large file sizes or slow memory cards.
But there are a few ways to avoid or minimize buffering problems when shooting wildlife:
- Use a faster memory card. A memory card with a higher write speed can transfer data more quickly from your camera’s buffer to the card, reducing the chances of a bottleneck.
- (Not so Good!) Reduce the file size. You can lower the resolution or the quality of your images to make them smaller and easier to store. However, this will also affect the sharpness and detail of your photos, so you may want to use this option sparingly or only when necessary.
- Shoot in bursts. Instead of holding down the shutter button for a long time, try shooting in short bursts of a few frames each. This will give your camera and memory card some time to process the data and clear the buffer.
- Resist the temptation to check your images on the LCD screen after every shot, as this will slow down your camera and memory card. Wait until you have finished shooting or until you have a break to review your photos and delete the ones you don’t want.
Hope this helps😏.
Happy snappin’ folks
Meter The Light 