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May 1, 2016 09:50:42   #
avery48 Loc: Jefferson City
 
I could use some assistance from more veteran photographers. I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark 3 and am trying to improve on sports photography (grandsons in sports). When I want to shoot continuous frames in an event, I can only muster up a two or three fps. I know that camera can do better. What do I need to set to get maximum fps? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I use Lexar 800x 16 gig CF and Transcend 32 gig 90mb/s 600x SD cards typically, if that makes any difference.

d.

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May 1, 2016 10:15:18   #
Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona
 
I am no expert, but are you shooting raw files. Bigger files take longer to write. Faster cards help. Are you writing to both cards? I will be curious what others have to say.

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May 1, 2016 10:33:19   #
avery48 Loc: Jefferson City
 
Nalu wrote:
I am no expert, but are you shooting raw files. Bigger files take longer to write. Faster cards help. Are you writing to both cards? I will be curious what others have to say.


Nalu, good point. I'm writing one card (SD) to raw and the other to jpeg, simultaneously. So how would I change the settings to get a faster fps count and still shoot raw? I know professionals shoot raw and still get quick captures.

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May 1, 2016 10:51:41   #
SharpShooter Loc: NorCal
 
Nalu wrote:
I am no expert, but are you shooting raw files. Bigger files take longer to write. Faster cards help. Are you writing to both cards? I will be curious what others have to say.


Your cards are more than fast enough. On the LCD make sure you are set to " "fast continuous". It may be set to "low continuous" or one shot. ;-)
SS

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May 1, 2016 10:52:00   #
Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona
 
avery48 wrote:
Nalu, good point. I'm writing one card (SD) to raw and the other to jpeg, simultaneously. So how would I change the settings to get a faster fps count and still shoot raw? I know professionals shoot raw and still get quick captures.


Well, there are faster cards and do you need to use both cards? Also, just curious, what lens are you using? When I use the older version of the canon 100/400 L series, both my 7dii and 1dx slow down. Don't know why, but it may have something to do with the older AF system. Other lenses have work fine.

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May 1, 2016 10:52:47   #
wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska
 
avery48 wrote:
Nalu, good point. I'm writing one card (SD) to raw and the other to jpeg, simultaneously. So how would I change the settings to get a faster fps count and still shoot raw? I know professionals shoot raw and still get quick captures.


Many pros shoot JEPG to get more fps. If you think you must shoot RAW drop the JPEG. - Dave

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May 1, 2016 10:54:29   #
Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona
 
SharpShooter wrote:
Your cards are more than fast enough. On the LCD make sure you are set to " "fast continuous". It may be set to "low continuous" or one shot. ;-)
SS


SS know way more about this than I do.

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May 1, 2016 11:18:09   #
Armadillo Loc: Ventura, CA
 
avery48 wrote:
I could use some assistance from more veteran photographers. I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark 3 and am trying to improve on sports photography (grandsons in sports). When I want to shoot continuous frames in an event, I can only muster up a two or three fps. I know that camera can do better. What do I need to set to get maximum fps? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I use Lexar 800x 16 gig CF and Transcend 32 gig 90mb/s 600x SD cards typically, if that makes any difference.

d.


avery48,

You have already resolved one possible problem with the high speed write memory cards.

One area that may not have been considered is the auto functions of the camera body.

Your camera should perform auto exposure instantly if the mode is set to Aperture Priority. The cause of your slow FPS may be the time it take the auto-focus to lock on a moving subject.

Try this the next time you need to photograph a sporting event.
Preset your aperture to a value that will provide sufficient DOF at a predetermined location. (The rim of the basketball net) Frame the area to include a jump-shot, focus on the basket rim, turn off auto-focus.

I was out at the local beach the other day performing the same type of photography on a group of local Surfers. Using auto-focus and single shot I captured some dramatic shots. Changing to Auto-focus and Servo-Tracking to follow the fast passed action allowed 2 - 3 frames per second. Turning off auto-focus I recorded several hundred exposures in a second. (of course most of those were not worth keeping).

From what I have experienced with memory cards, if you use the fastest read/write card your camera can support you should not see a measurable difference between the recording of .jpg and RAW files.

Michael G

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May 1, 2016 11:22:27   #
LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY
 
avery48 wrote:
I could use some assistance from more veteran photographers. I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark 3 and am trying to improve on sports photography (grandsons in sports). When I want to shoot continuous frames in an event, I can only muster up a two or three fps. I know that camera can do better. What do I need to set to get maximum fps? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I use Lexar 800x 16 gig CF and Transcend 32 gig 90mb/s 600x SD cards typically, if that makes any difference.

d.


There are a number of factors. Slow exposure speeds can slow down your burst rate. I assume that is not your issue, since you are shooting sports. I read someplace, but can't verify, that writing to both cards can also slow things down. Al Servo image priority can also be a cause. If focus is the priority for the 2nd and subsequent shots the camera will wait for focus to be achieved before shooting. That's a case where a slow focusing lens will be a problem. (That priority can be selected on the 7DII, but I don't know about the 5DIII).
BTW, a deep format of your SD card (selectable in camera format utility) will restore full write speed to the card. A quick format (the camera default) will not.

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May 1, 2016 11:25:06   #
Leitz Loc: Solms
 
avery48 wrote:
I could use some assistance from more veteran photographers. I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark 3 and am trying to improve on sports photography (grandsons in sports). When I want to shoot continuous frames in an event, I can only muster up a two or three fps. I know that camera can do better. What do I need to set to get maximum fps? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I use Lexar 800x 16 gig CF and Transcend 32 gig 90mb/s 600x SD cards typically, if that makes any difference.

d.


Your user's manual should indicate burst rate depending on file size.

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May 1, 2016 11:29:02   #
Bill_de Loc: US
 
Armadillo wrote:
Turning off auto-focus I recorded several hundred exposures in a second.


I want that camera --- what is it?

Edit - while I was typing LFingar covered all the point below, so you can ignore what follows.

OP - Auto focus could slow things down, but could also mean a lot of out of focus shots. If your camera has the option, set it to "shutter" priority rather than "Focus" priority. It will continue to shoot while acquiring focus, as your subject moves.

Also, be sure you are not using a slow shutter speed.



--

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May 1, 2016 12:13:14   #
haroldross Loc: Walthill, Nebraska
 
Try just using the CF card. The 5D MK III will slow down to the slowest speed card in the camera. The SD card slot does not support the fastest of the SD cards.

The continous shooting speed is also affected by the lens used, AF, and ISO speed. Try manual focus and ISO 100 and see if you get 5-6 frames per second. I have used the Transcend 400x CF in mine with good results when shooting continuous frames. It seems that higher ISO images are larger in size so the buffer fills up faster.

From the manual.
From the manual....
(Download)

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May 1, 2016 12:47:54   #
avery48 Loc: Jefferson City
 
Fellow hogs...thanks for your suggestions. In reply to questions about lenses...I typically use the Canon 70-200L IS f2.8 and the Canon 24-105L IS f4. I'll give these suggestions a try. Other suggestions are welcome.

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May 1, 2016 13:14:56   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
Armadillo wrote:
...Using auto-focus and single shot I captured some dramatic shots. Changing to Auto-focus and Servo-Tracking to follow the fast passed action allowed 2 - 3 frames per second. Turning off auto-focus I recorded several hundred exposures in a second. (of course most of those were not worth keeping)...


Not sure how you did that. Certainly it will depend on the lens's ability to acquire focus, so autofocus could well slow down the frame rate. But the maximum frame rate is determined by the mechanical limitations of the camera body. The newer camera bodies will go up to 10-12 frames/second (although Nikon's Silent Live View will go to 24 frames/second on the D4 and 30 frames/second on video -- however the shutter is not cycling at that speed; the high frame rate is all in the sensor readout). I don't know any non-specialized camera that will do several hundred exposures per second.

As far as the readout is concerned, the Nikon cameras that have high frame rates also have memory buffers that can mitigate a slow write speed to your card. I suspect other brands with high frame rates would also have such a buffer (but I only shoot Nikon so I can't be sure about that).

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May 1, 2016 13:27:19   #
GregWCIL Loc: Illinois
 
avery48 wrote:
Fellow hogs...thanks for your suggestions. In reply to questions about lenses...I typically use the Canon 70-200L IS f2.8 and the Canon 24-105L IS f4. I'll give these suggestions a try. Other suggestions are welcome.


Avery, review some of your shots and see what shutter speed you were achieving. If your shutter speed is too low (possibly less than 1/500th of a second, you cannot get high frame rates.

Also, many bird photographers suggest setting shutter release mode to "release/focus" rather than "focus lock" (I may have those terms wrong for a Canon.) I think the theory is that they want to give priority to getting the shot even if focus isn't locked. I'm not sure I agree with that theory since who wants a lot of unfocused shots?

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