Camera Buffer (Raw) Camera Buffer (Raw)
Canon R5 20 FPS for 83 frames Nikon Z9 20 FPS for 1000
Canon R7 30 FPS for 42 Nikon D500 10 FPS for 200
Fuji X-H2S 40 FPS for 140 Olympus OM-1 120 FPS for 92
Sony A1 30 FPS for 155 Panasonic GH6 75 FPS for 200
As you can see, many cameras today have insane burst rates, but sometimes their buffer is more limited. For example, the Canon EOS R7 has a very impressive 30 FPS, but at that speed, you’ll only be able to shoot for about 1.5 seconds before the buffer fills up with 42 frames.

When you fill up the buffer, the camera won’t necessarily stop shooting photos entirely. However, it will drastically slow down. Once the buffer is full, you may only get one or two frames per second, while the camera works to clear through all the photos you’ve already taken.

How can you avoid filling up your buffer? There are three important things you can do:

Use the fastest memory card you can afford. Although the buffer memory is faster than that of a memory card, a faster memory card will mean that the camera can more quickly move your shots from the buffer to the memory card, which clears the buffer for more shots.
Shoot a slower FPS burst. Just because your camera shoots 30 FPS doesn’t mean you need to use it all the time. Instead, consider something like 10 FPS instead, which is still enough for 99% of subjects. On some cameras, this can give you almost unlimited burst shooting, since the buffer will clear at a rate faster than you add photos to it.
Only hold down the shutter button when you really need to. When the camera isn’t shooting, it will clear the buffer quickly and be ready for the next unexpected event.