How to get the quickest FPS on D40

jhendrix · Apr 17, 2008

My D40 got here in the mail today, but i'm wondering how to get the quickest frames per second with it? What settings to use for sports and whatnot.

I also noticed when just doing continuous shooting it seems to lag sometimes? As in i'll hold the button down and it will start shooting and then randomly it will stop sometimes and then start again. Is there something wrong there?

Thanks!

Craddosk · Apr 17, 2008

To get the absolute quickest FPS (ignoring quality), shoot at the lowest jpeg setting on continuous mode. Shooting in raw will limit the number of frames possible, though it should be fast enough for basic sports.

The lag (I think) is just the buffer being filled, or the card not writing quick enough. I wouldn't worry about it.

jhendrix · Apr 17, 2008

Well, it's weird because if I put it in RAW it will shoot about 3-4 pictures very quickly, but then all of a sudden slow down alot.

And if I put it in JPEG Basic it doesn't slow down any and keeps shooting at an even pace, but it doesn't even shoot as fast as the first 3-4 that RAW shoots.

I'm confused. :???:

MarcusM · Apr 17, 2008

You should read your manual.

In JPEG it will shoot faster than in RAW. In RAW the file sizes are bigger and it takes more time to write the files to the card.

jhendrix · Apr 17, 2008

MarcusM said:
You should read your manual.

In JPEG it will shoot faster than in RAW. In RAW the file sizes are bigger and it takes more time to write the files to the card.

Well, I bought it used and it didn't come with the manual.

But, I had read up on that so I set it to JPEG, but like I said, it still doesn't shoot as fast as I think it can, because if I shoot in RAW it shoots faster than JPEG for a few shots but then slows down really slow.

Big Mike · Apr 17, 2008

because if I shoot in RAW it shoots faster than JPEG for a few shots but then slows down really slow.

Is it possible that it's just a slower shutter speeds and not a slower frame rate?

roberte · Apr 17, 2008

We have the D80 and needed a 133x speed card in order to not get pauses in MD at the large fine jpeg settings.

Manual is available as a pdf download at http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/noprint/D40_noprint.pdf You can search it full text.

Dubious Drewski · Apr 17, 2008

jhendrix said:
Well, it's weird because if I put it in RAW it will shoot about 3-4 pictures very quickly, but then all of a sudden slow down alot.

And if I put it in JPEG Basic it doesn't slow down any and keeps shooting at an even pace, but it doesn't even shoot as fast as the first 3-4 that RAW shoots.

I'm confused. :???:

This is because jpgs are processed RAW files. This processing takes time, so the overall fps should be slower. This is a limitation of your camera's CPU. With a RAW, there's almost no processing done and the data is sent straight to the card. Then once it slows down due to the camera's on board memory being filled up (aka the "buffer"), this is then a limitation of the memory card's writing speed.

I'm going to guess that you don't have a high-speed card? I'd recommend an Extreme II or even Extreme III card if you want to do alot of continuous shooting in RAW on an average DSLR like the D40.

passerby · Apr 17, 2008

The frame speed is 2.5 shots per second. The JPEG fine size varies from 1.5mb to almost 4mb depending on the object richness of colours.

The card ability has it's limit (SD card here) which is the same with any other type of cards. 2.5 frame per second in raw is an average of 12mb or more per second for the card to handle. There is fast speed processing SD card available on the market also if you interest.

JerryPH · Apr 17, 2008

jhendrix said:
Well, I bought it used and it didn't come with the manual.

The manuals of all Nikon products are available on their support website.

carlostau · Apr 17, 2008

Hi Hendrix, IMHO you are trying to run before you learn how to walk.
Download the manual from Nikon support site and get familiar with the camera's settings, then start reading about photography basic concepts and how to put them in practice with your camera. There are lots of sites with cool tutorials and workshops for you to try and practice

jhendrix · Apr 17, 2008

Thanks everyone, I think it might be the card, it's just a SanDisk 2GB SD card, I might have to look into a better card when I get into taking better pictures.

I'm about to download the manual, and I am reading a guide on Ken Rockwells site.

Again, thanks everyone!

carlostau · Apr 17, 2008

Any high speed card will improve your burst ratio. Don't stick to Ken Rockwells guide, read what other reviewers have to say too

jhendrix · Apr 17, 2008

carlostau said:
Any high speed card will improve your burst ratio. Don't stick to Ken Rockwells guide, read what other reviewers have to say too

Do you happen to have a high speed card?
If so, did it improve it alot?

And yes, i've been searching through the forums and looking at guides. It's of help!