Continuous Shutter issue: Nikon D5000

[Santa Gertrudis]

In single shot mode everything works just fine, but when I put it in continuous mode, it does this...

click click click click..........click.........click.........................click..............................click

After the first 4 or 5 shots, it gets progressively slower. Any ideas?

 

[anm90]

How fast is your memory card? Could be that the buffer is so small that it can't handle more than those first few shots and then it has to slow down so that the write speed can keep up with the rate at which the pictures are being taken. The only other thought that comes to mind is battery charge and voltage fluctuations under load causing it to slow down.

 

[Santa Gertrudis]

Well, I don't really know too much about memory cards, but this is what I have...

SanDisk 8GB SDHC 15MB/s

I hardly EVER use continuous. Mainly because when I want to take just one, I end up holding it too long and take two. Just started playing with it the other day and noticed it doing this.

Off topic: Alex, you better change that signature! Sounds like you should have that D90 any day now!

 

[jeremycnwy]

mine has done this too... it turns out to be a sd card issue... i have a generic brand class 6 card and mine will run about 8-9 pics before it starts slowing down. i have a friend who has a d5000 and has a sandisk extreme 3 class 6 card and his never slows down. my verdic is my generic brand class 6 card isnt really a true class 6 card. so i just bought a sandisk 8gb class 6 card (30mb/s). i'm hoping this will solve my issue, and sounds like you have an identical problem.

Also if you have the active d-lighting on it slows things down dramatically.

 

[Santa Gertrudis]

Thanks, Jeremy! Ill fart with it a little and see what happens. With how little I use continuous, it's not really an issue, I just want it to work correctly. Ill get better SDs one of these days. :lmao:

 

[the iconic image]

Your memory card is too slow. The difference in cards is more than brand and cost. To give you an idea, I use Lexar 600x speed and it read 90 MB/s. The price difference is considerable but my camera is firing 10 fps and if your card can't read fast then it has to stutter and stumble and catch up.

the Iconic Image

 

[anm90]

Off topic: Alex, you better change that signature! Sounds like you should have that D90 any day now!

Unfortunately I have no idea when it will be here and it seems like it has been forever but in reality it only left the sort facility in North Houston, TX around 10 pm on Tuesday the 9th...

Not sure how I will be able to wait so long! It seems like it's been forever already!

 

[Santa Gertrudis]

Ok, new SD cards: CHECK! :lmao: Thanks, iconic image!

Alex,
I would imagine it might be there tomorrow! That bag I sent you today is showing to arrive in a couple days. Both coming from Texas.

EDIT: LOL I just noticed you changed your signature.

 

[inTempus]

Are you shooting in RAW or JPG? If you're shooting in RAW, a faster memory card might not help you much. Nikon doesn't publish their max burst specs on their website like Canon does, but on the lower end Canon's you can only get 6 RAW images fired before the buffer on the camera overflows. Once that happens shooting slows down considerably regardless of how fast your memory card is.

If shooting JPG on the Rebel you can shoot 53 images before the buffer overflows and the camera slows down. This is the specs on the XSi Rebel. On the Canon T1i it's 9 RAWs and 170 JPG's before the buffer overflows. I would imaging the D5000 has a pretty small buffer much like the Rebel and T1i. It's probably somewhere in between.

In other words, before spending $60+ on a memory card only to find you haven't improved things much (you might only get 2 or 3 more "clicks" before the slowdown), take a look in your manual and see if it tells you in there what your burst rate is since Nikon doesn't list it on their website.

 

[KmH]

Have you read your camera users manual?

There is a menu option to display an indicator in the viewfinder that shows how many continuous shots can be made before the buffer is full.

See page 6 (item 12) and page 66 "The Memory Buffer".

 

[itznfb]

Entry level cameras with SD cards will always have this issue. Unless they find a way to significantly increase the speed of SD cards. CF cards are even a long way off from eliminated buffer capacity issues. You're SD would need to be around 50-60mb/s (spec) to keep up with your camera. At a minimum. I doubt we'll see SD cards that fast any time soon, or ever.

Cameras with 10-12fps would need cards 200+mb/s to keep up...

 

[Santa Gertrudis]

I shoot in JPEG only as of now.

Yeah, I read through the manual but must have missed it. Sorry! Thanks for all the help, guys!

 

[Garbz]

Not sure if it's been said since I glossed though the thread only, but current technology of cards themselves and far more importantly the electronics in the camera is far slower than the internal volatile image buffer.

All cameras have something like this, and the difference usually comes down to size. However a faster memory card may often not help. Just for an example using a somewhat outdated D200 on a generic no name card I can fire off about 20 shots at 5fps and then after it slows down to 1 frame ever 2-3 seconds. With a Sandisk Extreme III card I get about 25 shots and then 1 frame every second.

However my new Sandisk Extreme UDMA card, as well as an Extreme IV card are no different in my camera. They make a huge difference when loading the files onto a computer with a memory card reader but that's where the benefit stops for me. Other cameras may fair better, and typically the more expensive the camera the larger the in camera buffer, and the faster the memory system in general.

 

[itznfb]

^
It depends on the camera. For instance with the D300s the max write speed is somewhere around 40mbps. So any card above 40mbps I won't see any increase in performance. Whereas the 1D Mark IV has somewhere around 100mbps if memory serves...

 

[KmH]

....Yeah, I read through the manual but must have missed it. Sorry!....

A d-SLR users manual contains a ton of information. One 'read through' isn't enough for most people, including me. I usually don't feel like I really understand a camera's capabilities until I've finished the 5th or 6th reading of a users manual.

Even with that, I keep my users manuals in my gear bag for ready reference.