Improved Buffer/FPS in live mode?

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Pretzel

Senior Member
Purely unscientific testing, so take it for what it's worth...

Last night at class, the set-up for our in-class project required us all to be in continuous high mode. With that in mind, while the first student was lining up on the tripod, I went ahead and switched over and tested a few shots. FRUSTRATION with the D7100's buffer rose up in me a bit... but I was still getting the shots I was after, so no big deal.

On the tripod, we were going into Live View to set the manual focus (so the instructor could watch, see our settings etc.) then shooting rapid fire at our subject. Some of the cameras wouldn't shoot continuous in LV, though, so they had to turn it back off. Curious, I went to live view and tried a burst at continuous high and... WOW!? It sure seemed like it was shooting a bit faster AND for a longer amount of time. Switched back to the viewfinder, slower and shorter burst. Back to LV, longer and faster burst. For the record, it could have just been a longer burst each time, and just seeming to be faster because the noticeable lag after 5 or 6 shots wasn't kicking in...

1) What the heck? Have I found a way to boost the D7100 a bit? I've never heard of this trick before (although I didn't search for long either), so has anyone else experienced this?

2) If it is true, WHY would it make a difference? A few of the Canon shooters were saying LV seemed to slow their fps down... the other two Nikon shooters had different cameras that were all menu controlled, so didn't compare to them.

Needless to say, several burst tests between viewfinder and LV stayed consistent, but I didn't mess with it any further after class. I'll test a little more tonight to see if it still holds true or if I was imagining it all. In the meantime, has anyone else noticed this with their D7100?

Did the Primal Beast's fangs just get a little larger?? SURE HOPE SO!
 
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Woodyg3

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
Just a guess, but maybe fps is a little faster in live view because the mirror doesn't have to flapup and down?
 
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Blade Canyon

Senior Member
I tried it on D800. RAW only. Sixteen shots until lock both in LV and non-LV. Nice idea, though. After blazing through those sixteen shots, it takes about two minutes before the green job light goes off.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Just played with a gripped D7100 for about 10 minutes and here are the key take-aways:

  1. When in Live View the amount time between the shutter being fully depressed and the first image being captured is longer because of the need to first close the shutter and then fire again. This is a distinct disadvantage of shooting that way if timing is paramount.
  2. In Live View, once it starts firing in CH mode the amount of time between frames is shorter due to the mirror not having to flap around.
  3. Regardless of which mode you're in the buffer fills after 6 frames of RAW captures.
  4. After shooting 15 second bursts recording JPEG Fine images only I averaged 81 images in Live View and 84 images shooting normally, both roughly 5.5 fps. This runs counter to what I've implied regarding the faster shutter speed in #2.
  5. I just put about 500 needless clicks on my shutter. ;)

No magic bullet.
 
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Bob Rules

Senior Member
BackdoorHippie said:
Just played with a gripped D7100 for about 10 minutes and here are the key take-aways:

  1. When in Live View the amount time between the shutter being fully depressed and the first image being captured is longer because of the need to first close the shutter and then fire again. This is a distinct disadvantage of shooting that way if timing is paramount.
  2. In Live View, once it starts firing in CH mode the amount of time between frames is shorter due to the mirror not having to flap around.
  3. Regardless of which mode you're in the buffer fills after 6 frames of RAW captures.
  4. After shooting 15 second bursts recording JPEG Fine images only I averaged 81 images in Live View and 84 images shooting normally, both roughly 5.5 fps. This runs counter to what I've implied regarding the faster shutter speed in #2.
  5. I just put about 500 needless clicks on my shutter. ;)

No magic bullet.
Click to expand...

Backdoor... is your grip third party? I have a third party Vello grip and I only dream of 84 images continuous.
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
My testing did show (shooting RAW + JPEG fine to separate SD cards) that my results somewhat mirror yours - a slight delay before first capture when in live view, but a noticeably faster firing rate. I was just doing tests 'til the lag kicked in (typically 1 second) and I would get 6 (once only 5) images before the buffer lag, whereas I would get mostly 6 frames as well (although once 8) when firing from live view. I only tested 5 bursts each way, and was formatting the SD cards in-camera between each burst so I'd get an accurate frame count.

I didn't switch to just JPEG fine only and test 15 second bursts (thanks for that info and sorry about the needless clicks!), and I was on an un-gripped beast.

Overall, I concur, no magic bullet here... darnit!

One thing I *DID* notice... on at least two of the bursts, the pics were imported to LR in non-sequential order? I was using a similar pour test, and I got empty glass, FULL glass, stream heading toward glass... very odd. I didn't think to check the SD card to see if they were captured in that order or if it was an import glitch until just now, and the card has been formatted again, but that was definitely odd.

Thanks, all, for enduring my hopeful moment of insanity. :cool: Now, to start working on a set-up so I can capture oreos being dropped into a glass of milk... YUM! (Wait, I mean... can't wait to see the pics I get from that!)
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
FYI, on the writing of separate file types to two cards, write times of your RAW files will drop dramatically which can further complicate the buffer issue.
 
hark

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Pretzel, thanks for sharing the info even if it didn't quite pan out as expected. Although I don't shoot in bursts with what I photograph, I will keep this in mind should the need ever arise. And Jake, thanks for adding your results from testing Pretzel's theory. Good to know! :)
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Pretzel said:
...and the accompanying question. How does the Photix measure up? Safe for a BR, or tripod mounting? It just hurts thinking about paying $260.00 for the Nikon grip.
Click to expand...

I use my D7100 with my 150-500mm Sigma on it 90% of the time and the grip helps to balance the feel, plus it's precisely the height of the tripod mount on the lens and it allows it to sit squarely and securely on a table top. Tripod mounts to the lens, so I can't answer to that end of things. Suffice it to say, it works fine with the beefy Sigma on it while I'm handholding. It's definitely not as solid feeling as the Nikon grip I have on my D610 (which I got on a stupid-good deal on a D600), but it's by no mean shaky feeling. No issues with connections or batteries not working and it feels great when I occasionally use it with the 24-120mm for street work.
 
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