Frame Rate of the D300s

Alright.. fast frame rate will not turn the head of portrait photographers, maybe. But for those like me, who shoot avian photos.. fast frame rate or "bursts" as I like to call it, is really close to a must. For a couple of reasons.

First, even shooting static birds (those standing or perched still like bitterns or kingfishers), needs a good frame rate. Why? Shooting in bursts of three or four shots greatly helps reduce mirror slap. Well not really reduce the slap, it will of course be there, but the effect it has on the image is minimized. There is another technique called the Mirror Up Shooting but that's for a different blog.

Secondly, birds, unlike models, will not stand still for you. They will do whatever they want, whenever they want. And most of the time, they will only perch still, for just a few seconds. And pulling off as many shots as you can in the least amount of time, will increase the chances of you capturing a nice image.

Third, birds in flight. Flying birds move at a very different rate. Some are fast fliers and some are gliders. For gliders, 4-6 fps is okay, but for those who flap their wings.. you will need to shoot faster. Imagine if your camera shoots 4frames per second and the bird flaps its wings also at 4frames per second, then you shoot for two seconds.. you end up with 8 pictures of the bird with the wing in the same (or relatively same) position. You will want to have pictures of the top and bottom of the wing.

For this part of avian photography, the D300s performs exceptionally. Rated at 7-8 fps (with optional battery grip), it shoots rapidly enough to catch those crucial moments.

Just look at these and see for yourself








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