Henri Cartier-Bresson spoke extensively about the decisive moment, that one particular moment that happens that is the perfect decisive expression of the scene or event. Because he was a genius, he was often able to fire his camera at that perfect decisive moment. For the rest of us, there is Drive mode. In Drive mode, as you hold down the Shutter button, the camera will continue to snap frames one after another. Drive mode is a great tool for shooting in fast moving environments-- sports, street shooting, nature shots. But it can also be ideal for portraiture, when a person's face is making lots of tiny subtle changes and you're not sure which is the ideal expression.
However, you cannot use Drive mode indefinitely; that is, you can't just hold the button down and expect the camera to always keep shooting. When you take a picture, the camera has to move a lot of data around and do a lot of computation. You can take pictures faster than your camera can get them written to the media card, so your camera has a memory buffer that can hold a certain number of pictures. As you shoot, your images can be quickly thrown into that buffer. Then the camera can start the process of copying images from the buffer to the memory card, while you continue to snap away.
If the buffer fills, then your camera will cease to be able to take pictures and you'll have to wait for it to empty out before you can start shooting again. To configure Drive mode, you just press the Drive button that's here on top of the camera. And you see that the screen here goes blank, except for my Drive icon. That single square means that I get one frame whenever I press the Shutter button. But once I press the Drive mode button, I can turn the main dial and I cycle through a whole bunch of other icons here. First one is High-speed Drive mode, then Regular Speed or Low-speed Drive mode, then I get a Self-timer, and then I get a Two Second Self-timer.
So I simply cycle through to each one of those things to select them, and half-press my Shutter button to set the Drive mode. You may be thinking, if I've got a fast drive speed and a slower drive speed, why would I ever use the slow one? Isn't faster inherently better? Not necessarily. With a faster drive speed, you get less variation between frames. So sometimes, you're going to want to switch to the slower one if you're dealing with a situation that isn't changing as quickly. Facial expressions, for example, are usually better with a slower drive speed.
If you shoot them with a faster drive speed, you're not going to see a lot of change from one picture to another. If you're trying to stop a bicyclist at a very particular moment in time, then you probably want to go with a faster drive speed to be sure that you really get that razor thin slice of time that's going to make the decisive moment.
Author
Released
10/28/2011- What is an SLR?
- Attaching a lens to a camera
- Deciding how many batteries and media cards are needed
- Setting Auto mode
- Changing ISO
- Changing image format and size
- Manually selecting a focus point
- Correcting exposure while shooting
- Controlling white balance
- Using a driver and self-timer
- Auto exposure bracketing
- Selecting a picture style
- Using Live View
- Shooting video
- Using custom functions, such as ISO expansion and mirror lockup
- Cleaning the camera and sensor
Skill Level Beginner
Duration
Views
Related Courses
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Introduction
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Welcome1m 20s
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What is an SLR?3m 55s
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Using this course1m 53s
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1. Getting to Know Your Canon SLR
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Basic camera anatomy2m 43s
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Batteries and media cards2m 17s
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Powering up1m 53s
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Setting the date and time1m 41s
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Setting the language1m 10s
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Formatting the media card2m 26s
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Holding the camera2m 43s
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2. Shooting in Auto Mode
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Setting Auto mode3m 30s
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The viewfinder display4m 40s
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Autofocus basics1m 24s
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Lens controls1m 27s
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Flash in Auto mode1m 28s
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Image review1m 54s
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Image playback3m 21s
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3. Shooting in Program Mode
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Exposure compensation2m 40s
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The Unlock button1m 37s
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Metering revisited1m 21s
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Changing ISO2m 58s
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Program shift2m 41s
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Image format and size4m 33s
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Creative Auto mode2m 48s
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The Info button2m 33s
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Level47s
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The Quick Control button3m 22s
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4. Controlling Autofocus
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Focus modes1m 51s
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Manual focus2m 30s
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5. Controlling White Balance
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Using white balance presets2m 28s
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6. Using Drive Mode and the Self-Timer
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Drive mode2m 37s
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The self-timer2m 16s
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Remote control and Bulb mode2m 25s
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7. Using Exposure Control Options
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Exposure lock1m 19s
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Aperture Priority mode2m 49s
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Depth-of-field preview2m 15s
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Shutter Priority mode1m 58s
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Manual mode2m 32s
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Auto exposure bracketing3m 6s
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The auto lighting optimizer1m 41s
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8. More Playback Options
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Metadata display2m 33s
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LCD brightness1m 10s
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Rotation1m 58s
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Rating images2m 34s
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Applying creative filters1m 58s
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File numbering options2m 48s
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Creating folders50s
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Copyright information1m 56s
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9. Shooting with Scene Modes
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What is a scene mode?1m 8s
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Scene modes and image format3m 12s
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10. Shooting with Flash
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Fill flash1m 25s
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Flash exposure compensation1m 37s
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Red-eye reduction1m 5s
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Night Portrait scene mode1m 58s
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11. Shooting with Picture Styles
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Picture styles defined2m 7s
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Selecting a picture style1m 24s
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12. Using Live View
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Activating Live View4m 16s
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Focusing in Live View5m 20s
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Aspect ratio2m 21s
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Live View's drawbacks2m 5s
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Other Live View options2m 31s
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13. Shooting Video
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Focusing and menu options3m 17s
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Exposure control2m 16s
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Movie playback2m 30s
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14. Customizing Menus and Functions
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Custom modes4m 3s
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Custom menu1m 57s
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15. Using Custom Functions
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What are custom functions?1m 27s
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Exposure level increments1m 11s
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ISO expansion1m 19s
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Safety shift1m 38s
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Highlight tone priority1m 50s
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AF-assist beam firing1m 8s
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Mirror lockup1m 2s
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The AF and Metering buttons2m 21s
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16. Caring for Your Camera
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Camera and sensor cleaning1m 35s
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Battery info1m 12s
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Firmware updates1m 43s
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Conclusion
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Goodbye22s
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Video: Drive mode