Feeding swallows: 1/4000s f/5.6 ISO1000 200mm, Canon 30D, EF 70-200 f2.8 L IS, adjusted and cropped

A big reason for going DSLR rather than sticking with the Canon S3 that I had is speed. Everything is faster. The 30D can shoot five frames a second compared to the S3's two frames a second. The photo above was part of such a burst: it had to be. The parent swallow was feeding its young in about two thirds of a second. Here are the frames:

While it can do five a second, I usually leave it on the three frames a second setting, because that leaves a lesser chance of shooting off two frames when I mean to shoot one. The swallows were shot at 1/4000s f5.6 ISO 1000.

The shutter speed of the S3 tops out at 1/3200, and that is only effective for f/8. It's half that for f/3.5.The photo below was taken at 1/8000s, as was the fountain picture I have posted previously.

Dogs playing: 1/8000s f/4.0 ISO800 200mm, Canon 30D, EF 70-200 f2.8 L IS, unadjusted

The higher shutter speed of the 30D gives me more range for a specific aperture, as well as being able to better freeze the action and use larger apertures.

Start-up time is zero. I don't turn the 30D off, just let it sleep, so there is no turn on time. I press the shutter and it wakes up and takes a photo. No waiting for the lens to extend.

Focusing is very fast and accurate. I tap the shutter and it focusses, simple as that, in a fraction of a second. No one-second delay while it hunts around for enough contrast. And the 30D almost always gets focus first time: only a few times when the light is very dim and I have pointed it at something flat has it failed to focus.

Zooming is manual, so it goes as fast as I can turn the ring. I no longer have to wait for the motor to whirr and the zoom to zoom.

The controls are faster too. Changing exposure offset or aperture is a quick flick of a dial. No press press press on buttons to go up and down, or trips to the menus.

Tags: DSLR, Speed, Swallows