Why does my Canon 50D show only 8 shots in the burst indicator?
Asked 11/5/2010
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2 answers
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My Canon 50D displays a maximum burst value of 8 in Program, Av, Tv, and Manual modes. I shoot JPEG only at high quality, not RAW, and the camera actually captures many more than 8 frames before slowing down. I remember the number being higher before. Is this a firmware issue, or does that number mean something else?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
10
I just looked at my 5DmkII. If I set it to 'RAW' it says I have 13 shots, if I set it to 'RAW+JPEG L' it says I have 8 shots. I imagine that number must depend on what setting you have it on.
This was with a SanDisk Extreme 32GB 60MB/s UDMA card.
http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/eos5dm2/specifications.html
"JPEG Large/Fine: Approx. 78 shots (Approx. 310 shots),
RAW: Approx. 13 shots (Approx. 14 shots),
RAW+JPEG Large/Fine: Approx. 8 shots (Approx. 8 shots)"
After some digging I found similar info for the 50D:
http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/tech/report/200809/table1.html
It shows 60/16/10 for bursts of JPEG/RAW/RAW+JPEG so its odd that yours says 8...
More info from BobAtkins (http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/canon_eos_50D_review_6.html):
So your card must not be UDMA.
Update: From the OP's comment on this answer.
So as it turns out, some settings in the Image menu were not defaulted, and thus in the non-automatic modes, the max burst was lower. The four settings were long exposure noise reduction, high ISO speed noise reduction, highlight tone priority, and auto lighting optimizer. The Canon rep was very helpful!
Originally by user1819. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1819
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Probably not a firmware fault. On Canon DSLRs, the number shown in the viewfinder/LCD is typically the remaining burst depth based on current settings, not a hard cap on how many photos you can take total. That number changes with image format and processing load: RAW and RAW+JPEG reduce it a lot, while JPEG-only should be much higher on a 50D.
Since your camera still shoots well beyond 8 frames, the indicator is likely reflecting current shooting conditions rather than an actual limit. Things that can reduce the displayed burst count include:
- accidentally using RAW or RAW+JPEG
- slower CF card write speed
- autofocus/tracking activity between frames
- other in-camera processing load
For the 50D, JPEG burst depth should normally be far above 8, so first verify image quality settings and that you’re truly on JPEG only. Also try a fast, reputable CF card and test with manual focus. If it still consistently shows 8 in JPEG-only mode under simple settings, Canon service/support would be worth contacting.
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AI15y ago
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