Shutter Release Doesn't "Work"

[Indigo November]

Okay, I think I know why this is, and I am not too worried. I just want the assurance that I'm right.

When I shoot a lot of pictures, the shutter release button does not release the shutter.
I am guessing the has to do with FPS (edit: buffer ), but I am not entirely sure.
I don't really know how many pictures have been taken, or in how many seconds, but when I'm shooting a lot to try to capture things that won't pose for me (this morning it was a litter of saint bernard pups that we need to make an ad for) I sometimes need to wait a minute to be able to shoot again.

The reason I say that I must be trying to exceed the FPS (ahem, er... buffer ) on my camera, is that the little green light (to tell that the card is being written to) is always on for a while when I am waiting to shoot again.

I hope this is what I think it is, and not something more serious. Thanks for your replies.

Indi

[IABoomer]

You're probably close. It's unlikely you're exceeding the 4FPS rate of the D90. It's more likely that you've got a somewhat slow card and you've hit the limit of the buffer. Internal memory of the camera is much faster than the external flash memory. The camera itself can only hold so much data while it writes to the SD card.

The other possibility I can see would be if you're shooting with flash and the flash hasn't yet recovered enough to fire.

[dakwegmo]

It's not really the FPS, but your camera's read/write buffer. When you take a picture, it stores it in internal memory until it can write it to your memory card. If you take a lot of shots and fill up the buffer, then you have to wait until there's enough room in there to take another shot. The green light usually indicates the camera is writing to the card. You can speed up the process a little bit buy using the fastest memory cards your camera can handle or shooting lower quality or smaller images. But you are correct, it doesn't sound like anything to worry about.

[Indigo November]

Originally Posted by IABoomer

You're probably close. It's unlikely you're exceeding the 4FPS rate of the D90. It's more likely that you've got a somewhat slow card and you've hit the limit of the buffer. Internal memory of the camera is much faster than the external flash memory. The camera itself can only hold so much data while it writes to the SD card.

The other possibility I can see would be if you're shooting with flash and the flash hasn't yet recovered enough to fire.

That was my second thought. I don't think I have the greatest card, not sure exactly what the specs are offhand though.
I could be wrong (my sense of time is way off ), but it sure didn't feel like I was shooting that much.

This usually happens more often when the card is nearly full.

Oh, also, I've been shoot RAW+jpeg lately, which I assume slows things down.

I guess it is probably a combination of things...

Thanks.

[Indigo November]

Originally Posted by dakwegmo

It's not really the FPS, but your camera's read/write buffer. When you take a picture, it stores it in internal memory until it can write it to your memory card. If you take a lot of shots and fill up the buffer, then you have to wait until there's enough room in there to take another shot. The green light usually indicates the camera is writing to the card. You can speed up the process a little bit buy using the fastest memory cards your camera can handle or shooting lower quality or smaller images. But you are correct, it doesn't sound like anything to worry about.

Yeah, that's what I meant. I'm always using FPS and buff interchangeably. hehe

[OsmosisStudios]

Here's a hint: when you look at the the top screen, or in the viewfinder, you get a section that gives you how many shots are left on the card (bottom right in both instances). When you press that halfway, you'll see another number, or "r##". That's how many shots are left in the buffer. If you take several photos in a row, you'll watch that number drop, and if you hold the shutter button halfway while the buffer clears, you'll see it climb.

[Jim Bryant]

Happens to me all the time while shooting sporting events in RAW.

[inkista]

RAW+JPEG: largest chunks of data possible to write to the card at a time. Switch to JPEG, and you'll find you won't be waiting nearly as often. Switch to small JPEG coarse, and you could probably happily leave your button on the trigger finger until the card's full.

[Indigo November]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Here's a hint: when you look at the the top screen, or in the viewfinder, you get a section that gives you how many shots are left on the card (bottom right in both instances). When you press that halfway, you'll see another number, or "r##". That's how many shots are left in the buffer. If you take several photos in a row, you'll watch that number drop, and if you hold the shutter button halfway while the buffer clears, you'll see it climb.

I can't believe I didn't know that. I've done a little experiment and it is exactly that.
The card I'm using is probably crap and it is writing super slow.
I can shoot ten images in a row (not continuous, just one after the other) before that number is at 00 and I have to wait.
Holding down the shutter for continuous shots, I can only get seven.

[metallion58]

There are many levels of quality in SD cards.
For the D90, I strongly suggest a class 10 card.
It may be overkill most of the time but the few instances it saved my butt is definitely worth the difference in price.
Also, stick to brand names and avoid generic cards. In many cases, they have slight defects that may cause you to loose some pics.