I like big boy cameras, the kind I can change lenses on, the kind everyone sees when I pull them out. I also like look-at-me lenses, the ones where people say “He must know what he is doing.”  I don’t like them for that reason, well not for only that reason.  I like them for what unique things they do.  Wide angle and telephoto lenses have unique characteristics beyond just getting more in the frame or getting closer.  But I don’t always want to be noticed and I don’t always have a big boy camera with me.  Until recently the only way to capture fast motion activities, like my kid’s soccer game, has been to have a video camera or an expensive DLSR.  Guess what?  My iPhone has a new feature (iPhone 5 and newer) called burst mode.

Burst mode takes a fast series of still pictures and lets you sort out the one(s) you want later on your computer. Need to make sure you get the exact moment when junior is kicking the ball?  Here’s what you do.  Take out your iPhone and put junior in the frame.  When the action gets close hold down the shutter button (in the bottom center of the screen).  Don’t let go until you have the shot you wanted.  What’s that you say?  The camera will take one still shot after another until you lift your finger off the button, or you run out of memory.  What’s going on?  The camera takes rapid fire, machine gun like, Mel Tillis’s trying to say a word with a hard consonant pictures one right after the other.  That’s right 20, 30, 40 frames right after one another.

There are a few cautions so here ya go. First, don’t forget to pan the camera (follow the action) or your subject will run right out of the frame.  Second, you have to down load those pictures and select the one(s) you want.  You will run out of memory on your phone very quickly if you leave them on.  Use your favorite post production app on your computer to select the few frames you want and delete the rest. Third, use the burst mode when you don’t want a video of the event.  Take a few moments to think it through.  Do you want to post to your media site a single frame or a 20 second video?  The video aspect of the iPhone works well to.  Which one of the two will suit your needs better?

That’s it for this month. Next month we’ll take a look at my favorite phone/tablet app for post processing.

Dave