I am still having a great time experimenting with the new Canon R7. One aspect that I have not seen commented on is the R7’s Drive Modes. What surprised me is the R7 is faster than the R5! Considering the Canon 7D was always faster than the Canon 5D, I guess that makes sense.
The Drive Mode controls the number of consecutive shot that are taken when you click and hold down the shutter button. It’s easy to forget wear the Drive Mode is located on both the R7 and the R5. Chances are you set it once and never thought about it again. Both Canon’s access the Drive Mode through the M-Fn Button near the front of the camera. Here is the R7’s layout (from the Canon R7 manual):
Push the M-Fn button until you have selected the Drive Mode. Then, use the dial just below the M-Fn Button to select the desired Drive mode’s speed.
According to Canon, the R7 Drive Modes can hit 30 shots per second:
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] High-speed continuous shooting + is the fasted mode:
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- [Mechanical]: max. approx. 15 shots/sec.
- [Elec. 1st-curtain]: max. approx. 15 shots/sec.
- [Electronic]: max. approx. 30 shots/sec.
2. [
] High-speed continuous shooting is the middle setting:
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- [Mechanical]: max. approx. 6.5 shots/sec.
- [Elec. 1st-curtain]: max. approx. 8 shots/sec.
- [Electronic]: max. approx. 15 shots/sec.
3. [
] Low-speed continuous shooting is the slowest setting:
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- [All shutter modes]: max. approx. 3 shots/sec.
According to Canon, the R5 Drive Modes maxs out at 12 shots per second:
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- High-speed continuous shooting + at approx. 12 shots/sec. for Mechanical Shutter and 20 shots/second for Electronic Shutter.
- High-speed continuous shooting at approx. 8 shots/sec.
- Low-speed continuous shooting at approx. 3 shots/sec.
After experimenting with the different modes, I use the High-speed continuous mode. The Plus mode is very fast and can burn through many shots very quickly. There is also the issue of overloading the buffer which will cause the camera to take a break until it catches up. The Low-speed continuous shooting is really slow especially for action like birds in flight.
Here is a sample of the High-speed continuous mode taken with the Canon R7 & the RF 100-500mm L:
Your article on drive modes for the Canon R7 is most welcome here in Somerset, UK. I find ploughing through the Canon user guides really hard work and you’ve answered my queries precisely and concisely, thank you! I wish my R5 had intermediate drive speeds on the electronic shutter and maybe Canon will update the firmware for that but I’m not holding my breath.
I’m thinking that High Speed Continuous 15fps will be my go to setting as 30fps just seems over the top.
Best wishes,
Chris
Wondering why my R7’s fps rate at H+ (mechanical) is actually slower than the same bursts at “H” rate…shouldn’t it be the other way around?
On the R7, The H+ Mechanical mode is 15 shots per second while the H Mechanical mode is 6.5 shots per second. If you are not seeing this you should call Canon. The camera is less than a year old, so it is still under warranty. You should also consider signing up for Canon CPS – Canon Professional Services. They are real Canon pros who can talk you through various aspects of the camera.