Why does my camera read "busy" most of the time??

[ddt0725]

I have never owned anything but a point and shoot before and now I have a Rebel T1i camera and I've noticed from the beginning (bought it in Sept.) that it reads "busy" quite often. I am missing a lot of shots and even when I have it in continuous shooting mode I have to wait. This is SO annoying!


Yesterday I bought a new card thinking maybe that was the problem. I had a class 4 PNY Optima SDHC (I know now it should be at least 6) so I bought a SanDisk Extreme Pro Class 10 which is going from a card reading 4MB/s to 30 MB/s. Well, this didn't help! I was trying to take jpeg (not even RAW) shots of fish in my aquarium and using Al Servo mode.


Do I need yet a faster card? Is it the operating speed of the Rebel T1i or is it the user of the camera?? [^o)]


Thanks ...again!


Denise

[Oren]

Please tell us what kind of shooting settings did you try.


Meanwhile, try this: put the camera on manual mode ("M"), set the shutter speed to something like 1/1000, aperture to the widest possible with your lens, ISO100, IS off, MF (manual focus) and try continuous shooting.

[musickna]

If you are shooting with high ISO settings and in-camera noise reduction settings enabled, that may be slowing you up. Is this the case here?

[ddt0725]

Please tell us what kind of shooting settings did you try.


Meanwhile, try this: put the camera on manual mode ("M"), set the shutter speed to something like 1/1000, aperture to the widest possible with your lens, ISO100, IS off, MF (manual focus) and try continuous shooting.
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I tried the settings you suggested Oren and it works great! Before, I tried every setting I could think of to still get a somewhat decent shot of the fish in my aquarium and had problems as I did the other not when I was trying to practice the water drop shots (I'm a work in process ) but even then kept getting the "busy" warning. After I tried the settings you suggested, I tried many others again and narrowed it down to the only time I have this problem is when I use the built-in flash then I get the flash icon and "busy" on my screen no matter what I have my settings at.


As for my settings of the fish, I tried many but here is one set on Manual, 1/200, f/3.5, ISO 200 (I I know, I probably broke all the rules [:P])


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[peety3]

After I tried the settings you suggested, I tried many others again and narrowed it down to the only time I have this problem is when I use the built-in flash then I get the flash icon and "busy" on my screen no matter what I have my settings at.

I'll bet dollars to donuts that it's Busy recharging the built-in flash. ISO 200 and f/3.5 means you need a lot of power, so you probably had nearly a full-power dump, and that takes time to recharge.

[alexniedra]

I'll bet dollars to donuts that it's Busy recharging the built-in flash.

Based on the information in this thread, I bet it's the built-in flash recharging. If you find yourself shooting flash pictures frequently, I would suggest you invest in an external flash like the 430 EX or better yet the 580 EX II. The recycle times with these external flash units are noticeably faster and offer much more power and versitality than your built-in flash.

[musickna]

Built-in flash could indeed be the answer. I'm glad you worked it out!

[neuroanatomist]

...I tried many others again and narrowed it down to the only time I have this problem is when I use the built-in flash then I get the flash icon and "busy" on my screen no matter what I have my settings at.

The built-in pop-up flash is not your friend. In at least one of his reviews, Bryan refers to it as a 'weapon'. I really recommend purchasing an external Speedlite, either the 430EX II (which I have) or the 580EX II - the 430EX II is a good place to start.


It provides a non-flashing focus assist in dim light (great for your kit lenses, and a major lack of the entry-level 270EX flash), the ability to bounce the flash off the ceiling (much softer and more flattering light), and with a set of NiMH rechargeable batteries (I use Eneloops) in there, the flash can actually keep up with the T1i's continuous shooting mode for several shots, even with the ISO set to 100/200.

[ddt0725]

Thanks to everyone for helping work through this! This site is AWESOME!!!!


Denise []

[ddt0725]

I'll bet dollars to donuts that it's Busy recharging the built-in flash.

Based on the information in this thread, I bet it's the built-in flash recharging. If you find yourself shooting flash pictures frequently, I would suggest you invest in an external flash like the 430 EX or better yet the 580 EX II. The recycle times with these external flash units are noticeably faster and offer much more power and versitality than your built-in flash.
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After 2 days of debating between the 430EX and 580EX II, I ordered the 580EX II and the Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce last night from Adorama[]
It was a tough call though, I mainly based my final decision on Bryan's reviews but I did read more negative reviews on the 580 than the 430 elsewhere such as overheating problems and loose fitting so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well ...once I learn how to operate it! Wish me luck!


Denise