To choose a shooting mode, press the button and rotate the main command dial. Shooting mode is displayed in the control panel:

The Memory Buffer

The camera is equipped with a memory buffer for temporary storage, allowing shooting to continue while photographs are being saved to the memory card. When the buffer is full, the shutter is disabled until enough data have been transferred to the memory card to make room for another photograph. In continuous mode, shooting will continue as long as the shutter-release button is held down, although the frame rate will drop once the buffer has filled.

While photographs are being recorded to the memory card, the access lamp next to the memory card slot will light. Depending on the number of the images in the buf- fer, recording may take from a few seconds to a few minutes. Do not remove the memory card or remove or disconnect the power source until the access lamp has gone out. If the camera is switched off while data remain in the buffer, the power will not turn off until all images in the buffer have been recorded to the memory card. If the battery is exhausted while images remain in the buffer, the shutter release will be disabled and all images will be transferred to the memory card.

The approximate time required to write the entire buffer to a Lexar Media 40 × WA USB card is given below. Write times may drop when a microdrive card is used.

• NEF (RAW): 6 s (4 frames)

• JPEG Normal (size L): 9 s (12 frames)

Buffer Size

The number of images that can be stored in the memory buffer at current settings is shown in the exposure-count displays in the viewfinder and control panel while the shutter-release button is pressed. Note that the actual number of images that can be stored in the memory buffer may vary with the type of subject.

63

Mode Shooting a Choosing—Photographs Taking