All digital cameras allow continuous shooting, but there are big differences in (a) how fast they can shoot, and (b) how many shots they can take before they have to stop and save them to the memory card.
The continuous shooting speed is called the 'frame rate' and is quoted in 'frames per second', or 'fps' for short. Many compact cameras struggle to shoot more than a couple of frames per second, but digital SLRs and hybrid cameras can shoot faster.
How fast do you need?
• 3fps is about as low as you'd want to go. It's adequate for fairly slow-moving subjects, but it's easy to miss the key moments between frames.
• 5-7fps is a lot more useful for sports and action, and you've got a better chance of capturing crucial moments.
• 8-10fps is the sort of speed achieved by professional SLRs designed for sports, action and press photography. At this speed you can be pretty sure of capturing the perfect moment.
• 30fps+ speeds are achieved by a few high-speed compact cameras, notably Casio's high-speed continuous-shutter cameras. Even digital SLRs can't match these speeds, but because these high-speed cameras use smaller sensors and can't sustain these speeds for long, they don't offer either the quality or the capacity needed by most professionals.
How many shots you can take?
At some point the camera will have to pause to process and save all the frames you've shot, though some cameras can shoot JPEGs indefinitely, up to the capacity of the memory card.
How many shots you can take will depend on the camera's processing power, the size of its images (megapixels), the size of its internal 'buffer' (short-term memory), and whether you're shooting JPEG or RAW files. You can save many more JPEGs than RAW files because the files are smaller.
Some compact cameras can shoot at high speeds too, but you may find the capacity is limited. Fujifilm's FinePix F550EXR, for example, can shoot 8 frames a second, but only for 8 frames.
