3-shot bursts? PEN-F

[dave729]

Is there a setting somewhere that will let me shoot 3-shot bursts when I take a picture? I have essential tremor and while Oly’s in-camera stabilization works wonders, I often get camera shake in images.
I have found that shooting multiple shots in a burst by holding the shutter button down provides sharper images between the first and last shot. But it’s difficult to control the number of images, so I wind up with as many as five or six in a burst if I don’t get my finger off fast enough. I haven’t found anything in the PEN-F manual for this. Is there any way to do set the shutter release to take just 3-shot bursts?

 

[Growltiger]

No, not without bracketing.
But why not set the shutter to Continuous low. It will take the photos at a sensible speed and you will soon get used to timing the length you want.

 

[Ghostbuggy]

I agree with Growltiger, bracketing would do that, but I don't think that's the solution you are after. You can customize the "Continuous Low" burst rate in the settings, I don't have the camera with me right now, but I think you can dial the burst rate down to 3 or 4 shots per second, which might just be slow enough for you.
As for bracketing, I guess the best option would be very little exposure difference, like 1/3 a stop, especially if you shoot RAW you should still be able to work with the slightly under-/overexposed image if one of those would be sharp one.

Edit:
Just got back home and checked the camera - in settings menu "C" you can set the fps for "Continuous Low" all the way down to a single frame per second. I guess experimenting with 2-3fps might work for you.

 

[Growltiger]

I think you should experiment with Continuous Low at both slow and its fastest rates. It is hard to guess how the tremor will affect the output. It may be entirely random, meaning that a certain percentage of shots will be sharp. In which case it may be more convenient to set the frame rate as fast as possible. Let us know what you find, it may help others.

 

[dave729]

Thanks for the replies! It’s clear after experimenting that I can’t “stop” the high speed burst easily in fewer than 5 shots. At the same time, I can easily stop at 3 in low speed. I’m on vacation, so it will be a few days before I can compare images, as I do not have a PC with me. I will update the thread next week when we return home!

Dave