QuickBurstA running dog covers a meter in the time it takes you to react and tap the shutter. The trick every sports photographer uses is simple: don't try to time one perfect frame, shoot a rapid sequence across the moment and pick the peak afterwards.
When burst beats a single shot
- Kids: expressions change faster than you can react; the frame between two frames is the good one.
- Pets: a dog catching a ball has one airborne instant; bursts bracket it. See our guide to photographing pets.
- Sports: jumps, kicks and swings have a peak pose lasting under 100 ms. More in sports form-check with burst photos.
- Water and hair flips: the classic "throw" shots are pure timing lottery without a burst.
Why not just hold the iPhone shutter?
The built-in burst works, but only while your finger is on the screen. It can't run hands-free on a tripod, can't space shots seconds apart, and dumps everything into your camera roll as one stack with no fast way to rate and clear the rejects. The capture is half the job; the cull is the other half. Read more about iPhone burst mode limits.
The QuickBurst loop: burst, cull, keep
QuickBurst fires bursts on your schedule (rapid-fire for action, or spaced intervals for tripod sessions) with double-tap focus tracking to keep the subject sharp. Each burst becomes a session: swipe through, star the keepers, and remove the rest in one action. The best frames save to your photo library at full resolution.
QuickBurst vs the built-in Camera app
| Feature | Camera app | QuickBurst |
|---|---|---|
| Hands-free bursts | No, requires a held-down shutter | Yes, interval plans fire on their own |
| Shot spacing | Fixed, as fast as possible only | From rapid-fire fractions of a second to minutes apart |
| Focus tracking | Single auto-focus point | Double-tap lock keeps the subject sharp across the burst |
| Organizing a burst | One long stack, mixed with everything else | Each burst is its own session, ready to review |
| Culling | Manual, one photo at a time | Star keepers, clear rejects in a single action |
FAQ
How many photos does a burst take?
You set the count, from a handful of frames up to long rapid-fire sequences. QuickBurst shoots as fast as your interval allows, so you decide how wide a net to cast around the moment.
Will burst mode fill up my storage?
Bursts do produce more photos, which is exactly why QuickBurst pairs capture with a fast review screen: star the keepers and clear the rest right after the shoot instead of letting duplicates pile up.
Can I use burst mode hands-free, like on a tripod?
Yes. Set an interval plan, prop your phone up, and QuickBurst fires the whole sequence on its own, no finger on the shutter required, unlike the built-in burst.