Why Nikon D3100/D5000/. Have separate continuous and single shot modes?

Does continuous mode have some disadvantages in compare to single shot? Is in it easy to simple set camera to continuous mode permanently and to make single shot simple not to hold shutter very long?

Added (1). > Why not keep it in single shot mode and only put it in continuous when you need it.
Well, because in D5000 it is require going to the menu. So moments will be lost. Actually i try to decide between D3100 - with separate dial position for this mode and D5000 - without but it is more interesting camera - so i think about set up it to continuous mode permanently and trying to understand what type of hidden problems i can obtain - to many shoots i think not a big deal… Much less important than missing shots.

That depends on the actual FPS of the camera - with a 3 FPS camera it'll be easier than with a 9 FPS one.

An accidential additional shot doesn't do any damage of course, but it can be annoying if you're using e.g. Bracketing and didn't want it.

Other than that it of course made a lot of sense as a feature on film SLRs, where accidential additional shots did actual damage by consuming film.

Personally i've come to prefer single shot.

Of course you can do it as you say, but I can promise you that you WILL be taking shots that you did not intend to take if you have the camera set to continuous mode. All you will doing is filling up your card faster, putting more wear and tear on the shutter / mirror mechanism, run down the battery faster, and spend more time in front of the computer weeding out those accidental shots.

Why not keep it in single shot mode and only put it in continuous when you need it, which should be seldom to never to be honest about it.

steve

ADD: Ok… Good point. I can understand not wanting to have to go digging around in the menus. Just so you understand that continuous mode is by no means any kind of guarantee that you are not going to miss shots. It can often just give you lots more bad shots while still missing the one great shot you could have done with pre-planning and anticipation of future action.

I often do that when I'm covering an event, assuming that I'm not using flash. I keep my D300 on the low speed continuous mode and either press and release after one frame or hold it for a few frames. It depends on the subject. It works fine and, considering that you have to dig into the menus on the entry-level cameras, I see no reason not to shoot this way.