Battery Consumption question

M

mfro

Member
Does anyone know what uses more battery power: turning your camera on and off between recording or just leaving it on standby?

thanks!
 
Well, I don't know if the sarcasm is neccessary, but I'm sure you got a kick out of it.

I'm asking whether powering up your camera uses an initial jolt of power that might exceed or be comparable to just leaving it standby. An example might be the old debate about turning your computer on and off opposed to leaving it on all the time, or how audio engineers will leave their mixing console on for years because turning it on and off is very taxing on the board. Not a perfect analogy I know, but I'm not an engineer, I'm just trying to ask a question.

So, the question is: Say you turn your camera on and off 6 times in the space of 30 minutes. Is that easier on power consumption than just leaving it on standby (with the lcd closed)?. And, does the power on/off cycle tax the camera or motor in any significant way?

I think that's a reasonable question, and something that would be good to know while shooting.

thanks
 
PanasonicNZ said:
Well, when the camera's off, there's no battery use... What do you think?..
Click to expand...

I can't tell if it's fact or pure sarcasm.. But I'd like to know the definite answer too.

I know in the circumstances of a car... Say you're picking someone up, it's better to leave your engine on the 30 seconds you wait in the car. vs... turning it off then turning it on a minute later.

Not sure if camera batteries work like that.
 
Off completely

Standby keeps the ccd's warm so they can function and start up the camera quick

Only use standby when you think you are about to shoot footage

Peace L.J.
 
Sorry, it wasn't sarcasm, I thought it's so obvious... you cen turn the camera on and off as many times as you like, from the battery point of view. your battery will last longer. However, because the tape is loaded/unloaded it will take longer to get the camra in rec mode. There's no jolt when turning the camera on. I personaly prefer to turn the camera off unless I'm waiting for something to happen.
 
I have asked myself the same thing.
I'd like to know what the current draw is during startup (loading tape, booting software, checking sesors, etc.) verses standby w/lcd closed.
With this info we could come up with a good guess as to how long is too long to stay in standby mode rather than powering down, at least for best battery use.
I think that's what mfro is looking for . . . ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top