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04/05/2007 06:42:55 AM · #1 |
I went taking pictures of cherry blossoms today. When I wasn't taking a picture, I would turn my camera off. Is this bad for the camera in any way? On, off, on, off...? AND, when you are out and about taking pictures, do you put the cover over the lense after you've taken the shot, or do you leave it un-covered?
I'd like to add, I got my new lens
50mm f/1.8 |
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04/05/2007 06:48:27 AM · #2 |
| I'm so glad someone asked this. |
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04/05/2007 06:51:48 AM · #3 |
Lens cap on always when not actually taking a picture.
Camera off unless I am someplace where I might be taking pictures in 'spurts' like at a zoo or a performance or game or something. If just out and about, off between shots.
Don't think it hurts the camera, but have heard where rapid or too quickly switching on and off and on again, etc., can cause corruption in the CF card but personally never had the problem.
Message edited by author 2007-04-05 06:53:01. |
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04/05/2007 06:54:03 AM · #4 |
| Me too. If I am taking constant photos over a 15 minute period then I leave it on. During that time I also stuff the lenscap down my bra. If I then have to walk some distance or think it will be 5 or 10 minutes before I take another photo I usually turn it off and put the lens cap back on. Would be interested to know what others do. |
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04/05/2007 06:55:47 AM · #5 |
Don't think it's bad for your camera, but you might miss some oppotunity.
Depends a bit on where you are. When I walk around in urban areas, I have my camera in my hand and it is on, the lenscap is off.
When I walk around in nature (where there's less happening), I usually put it back in my bag (off and with lens cap on, of cause
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04/05/2007 07:01:33 AM · #6 |
As long as I'm not doing any damage by shutting it on and off I'm good. Wasn't sure how much battery life I had and I wanted to make sure I could get all the shots I wanted.
As for the cap being on and off...it was a bit of a hassel. I just wasn't sure what others did. Whether they put it on to keep specs of dust off, or other reasons for having it on or off. |
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04/05/2007 07:02:04 AM · #7 |
If i am out on a 2 hour walk, i leave the camera ON... actually it is on about 90% of it's life as i often don't turn it off when i get home. I have it set though so that it turns off after about 15 minutes by itself.
Lens caps are rarely on - perhaps 50% of the time they are in my camera bag they get a lens cap (when i can find it) otherwise the lens cap is off. I have lens hoods on all my lenses though - so that helps protect the front element.
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04/05/2007 07:07:01 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by leaf:
I have lens hoods on all my lenses though - so that helps protect the front element. |
You have a lens hood on your 50mm? I've never seen that before. |
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04/05/2007 07:42:24 AM · #9 |
I tend to leave mine on, it has an auto shutdown mode that seems to work well. When I am done for the day I will shut it down, if I remember. There have been days at a time where I never shut it down, it does not seem to affect the battery life, although I am sure there is some small drain when it does its self shutdown and is left with the power switch in the on position. The camera wakes up so fast when you push the shutter that I set the shut down time to something like 2 minutes.
Scott
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04/05/2007 08:06:49 AM · #10 |
Setting the camera to shutdown automatically seems, to me, to be the best option. Modern cameras, like the D80, will start up again so quickly that you won't even notice. In other words, the camera will behave just like it was on all the time and you can be more sure of not missing that grab shot when you want it. I've got mine set to go to sleep after a minute.
In 'sleep' mode, the camera will use no more battery power than when switched off at the main switch. AFAIK, switching the main switch to 'off' does not actually do any disconnection, it's a soft switch and puts the camera into the same state as 'sleep'. It's just that when this switch is in the 'off' position, the camera will only wake up again by the operator moving it to 'on'.
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04/05/2007 08:33:35 AM · #11 |
| Does the SiPix Blink have a sleep mode? |
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04/05/2007 09:14:25 AM · #12 |
Cameras are always on unless they are in the bag or I'm changing memory. Sleep mode wakes immediately with one touch of the shutter button and the drain on the battery is minimal. Its not that I necessarily want to be able to catch action at the drop of a hat.... I'm just lazy! Seriously, if I ever turn it off I forget then look like an idiot when I get ready to take the next shot. Lens caps are usually on, but when I'm shooting I put the cap in my back pocket and normally don't touch it again until I'm ready to put the camera away.
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04/05/2007 09:17:20 AM · #13 |
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04/05/2007 09:18:55 AM · #14 |
On the Canon cameras (at least, the 20D and 5D, but probably the rest as well), the camera is never really turned off. It's always on. All that turning the switch on or off does is tell it to disable the buttons and shut down the LCD. That's why the "wake time" when you turn the camera on is almost instantaneous. It does a little house keeping and up it comes.
So while my camera is in the bag, I leave it turned off (don't want buttons being pressed as the camera is jostled in the bag). But the rest of the time, the camera is always on. I do set it for a 1 minute time out to turn off the LCD when I'm not looking at it. But this way, at least, it's only a split second after I pick up the camera before it's ready to shoot again.
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04/05/2007 09:19:58 AM · #15 |
when i go out shooting, the camera is on the whole time with auto shutoff set to 3 minutes (i think).
i turn it off when i bag it (usually, sometimes i forget)
lens cap - no cap when mounted on my camera (in use), capped when bagged |
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04/05/2007 09:27:17 AM · #16 |
I go by the addage...
..."if you see it, then it's too late."
In other words, no.
When I shoot out of a studio environment, I am at the ready all the time. Who knows what may come my way.
when in a studio environment, sure, turning off my camera helps save on batteries.
Not too concerned with the lens cap. I have my hood on usually to help protect the glass.
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04/05/2007 09:29:25 AM · #17 |
| I don't even turn it off when it's in the bag. It's always on unless I've cleaned the sensor, then I have to turn it off to get the mirror to go back down. Lens cap is on if it's in the bag, or if I'm walking around somewhere I'm not planning on shooting. Otherwise it's in a pocket. |
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04/05/2007 09:32:42 AM · #18 |
| This was a good question. I tend to turn mine off every time I think I'm done taking pictures for a few minutes, but after reading this I reaize there's probably no need. I'm shooting a wedding in a couple of weeks so I really need to heed this advice and get in the habit of just leaving it on for the duration of the events so that I don't miss spontaneous shots. |
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04/05/2007 09:38:56 AM · #19 |
| I think I read in Thom Hogan's D100 guide that when you're out with the camera, it's fine to leave it on all the time, since in its power-save mode, the camera doesn't use much more power than when it's actually turned off. I would imagine this would be the same for the D80 and others. |
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04/05/2007 09:44:05 AM · #20 |
Mine is almost always ON since it's with my 99% of the time; I really only switch it OFF when pulling the card or swapping batteries. If I know there's a prolonged period where it just won't get used, and I remember, I'll switch it off ... otherwise, ON for instant startup when needed. :)
FWIW, I see *no* material battery drain from just leaving it ON and letting it sleep after 2 minutes of inactivity. None. My battery will still last hundreds of shots and weeks of light use.
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04/05/2007 03:24:15 PM · #21 |
My main camera doesn't even have a power switch or battery, so that makes it easier... with the 1N, I turn it on to load it and then leave it on. Usually I forget to turn it off so it stays on in the bag for a few hours to a few days, but the battery lasts a long time anyway.
But when I used the XT, I usually did turn it off, and I had auto power down disabled. The power switch is right next to the mode dial on those, so when I saw no lights on in the finder I would switch it on. |
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04/05/2007 03:28:23 PM · #22 |
Always off.
I can switch it on whilst im bringing it upto my eye (i.e less than 1 second) so it doesn't need to be on all the time. |
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04/05/2007 03:33:48 PM · #23 |
| Mine is ON sitting on the desk right now with the lens cap on. I usually leave it on unless I'm flying. I'll take the lens cap off if I'm intending to shoot anything in the next 15 minutes. Why waste moments taking the cap on and off? The equipment isn't THAT fragile. ;) |
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04/05/2007 03:37:25 PM · #24 |
| On. Sleep mode is a beautiful thing. |
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04/05/2007 03:38:03 PM · #25 |
| I leave mine on almost constantly, but it just sits in suspend mode. Press the shutter button and it automatically comes back to life. |
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