EOS-1v: Should I turn it off? (Batt. life)

[Poisson Du Jour]

A long long time ago at uni art school, one tidbit we learned was to switch off the "emerging new breed" (now every day staples of our creative endeavour) of electronic cameras to prevent unnecessary battery drain and accidental exposure through handling e.g. packing away in its toploader, which is a tight fit and exerts pressure on several buttons, including the shutter. Thus, ever since my much-loved Canon T90 in 1988, I have switched the cameras off at the end of a shooting session, right up through several EOS bodies to the current EOS 1N ('Brutus', running off PDB-E1), in which the lithium batteries have been in service all of 7 years now. Some LCD displays may 'ghost' if left on persistently long enough.

Even when turned off, all EOS bodies (other electronic cameras too) use a minute amount of power for memory and external displays.

[SilverGlow]

I keep my 1v on all the time whilest out making pictures all day long. I added the battery grip to my 1v and it takes 8 AA recharables, so I recharge them a few times a month and I never get caught with a dead pack....I shoot around 20 rolls a month. I would suggest all 1v users get the AA grip because one day the normal battery may no longer be available...but me, I'm ready for that eventuality ;-)

[2F/2F]

The instruction manual probably sez what to do with power when you are not using the camera: Turn it off.

Why would a camera being digital or film affect whether or not you should turn it off when you are not using it? Digital cameras should be shut off when they are not being used as well.

Seems like common sense to me. When you do not need something to be on, turn it off!

[Lars Daniel]

Thanks all.
It was not the general "what to do with battery equipment" tips I was after. I was aiming at specific knowledge of EOS-1v power consumption in on versus off state. The thing is, the display is obviously still ON when you turn off the camera: It shows the frame count.
And no, I never switch off my dslr, it takes care of that all by itself ;-)

[Poisson Du Jour]

Lars, the amount of power being consumed just to show the bare minimum of details on the external display when the camera is off is so miniscule that you are better off worrying how much gas or electricity is being consumed on the stove at its lowest setting! All the other posts though hold true that a camera is best turned off when not in use.

[Chan Tran]

I don't know about the Canon but my Nikon F5 draws exactly the same current when it's turned off and when the power switch is on and the shutter realease button is not pressed for more than 16 seconds. The current draw specified in the Nikon service manual is 60 microamp and measure my own F5 and it measures 80 microamp.

[Tim Gray]

As far as I know, the 1V draws hardly any power when it's to hold the shutter open on bulb exposures. From that I extrapolate that hardly any power is used while the camera is just sitting there with it's shutter closed.

The manual states, "When the camera is not to be used, set the (camera to off). This will prevent accidental battery drainage if the shutter button is held down inadvertently."

So, I would say that the camera uses effectively no power while just sitting there, on or off. Film advance will certainly use some power, as will shutter activation, focusing, and metering. Lenses with IS will presumably use more.

[chino79]

I think i agree that most cameras use hardley any power when not in use, if the buttons are depressed in the bag though it's going to meetering etc so it going to use more.

Something we should be carefull of is, Batteries leaking. A friend of mine has a Canon A1 with grip, the batteries leaked and corroded the grip. Messy.