Turning camera on & off. Do you do it all the times?

<p>I find my self usualy not turning my camera on and off since I like to have it ready at all times and a bit of lazyness as well. But it came to me that not doing that does not make the cleaning sensor do it's job so I'm making a effort to do the on and off to benefit from the feature.<br>

What are your thoughts about it?<br>

Regards,<br>

Alex</p>

<p>I only turn my cameras off when I'm changing lenses (to try and reduce the attraction of dust to the sensor) and when I put them in the bag (just so an errant shutter press doesn't fire of a bunch of frames or drain the battery).</p>

<p>Yes -- only when changing lenses and removing the CF card.</p>

<p>I don't turn the camera off unless I'm putting a way for a few days. I've never bothered when changing lenses or cards, and the people I work with don't either. Nobody has ever said anything bad happened from not turning it off, and these are people who may be shooting six cards in a night.</p>

<p>I leave it on if I'm out shooting so it will be at the ready. If I'm taking a shot that I can take my time with I will turn it off and back on to give the sensor a final shake down. When I'm done shooting for the day I turn it off.</p>

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<p>I rarely turn it off.</p>

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<p>Only when I'm done for the day/night.</p>

<p>Never heard about the changing the lens thing. I guess I just learned something new. How effective is the cleaning sensor feature under normal circumstances?</p>

 

<p>Rarely turn off my camera.... I like to have it handy most of the time and ready to go...<br>

I do shut it off for changing cards and lens. More of a habit then anything else...</p>

<p>I don't think I've <em>ever </em> turned mine off...</p>

<p>this is interesting.... the on/off lever is right under my thumb, it takes 1/10 second to flip it.... there are times when I've left it on and let it time out, but the idea of leaving it on indefinitely has never crossed my mind for a moment, and I can't think of a reason to start now. maybe I'm a freak. I guess the bottom line is that it really doesn't matter, do what you're comfortable with.</p>

<p>Never.</p>

<p>And...if you go into the menu you can set it to power down automatically after a minute of disuse. After that you just have to tap the shutter button lightly and it comes back from the dead. Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff would have loved this feature.</p>

<p>Wayne I know that. The issue was about the sensor cleaning function, if you manually turn it off then the sensor or something else will vibrate to supposedly clean it self.</p>

 

<p>I just go thru the menu and tell it self clean once a month or so...</p>

<p>Only when I'm putting it away in the drawer, which can be a few days to weeks. But when it's out and about, it's on and always ready to shoot.</p>

<p><Chas></p>

<p>I rarely turn it off. Only when using my battery grip. I've found that when leaving my camera (20D) on while having the battery grip attached (an eBay thing), the batteries are drained within two days (even while it's sitting on a shelve somewhere).</p>

<p>Also, sometimes autofocus and aperture control are lost when I'm using my extension tubes (ones with the electrical contacts connected). A power cycle will usually restore control of the lens.</p>

<p>I always leave it on then changing lenses or CF cards.</p>

<p>I sporadically turn it off for the very reason you mention. With the 7D, so far, so good (knock wood)...no dust spots.</p>

<p>When I used to do audio engineering, entire control rooms were left on, permanently, forever. Something about turning electronic components off and on being bad because the initial power up gives a burst of voltage and that's where most of the "wear" on electronics happens... in layman's terms...</p>

<p>I turn mine off every time I change lenses, remove memory card, change battery, or add/remove flash unit. Otherwise once my camera is turned on for a shoot it stays on. I was told this years ago from a long time camera repair dealer and have never had (fortunately) a component breakdown.</p>

<p>My experience is that built-in sensor cleaning is only partially effective on dust, and not effective at all on fluid or grease-based deposits. I have Canon gear. Others may work differently, but the built-in cleaner on the 1Ds, 1D, and 7D don't do a whole lot for me. To clean I use firstly the air blow, and secondly the Arctic Butterfly, then a very gentle cotton swab clean. As a last resort I take it to a pro shop. The pro shops advise me to just turn it off, and not because it means more business for them - they've helped me with my own cleaning technique. So for me I just save the electronic pulses and keep the sensor clean setting to off. <br>

I keep the camera on all the time until the day's shoot is over, except when changing lenses or cards, and every once in a while leave it on during lens change due to time constraints. Never had any issues.</p>

<p>I was told you should turn your camera off when changing lenses because having the camera on gives the sensor a static charge that attracts dust. Is this wrong?</p>

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<p>I only turn my cameras off when I'm changing lenses (to try and reduce the attraction of dust to the sensor)</p>

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<p>The shutter still covers the sensor when you remove the lens, so I don't think that having the power on presents any significantly greater risk.</p>

<p>I don't know about your cameras, but opening the compact flash drive door on my 50D turns off the camera, so I suspect that little step isn't necessary.</p>

<p>This topic got me curious so I talked with Canon tech support. Their response was that it was best to turn off the camera every time you add or remove a component as the on/off switch is very rugged. They said the camera (I was just referring to the 1D series so this may/may not apply to all bodies) is not in any harm when changing lenses or memory card). They mentioned that sometimes the camera can lock up if while in the process of changing a lens you also hit the DOF or shutter button. No damage occurs but temporary electronic insanity occurs (remove battery to reset). Their only recommendation was that the camera should be turned off when changing flash units as damage can occur since a signal is always present at the bodies' flash shoe contacts.</p>