7100 battery life: I'll be shooting the state golf tournament this week end with my Nikon 7100 and 5000. My question is which way will run the battery down quicker ? Leave the camera...

trainguy Loc: Suttons Bay, MI

I'll be shooting the state golf tournament this week end with my Nikon 7100 and 5000. My question is which way will run the battery down quicker ? Leave the camera on between holes or turn it on and off between holes. Does turning it on and off take more battery life due to startup? Will this be true for both the 7100 and the 5000?

Thanks

Dave

donnahde Loc: Newark, DE

trainguy wrote:

I'll be shooting the state golf tournament this week end with my Nikon 7100 and 5000. My question is which way will run the battery down quicker ? Leave the camera on between holes or turn it on and off between holes. Does turning it on and off take more battery life due to startup? Will this be true for both the 7100 and the 5000?

Thanks

Dave

I hardly ever turn my D7100 off and get GREAT battery life! It will "go to sleep" if the lag time is long enough but a touch brings it right back. Have fun.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Your camera will go to sleep between holes anyway.

Not sure about the 5000, but my 7100 uses a lot more battery than my 7000.

Get a spare Wasabi battery from Amazon, they are cheap, and I can't tell a difference in how long it lasts vs. the OEM battery.

trainguy Loc: Suttons Bay, MI

Thanks guys; 10% chance of rain Fri and 0% Sat. Sounds like a great time.

Dave

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

trainguy wrote:

I'll be shooting the state golf tournament this week end with my Nikon 7100 and 5000. My question is which way will run the battery down quicker ? Leave the camera on between holes or turn it on and off between holes. Does turning it on and off take more battery life due to startup? Will this be true for both the 7100 and the 5000?

Thanks

Dave

On or off will not really matter as it uses very little power, UNLESS you use LIVE VIEW, or constantly review images on the LCD, or play with AF, etc.

In normal use I find my battery lasts a good long time. I did add a Nikon grip and a second battery (wasabi) and can get 900+ shots including many bursts out of the pair, which always lasts me a day or so in shooting events.

trainguy Loc: Suttons Bay, MI

I've got a grip and another spare battery; just always wondered about which method uses the most power. Just got back from a couple weeks in Yellowstone turning it on and off. Had plenty of power each day. It will be much easier to leave it on as I missed a couple shots because I forgot it was off. Sure don't want to miss any shots this week end.

Thanks

Dave

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

trainguy wrote:

I've got a grip and another spare battery; just always wondered about which method uses the most power. Just got back from a couple weeks in Yellowstone turning it on and off. Had plenty of power each day. It will be much easier to leave it on as I missed a couple shots because I forgot it was off. Sure don't want to miss any shots this week end.

Thanks

Dave

Completely turning off the review is a great way to save the battery. I will check it every so many shots, but only if I hit the review button. Constantly turning the screen on after every shot is a drain on the battery, and actually ends up making you miss good shots. Where you are looking at every photo, instead of watching for the next thing you want to capture.

picsman Loc: Scotland

I find that even reviewing images after each burst shot that the battery lasts almost all a 6 hour shooting session taking about 2000 images. I always carry a second battery because I will need it eventually.

Gitchigumi Loc: Wake Forest, NC

Don't worry... you'll be fine. I recently shot a horse competition. After about 600 shots over the seven hour event, my D7100 still had about 40% power left. Pretty good... But, I did not use Live View, which draws more power for the display screen.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

trainguy wrote:

I'll be shooting the state golf tournament this week end with my Nikon 7100 and 5000. My question is which way will run the battery down quicker ? Leave the camera on between holes or turn it on and off between holes. Does turning it on and off take more battery life due to startup? Will this be true for both the 7100 and the 5000?

Thanks

Dave

When I'm out shooting, I never turn the camera off - not necessary. Some people never turn it off. Like a computer, it goes to sleep. a tap of the shutter buttons wakes it up.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

bkyser wrote:

Completely turning off the review is a great way to save the battery. I will check it every so many shots, but only if I hit the review button. Constantly turning the screen on after every shot is a drain on the battery, and actually ends up making you miss good shots. Where you are looking at every photo, instead of watching for the next thing you want to capture.

Excellent advice. I often turn off the Review feature.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

jerryc41 wrote:

Excellent advice. I often turn off the Review feature.

You are using the viewfinder to shoot right? That will save more battery life than anything else. Just use LCD when you need to check exposure, like every time you change scenes or when the light changes.

Don't turn the camera off during a shoot unless you are changing batteries or memory, or lenses. Turning the camera off and on too much, guess what wears out first? The on-off switch!

FYI Extra batteries are highly recommended. Even if you don't use them. Better to have them and not need them than need them and not have them.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

JD750 wrote:

You are using the viewfinder to shoot right? That... (show quote)

Good logic in that final sentence ;)
:thumbup:

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Dngallagher wrote:

Good logic in that final sentence ;)
:thumbup:

" Better to have them and not need them than need them and not have them."

That justifies my stuffed garage. :D

JD750 Loc: SoCal

jerryc41 wrote:

That justifies my stuffed garage. :D

I resemble that remark. :-P