<< back to Energy and Fuels Home

watch energy saving tips videos

types of biofuel Article


Any fuel that is obtained from a renewable biological resource, especially from biomass

types of biofuel Navigation

 

Turning Algae Into Biofuel
Types Of Biofuel
Uses Of Biofuel
Who Invented Biofuels



Below, you'll find extensive information on leading Energy and fuel articles and products to help you on your way to success.

Getting More Battery Time From Your Digital Camera Battery
By Ziv Haparnas
Like other portable consumer electronic devices digital cameras use batteries as their power source. All batteries have one major drawback: they only last for a limited time. In this article we will explain what camera features consume the most energy and how you can squeeze more life time out of your digital camera battery.
There are many types of battery. Your digital camera might be using disposable batteries or maybe it uses rechargeable ones. Rechargeable batteries use a variety of technologies such as nickel cadmium, lithium ion or lithium polymer. Battery technology has advanced in the last years but batteries life time is still considerably short. It is very frustrating to come across a great photo opportunity just to find out that you have run out of batteries.
When it comes to power consumption not all digital camera features are equal. Some of the digital camera greatest features are high energy consumers. By knowing which features consume the most energy you will be able to avoid or minimize using those features save energy and get more life time from your batteries.
The biggest energy consumers in a digital camera are the LCD screen and the motors that move the mechanical components of the camera such as the lenses when focusing or zooming. Digital cameras allow viewing of photos that were just taken on a small LCD screen. Some of them also allow shooting photos using the LCD instead of the traditional viewfinder. An LCD screen consumes relatively a lot of energy. This is the reason why all digital cameras turn off the LCD after a certain amount of time of no usage.
The other big energy consumers are the motors. Digital cameras have motors the move the lenses either to change the zoom or to focus. Motors consume relatively a lot of energy when moving the digital camera optical components. And finally the flash is a big energy consumer too. Shooting photos using the flash consumes more energy that shooting photos without flash.
So what can you do in order to minimize power consumption and get more life time from your batteries?

  • Turn off the LCD and use the viewfinder: Use the optical viewfinder instead of the LCD for composing your photos. Using the camera menus disable the LCD by turning it off. Since the LCD consumes a lot of energy every time you are using it to take a photo or to look at your objects and compose a photo you are wasting energy. Only use the LCD when you must for example when taking an overhead photo when the optical viewfinder is not usable.

  • Minimize photo previewing: The LCD consumes a lot of energy. When you preview photos on the LCD you are wasting battery. Only use the LCD to view photos when you need to do so for the benefit of the next photos shooting - for example to check if a composition was right or if the lighting was good. Do not use the LCD to view photos for fun or to show photos to others. Wait until you are on your computer or in your office or home to do that.

  • Do not use continuous focus when not necessary: Every time your camera focuses it consumers energy. The motors that move the optical components in order to focus

    consume a lot of energy. You can not avoid focusing of course but you can avoid focusing that is not necessary. For example your digital camera can be set to continuous or single focus. For moving objects such as in sport events continuous focus is used so your can stay focused on the object until you are ready to take the photo. In those cases as long as you press the shutter button half way down the camera will continue to focusing on the object. To save energy minimize that time to the minimum necessary. For example if you plan to shoot a photo of a runner at point A only press the shutter when he gets close to that point. Holding the shutter button down and following the runner for a longer time than needed to capture him at point A wastes a lot of energy.


  • Do not press the shutter button half way down for no reason: Every time you press the shutter button half way down and do not take a photo you waste energy. When pressing the shutter button half way down the camera goes through a series of processes getting ready to shoot a photo. It focuses the lenses it wakes up electronic components and gets the flash ready if needed. Avoid pressing the shutter half way down when you do not plan to shoot a photo.

  • Carry another battery: Two batteries have twice the energy as one. Carry an extra battery if you are planning for a long shooting session or if you are not sure how many photos you will shoot and how long you will be away from your charger. Some photographers always carry an extra battery with them - batteries are very small and light and carrying an extra one is really not a burden. One thing to remember when carrying an extra battery is to always make sure that you are carrying an extra battery that is fully charged there is no use in carrying an empty battery. Batteries tend to lose their charge even if they are not used so if you are carrying an extra battery for a few days or more remember to recharge it even if you did not use it.

  • Recharge whenever you can: Charge your battery (or batteries if you carry an extra one) at least once a day or whenever you are back to your office, home or hotel. Even if you did not take many photos and you think the batteries have enough power in them it is better to make sure by fully charging them rather than to take the risk. You never know how long your next photo shooting session will be and when will your next recharge opportunity will be. Batteries slowly lose their charge even when not used so always recharge your extra battery too even if it was not used.

  • Plan for battery consumption: The most important thing is to plan for battery consumption. For example if you are leaving your office for a short photo shooting session of an hour you are not going to have any battery issues. In such cases you can ignore all the guidelines and just shoot photos freely in the way that is most convenient to you. If you are going out for a long day of photo shooting in scenarios that require flash and maybe continuous focusing (just as shooting a sports event) - plan ahead for power consumption take an extra battery or maybe two refrain from using features that are not necessary for your session such as previewing photos on the LCD or using the LCD as a viewfinder.

  • In conclusion until battery technologies improve to the extent that battery life is so long that it practically lasts forever you will have to be conscious about how you use your digital camera in respect to power consumption. Following a few simple guidelines can significantly improve power consumption and make your batteries last longer.

    Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

    This article can be published only if the resource box including the backlink is included. Mr. Haparnas writes about practical technology issues. Information about photography and photo prints is on printrates.com - your home for cameras and printing Ziv Haparnas is a technology expoert.


     

    We strive to provide only quality articles, so if there is a specific topic related to energy and fuels that you would like us to cover, please contact us at any time.

    And again, thank you to those contributing daily to our Energy and fuels website.

    Additional Related Resources      
    Wind Power To The Rescue
    By davet
    Wind power turbines could very well be the answer to your electricity bill woes. Energy prices continue to rise, and, unless you have an abundance of money to accommodate these prices, it may be time Read more...
    It’s Time To Consider Solar Energy
    By Dynamic Blue Link
    Solar energy is the ideal alternative energy source and is quickly being found in homes across the world.Most people base their ideas about Solar energy on information that is old. Many Read more...
    Energy Solutions For Various Types Of Buildings Part 4
    By davet
    In attempt to spread the solutions that the Department of Energy has so graciously posted on their website, the past several posts have been on the topic of ways to make your building more energy Read more...
    Held Up Without A Gun – Bruce Springsteen’s Lament About Oil Company Greedy Gouging Of The Working M
    By GARKO
    In Springsteen’s 1981 song which ran only about two minutes, The Boss sang…I was out driving, just takin’ it slowLooked at the tank, yeah was readin’ lowPulled into a gas station out Read more...
    © 2006 MIGRANS.NET. All rights reserved. Energy and fuels