Prevent camcorder power-downs in video applications

Jul 03, '03 10:21:00AM

Contributed by: asknathan.com

This is a hint that I found on my own since it is information which is *not* in the manual. If you've tried to use your standard digital video camera with iChat, you may find that it shuts itself off after five minutes. Many camcorders include this feature (I have a Canon ZR10) to prevent wear and tear on the mechanisms.

On most cameras, to prevent the auto-power-off, all you need to do is take the tape out and it will stay on. The reasoning is that if a tape is inserted and the camera is on, the video head is spinning which both uses the battery and wears on the tape. If there is no tape, the camera is programmed not to turn off because it is using less battery with fewer mechanical parts working, and no wear to a tape is occuring.

[robg adds: I ran into this while trying to get EvoCam set up; my Sony kept shutting down! After much digging on the net, I found the same answer, and it worked as described.]

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