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Do you shut your camera off before changing lenses ?

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Depends on what's going on when changing lenses. Never worried with DSLRs, but it just seems more advisable with an open sensor. It probably doesn't matter much either way with good practices.

--
...Bob, NYC
http://www.bobtullis.com

"Well, sometimes the magic works. . . Sometimes, it doesn't." - Little Big Man
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thanks for the info...

So is the 4/3 design better or worse?
baxters said:
Being a electronics guy, I did some voltage probing on my PEN to look for a power pin. Just about every electrical interface has one. My measurements suggest that the 2nd pin is ground and the 4th pin is a power pin delivering 3.25 volts. I also saw that the power stayed live as the lens is mounted, so the lens release does not shut off power on an EPL1 although it does kill live view..

What I would worry about during a hot lens swap is power getting short circuited or even applied backwards to the lens as the pins are rotated into place. If the ground is indeed pin 2, then it would be one of the last connections made and these problems are less likely. Design for idiots.

I hope I'm correct, but just knowing that there is power during a lens swap if the camera is on is going to make me pay more attention to shutting the camera off.

P.S. On a 4/3 DSLR, similar probing suggests ground is the 2nd pin and power is the 3rd pin.
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No.

You do not have to shut down the camera before changing lenses.

Just make sure you are not changing lenses in a dusty environment and you'll be ok.

Good luck whatever you decide.
rrr_hhh said:
Do you always shut your camera down before changing lenses ?

The manuals say to shut them down before proceeding with the change, but I find that annoying : it slows you down even more ! So I tend ti skip it. i'm careful while changing lenses and haven't got any problem until now, but is it wise ?
--
rrr_hhh
Click to expand...
 
The only reason to turn off your camera when you change lens is that when you take off the lens and it happens that dust get on your sensor while you put a new one on and when you turn the camera back on the sswf will be activate and shake out the dust from the sensor...otherwise it will be still on the sensor.

--
Nam
 
Len_Gee said:
No.

You do not have to shut down the camera before changing lenses.

Just make sure you are not changing lenses in a dusty environment and you'll be ok.

Good luck whatever you decide.
Click to expand...
Because you may need it, the good luck, that is.
You also do not have to turn off the power when you change
batteries or memory cards, but you also run the risk of
major damage, especially with the memory card.
 
You are absolutely right
Such a design calls "stupid proof"
--
MFT in progress

 
I can't believe this question was posed. Is it that much trouble to turn the damned camera on and off???
--



Time, that aged nurse,
rocked me to patience.
 
...with us old folks...last time I used interchangeable lenses, I was using film, and the only thing to turn on and off was the light meter, which did not have to be turned off when you switched lenses.
 
Reread OP's post and question.
Nothing about batteries or memory cards.
Trafford said:
Because you may need it, the good luck, that is.
You also do not have to turn off the power when you change
batteries or memory cards, but you also run the risk of
major damage, especially with the memory card.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks this is very informative.. I guess that I'll be more careful when changing lenses.
--
rrr_hhh
 
Many thanks all for sharing you knowledge and habits.

I asked because after some time I've got a little sloppy with that and make hot swaps more frequently, but something says me I should be more cautious and careful. I don't like the idea of the pins still transmitting current. And the dust off mechanism activated at the subsequent power on help keeping a cleaner sensor.

So after reading you all i'll be more careful in the future.

Thanks all again

--
rrr_hhh
 
Sometimes I do sometimes, I do not, I often do not pay attention.

There are some reasons that could suggest doing it, is usefull:

1.) Shutting off and on the camera, invokes sensor cleaning as far as I remember, so it could help to keep your sensor free from dust better. This summer I had a little more dust on images than before, it could be that I was more lazy switching off the camera. A working sensor seems to be more prone attaching dust than a switched off sensor. Nevertheless, my experience with sticky dust on the sensor is much better with m4/3 cameras (despite of the open sensor) than with Canon DSLRs, which also had sensor cleaning.

2.) Shutting of the camera from time to time, helps the sensor to cool down, thus having less noise in the image. However, I havn't really noticed any significant affect related to this and it does not refer to your question a lot, because the time off between lens switches is marginal.

--
Thomas
 
Very interesting thread, thanks to all who contributed. I wouldn't have given it much thought whether to power off or not. Had old film SLR's but just got my first Digital one (G2). So will be more careful now. :)
 
Gold rule is always shutdown to change lenses, I asked this to my friend on Panasonic, it seems the position of the pins is planned to minimize problems, but there is real power on some pins, that is why in the manuals they say to shutdown the camera during the change of the lenses, so, think well, it does not take to long to shutdown and up the camera, better prevent and do this always, it is also good for the cleaning mechanism work and remove any possible dust that can enter during the lens changing

--
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

God is the tangential point between zero and infinity.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

God always take the simplest way.
 
I don't. But i make sure that the cam is wind protected and shielded from dust intrusion as much as possible. I have the odd image with a tad of dust, but it is only one two exposures per speck and easy to retouch. I think at least my Pana G2 has a great dust removal.
 
Chas2 said:
So is the 4/3 design better or worse?
Chas2 said:
P.S. On a 4/3 DSLR, similar probing suggests ground is the 2nd pin and power is the 3rd pin.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
The 4/3 mount has two less pins than the micro 4/3 mount. Evidentally more controls for CDAF? Looking at the adapter, it looks like they cross some of the signals too.

The power pins seem to be arranged with the same philosophy. Put the ground ahead of the power so it connects later. This avoids the situation where current can flow backwards into the lens when the respective pins are misaligned during a hot swap.
 
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