SL3 Battery Usage Suggestions

[Jonathan Levin]

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After using the SL3 for a few months now, compared to the battery life of my Nikon D850, the SL3 seems more power hungry. Not terrible, but I wouldn’t go out for the day without  at least one extra battery. I have three.

i’ve read that certain settings increase consumption. I use BT with the Fotos app on my  iPhone to geotag pictures, so I need that active.  I shoot full size dng with ssd set as back up.

One thing I was wondering: If I change from shooting dng-dng to dng-jpg if I might get more mileage from battery(s). My batteries are the 6’s, not 4’s. I’m also using EVF Extened, shortest review time, short sleep and auto shut down. Any suggestions? Thanks. Jonathan

[Photoworks]

The battery life is not linear. different shooting behaviors will influence life.

the BT LE is very low power, and it is a good tool, I would keep it on.

I usually turn off pre-focus, the lenses are a big power consumption. 

I think you have all the other settings I am using. perhaps an updated Firmware will improve battery life.

[SrMi]

Do not automatically transfer images to the phone (WiFi). The EVF and LCD use most of the power. Do not run it in EVF mode, which always keeps EVF on. Instead, use EVF extended mode (uses eye sensor).

[Jonathan Levin]

Thanks guys.

Prefocus off. I only transfer images via card reader. I thought maybe image stabilization might be power hungry but I like that on, I think the default setting. And yes for EVF Extended.

I’m still wondering if changing dng-dng to dng-jpg would improve things?

[SrMi]

1 hour ago, Jonathan Levin said:

Prefocus off. I only transfer images via card reader.

Just check the Fotos and camera settings to ensure that the images are not inadvertently sent to the phone. I guess that Fotos>Connectivity>Eco should do the trick.

1 hour ago, Jonathan Levin said:

I thought maybe image stabilization might be power hungry but I like that on, I think the default setting.

IBIS does not use a relevant amount of power.

1 hour ago, Jonathan Levin said:

I’m still wondering if changing dng-dng to dng-jpg would improve things?

I doubt it. 

Typically, the power usage is higher when you acquire a new camera because we initially spend more time in the menus trying things out (higher LCD usage).

Also, because of EVF, DSLRs use much less battery than mirrorless cameras.

[hdmesa]

I had been using the EVF at 120 fps to try and make the magnified live view more clear, but it doesn’t help. Just noticed this in the manual, so I’m setting it back to 60 fps.

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And turn that FOTOS crap off for everyday shooting. Performance mode is a HUGE drain on the battery, but I don’t trust eco mode either. Turning FOTOS off is the closest thing we have to an airplane mode. 

[Jonathan Levin]

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Good to know SrMi. Thanks.

hdmesa- evf has been set to 60 always. Fotos not transfering or receiving pictures from camera. Just using the iPhone app to geotag, though it has to be running and communicating with camera while using. I’m now pretty confident that this may be my battery issue as you all have pointed out. I do like the geotag thing. Wish it didn’t draw so much power, sssuming thats it.

[beewee]

I’d expect people/animal detect would be very power intensive as the camera has to constantly analyze the scene to look for subjects.

[SrMi]

5 minutes ago, beewee said:

I’d expect people/animal detect would be very power intensive as the camera has to constantly analyze the scene to look for subjects.

It needs to do that only while you are framing, but I doubt it is close to the power used by EVF and LCD.

[hdmesa]

55 minutes ago, Jonathan Levin said:

Good to know SrMi. Thanks.

hdmesa- evf has been set to 60 always. Fotos not transfering or receiving pictures from camera. Just using the iPhone app to geotag, though it has to be running and communicating with camera while using. I’m now pretty confident that this may be my battery issue as you all have pointed out. I do like the geotag thing. Wish it didn’t draw so much power, sssuming thats it.

FOTOS default setting in the camera menu is high performance mode. If you haven't changed that, I recommend doing so. I had it set to off, but then I reset my camera for an unrelated reason and forgot to change the FOTOS setting back to off. The battery dropped like a rock down to two bars about three times faster than before. And this is with using manual focus lenses, so I can't imagine with AF, too. Point being, I don't think you have to have FOTOS set up to transfer images to see a benefit from turning it off.

34 minutes ago, SrMi said:

It needs to do that only while you are framing, but I doubt it is close to the power used by EVF and LCD.

It seems like the sensor and metering is always running (bring up the first menu screen on the LCD, and you can see the metering changes as you move the camera around), so I'm assuming the processor continues to look for subjects, too, if you're in that AF mode (assuming that this early firmware is not yet fully optimized for low power consumption).

I'm not so sure about IBIS not drawing a lot of power, either. I noticed on my Zf, when I changed it from the default "always on" to only "on when shooting" (half press of shutter), I saw in increase in battery life. I wish we had an option for that on the SL3.

Edited August 25, 2024 by hdmesa

[Jonathan Levin]

44 minutes ago, hdmesa said:

FOTOS default setting in the camera menu is high performance mode. If you haven't changed that, I recommend doing so. I had it set to off, but then I reset my camera for an unre

Thank you for that. Would you happen to know if I turn off performance mode on camera, will it still geotag? I may have to test this out. Great info. Thanks for all this. Greatly appreciated. I look at the manual as a starting point, and this forum to fine tune!

[SrMi]

4 minutes ago, Jonathan Levin said:

Thank you for that. Would you happen to know if I turn off performance mode on camera, will it still geotag? I may have to test this out. Great info. Thanks for all this. Greatly appreciated. I look at the manual as a starting point, and this forum to fine tune!

If I remember correctly, Eco mode also geotags.

[SrMi]

53 minutes ago, hdmesa said:

It seems like the sensor and metering is always running (bring up the first menu screen on the LCD, and you can see the metering changes as you move the camera around), so I'm assuming the processor continues to look for subjects, too, if you're in that AF mode (assuming that this early firmware is not yet fully optimized for low power consumption).

You are correct. As long as the camera is not in sleep mode, the metering is running (it is also visible on the top LCD data). AF and tracking are activated by pressing a button. Face, eye, and animal detection are probably running all the time.

Another way to save battery is to set Display/AF off to 30 seconds. This does not put the camera to sleep, but it turns off the display after 30 seconds.

59 minutes ago, hdmesa said:

I'm not so sure about IBIS not drawing a lot of power, either. I noticed on my Zf, when I changed it from the default "always on" to only "on when shooting" (half press of shutter), I saw in increase in battery life. I wish we had an option for that on the SL3.

I have noticed that OIS on large lenses uses much power (Nikon long lenses). 

Jim Kasson measured IBIS power consumption on the a7rII and found it to be minimal (link). The stabilizer is always active to hold the floating sensor in place. The only option is whether to counteract camera movements, which probably uses a tiny bit more power.

[hdmesa]

35 minutes ago, SrMi said:

You are correct. As long as the camera is not in sleep mode, the metering is running (it is also visible on the top LCD data). AF and tracking are activated by pressing a button. Face, eye, and animal detection are probably running all the time.

Another way to save battery is to set Display/AF off to 30 seconds. This does not put the camera to sleep, but it turns off the display after 30 seconds.

I have noticed that OIS on large lenses uses much power (Nikon long lenses). 

Jim Kasson measured IBIS power consumption on the a7rII and found it to be minimal (link). The stabilizer is always active to hold the floating sensor in place. The only option is whether to counteract camera movements, which probably uses a tiny bit more power.

Yeah, I guess IBIS consumption can vary depending on how much movement of the camera happens while it's still powered on.

I think we just need a firmware revision or two that give us some improved efficiencies. Before when I had the SL2-S and the monster 60-600, I never noticed the battery getting eaten up. I would think a lens like that would draw a lot of power, but maybe Sigma's new linear motors are actually more efficient, IDK.

[Jonathan Levin]

OK. So I just changed setting on camera to Fotos> Eco mode. This was pretty well explained in the manual on page 300 and it does appear to support geotagging in that mode. So I will test that out.