Mid-Session Battery Change - is there a procedure for this?

[peje]

As my mains PSU for the Nikon is not being reliable I have been using multiple batteries. Sometimes I disconnect the camera, swap batteries & reconnect without any problems...most of the time I need to reboot the PC to get BYN to connect to the camera. I've attached my logfile from last night but it's probably not much use. It's worth noting that Windows sees the cameras memory cards even though BYN cannot see it.

 

Is there a preferred method for doing this? switch off camera, disconnect usb, close byn, etc.

 

Pete

logfile-20160509-22h37m50s011-5896-2016-05-09.txt

[s3igell]

Remember the "annoying Feature" of the Nikon Drivers / SDK which requires that it build a Library of the Existing Images on the Camera's Memory Card before allowing the BYN Connection to Continue.

Are you sure that this is not what is currently happening??

[peje]

I don't think so, my memory cards are always empty. For daytime I remove raws when i get home, for astro I write to PC only.

[Nikonshooter]

As my mains PSU for the Nikon is not being reliable I have been using multiple batteries. Sometimes I disconnect the camera, swap batteries & reconnect without any problems...most of the time I need to reboot the PC to get BYN to connect to the camera. I've attached my logfile from last night but it's probably not much use. It's worth noting that Windows sees the cameras memory cards even though BYN cannot see it.

 

Is there a preferred method for doing this? switch off camera, disconnect usb, close byn, etc.

 

Pete

I use these - keep two on hand - the adapter is cheaper than one battery ...the colder the weather the faster batteries run dry!  http://www.amazon.com/HQRP-Adapter-Digital-Camera-EN-EL15/dp/B00AUF86BK

[admin]

The best advice is to plan your session accordingly and manually turn off the camera BEFORE it runs out of battery.  This is because I've seen some cases where if the battery runs out during an exposure the SDK falls into a weird state and may require a computer reboot to reset... and that is not fun at all

 

Regards,

[peje]

I am doing what you suggest, preemptively changing the battery before it dies.

 

My question being, is there a preferred way to do this?

[admin]

This order would be:

 

1) Stop the imaging session in BYN

2) Click the Disconnect button in BYN to disconnect the camera from BYN (no need to close BYN if the camera is disconnected this way)

3) Turn the camera off (no need to unplug the cable once the camera is off but feel free to do so if you whish)

4) Change the battery

5) Turn the camera on

6) Click the Connect button in BYN.

 

Regards,

[peje]

This order would be:

 

1) Stop the imaging session in BYN

2) Click the Disconnect button in BYN to disconnect the camera from BYN (no need to close BYN if the camera is disconnected this way)

3) Turn the camera off (no need to unplug the cable once the camera is off but feel free to do so if you whish)

4) Change the battery

5) Turn the camera on

6) Click the Connect button in BYN.

 

Regards,

 

That's exactly the method I did last night, very odd. Oh well this is life. Thanks for your help.

[entilza]

Hi Peje, I've recently added an external battery to my D5300.  I use the EP-5A Battery adapter (For My Nikon), then I spliced the wires, and connect it to a 7.4V Li-Po battery from my R/C Cars  This battery is 4800mah and I can image all night no problem.  You just have to make sure you charge it before your session.  I mount the battery on the scope itself so no extra wires are hanging either.  

 

Another solution is to get a power converter from 12V to 9V  (9V is what the adapter wants) and use the same adapter, just you will have wires from the main power supply.   (My 7.4V Lipo worked fine as well as that is the voltage of the regular batteries)