An on/off switch for the nanoFlash? at DVinfo.net

Alastair Traill · October 5th, 2010, 06:42 AM

I recently purchased a nanoFlash and I am a little puzzled by the lack of an on/off switch. My current project entails numerous short takes with anything from one to ten minutes between shots. To conserve battery power I turn off the camera and unplug the nanoFlash between shots. This is a little tedious and I have already snagged a dangling lead as I ventured through vegetation. For such a sophisticated and versatile device this means of powering seems a little crude. It is even more puzzling when I read that the first nanoFlashes had switches, later units had non-functional switches and current units have no switch at all.

I have not finalized my setup re brackets and cables etc as I wanted some field experience first. Is there any reason why I should not install a switch somewhere?

Piotr Wozniacki · October 5th, 2010, 06:51 AM

I feel your pain :)

To make things even worse, the current firmware (and AFAIK, the incoming Beta) have rendered the Power Save mode inoperable...Let's hope CD will restore it ASAP.

As to your own ON/OFF hw switch, I can see no reason to prevent you from incorporating one.

Cees van Kempen · October 5th, 2010, 07:17 AM

I completely agree, as CD already knows. With no on/off switch at least the power safe option should work. I cannot think of any other device of such quality (or of any quality at all) that you have to switch off by taking the plug off.

Anthony McErlean · October 5th, 2010, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alastair Traill

I recently purchased a nanoFlash and I am a little puzzled by the lack of an on/off switch.

I don't have a NanoFlash but I am thinking of buying one. I would think not having an on/off switch is indeed strange.

Aaron Holmes · October 5th, 2010, 07:45 PM

I'm also on the verge of ordering one. A short Hirose-to-Hirose cable with a nice stiff switch in the middle seems like an easy project, even for the electrically-declined, however a nicely-made accessory switch would probably be a welcome addition to nanoflash.net's collection of add-ons.

Best,
Aaron

PS: I'd love to know why there isn't simply a switch on the device. That does seem an awfully odd omission. :-?

Olof Ekbergh · October 6th, 2010, 06:43 AM

I make a small inline switch for the NF.

It is a pretty expensive to make. The Hirose plug is very pricy and hard to solder (very small pins) the switch I use is a slide switch similar to the on/off on a EX camera.

I mill a small plastic box from it out of solid plastic. I can not find a good quality small switch pre made.

I use these myself and have made a few as part of custom cables for shooters. Usually the other end is a D-tap.

I have not found a great demand for these, but if you are interested contact me, or post here.

If a lot of people would like these it would be less expensive to make them in batches.

olof@westsideav.com

Henry Olonga · October 6th, 2010, 06:44 AM

I believe that the reason the switch was taken out was that many users accidentally switched the nano off far too often in the middle of a take by bumping it.That was what was explained to me when I bought mine anyway. It is a crude way of dealing with it but it does guarantee no lost takes due to that sort of error.

Perhaps the on off function can be moved to the play or stop button and it can get held down for a few seconds for example.

Piotr Wozniacki · October 6th, 2010, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry Olonga

Perhaps the on off function can be moved to the play or stop button and it can get held down for a few seconds for example.

OFF - yes, it could work. But ON - how on the earth?

Jeff Silverman · October 6th, 2010, 07:40 AM

The reason that the on/off switch was eliminated is that it was of such inferior quality that it was failing after only a couple of uses.

Jeff

Henry Olonga · October 6th, 2010, 04:17 PM

Hey Piotr. No electrical engineer here and not sure whether CD can do it but - I have an Archos, Blackberry,Laptop and many other gadgets that are turned on and off using the same button. Hold down and it's on. Hold down and it's off. Power is always connected of course.

Alastair Traill · October 6th, 2010, 04:38 PM

Thanks for the feedback.

I bought the nanoFlash bundle that is considered to be a starter kit. It is very useful for that but I soon found that I miss an on/off switch. I would prefer a toggle switch because you can see at a glance whether it is on or off. Slide switches such as used on the EX3 although hard to knock can be very vague.

I once purchased a small well-made toggle switch at a flea market. To actuate this switch you first had to raise the toggle against spring pressure then move the toggle to the alternative position. Releasing the toggle locked it in place. It was impossible to knock on or off, however I have never seen another one like it. Does anyone know if they are still made and if so where to get them?

George Griswold · October 6th, 2010, 07:28 PM

For many of us NOT having a switch is one less thing to go wrong. The early nanos had a switch and the forum consensus at that time was we were better off without it. Thinking here is: if you are using a reasonably sized battery and working on making shots it is best to have the unit powered up while you work. When you shutdown the camera for a reset or break simply unplug the nano. Adding a switch to the power cable is a fine solution if that works better for you. Having the power save feature restored would be ideal.... that fell victim to resolving some other issues and adding requested features. I am sure they will figure out how to restore it in a future firmware release.

Robin Probyn · October 6th, 2010, 08:08 PM

Yes totally agree.. seemed there were problems with the switch.. and it was another thing to forget,or go wrong! but the power save mode was a good alternative.. great to have that back.. even if it might interfere with the Nano making a good cafe latte.. :)

Billy Steinberg · October 6th, 2010, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alastair Traill

I once purchased a small well-made toggle switch at a flea market. To actuate this switch you first had to raise the toggle against spring pressure then move the toggle to the alternative position. Releasing the toggle locked it in place. It was impossible to knock on or off, however I have never seen another one like it. Does anyone know if they are still made and if so where to get them?

Alco has a complete line of locking toggle switches, including the kind where you have to raise the bat before you can switch states. DigiKey, AlliedElec, and Newark all carry pretty much the whole alco line.

Search for "alcoswitch" in Google.

Billy

Alastair Traill · October 7th, 2010, 12:35 AM

Thanks Billy,

I have found a local retailer with stock and I plan to check them out tomorrow. I will also "google" alcoswitch.

October 5th, 2010, 06:42 AM	#1
Alastair Traill Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 626	An on/off switch for the nanoFlash? I recently purchased a nanoFlash and I am a little puzzled by the lack of an on/off switch. My current project entails numerous short takes with anything from one to ten minutes between shots. To conserve battery power I turn off the camera and unplug the nanoFlash between shots. This is a little tedious and I have already snagged a dangling lead as I ventured through vegetation. For such a sophisticated and versatile device this means of powering seems a little crude. It is even more puzzling when I read that the first nanoFlashes had switches, later units had non-functional switches and current units have no switch at all. I have not finalized my setup re brackets and cables etc as I wanted some field experience first. Is there any reason why I should not install a switch somewhere?

October 5th, 2010, 06:51 AM	#2
Piotr Wozniacki Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Poland Posts: 4,086	I feel your pain :) To make things even worse, the current firmware (and AFAIK, the incoming Beta) have rendered the Power Save mode inoperable...Let's hope CD will restore it ASAP. As to your own ON/OFF hw switch, I can see no reason to prevent you from incorporating one. __________________ Sony PXW-FS7 \| DaVinci Resolve Studio; Magix Vegas Pro; i7-5960X CPU; 64 GB RAM; 2x GTX 1080 8GB GPU; Decklink 4K Extreme 12G; 4x 3TB WD Black in RAID 0; 1TB M.2 NVMe cache drive

October 5th, 2010, 07:45 PM	#5
Aaron Holmes Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 145	I'm also on the verge of ordering one. A short Hirose-to-Hirose cable with a nice stiff switch in the middle seems like an easy project, even for the electrically-declined, however a nicely-made accessory switch would probably be a welcome addition to nanoflash.net's collection of add-ons. Best, Aaron PS: I'd love to know why there isn't simply a switch on the device. That does seem an awfully odd omission. :-? __________________ Software Engineer, Video Hobbyist -- Sony FDR-AX100, HDR-CX12, Miller DS10/Solo, Premiere CS5.5, DYMO DiscPainter, 2010 Mac Pro 3.33GHz 6c

October 6th, 2010, 06:43 AM	#6
Olof Ekbergh Sponsor: Westside AV Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Mount Washington Valley, NH, USA Posts: 1,365	I make a small inline switch for the NF. It is a pretty expensive to make. The Hirose plug is very pricy and hard to solder (very small pins) the switch I use is a slide switch similar to the on/off on a EX camera. I mill a small plastic box from it out of solid plastic. I can not find a good quality small switch pre made. I use these myself and have made a few as part of custom cables for shooters. Usually the other end is a D-tap. I have not found a great demand for these, but if you are interested contact me, or post here. If a lot of people would like these it would be less expensive to make them in batches. olof@westsideav.com Attached Images __________________ Olof Ekbergh • olof@WestsideAV.com Westside A V Studios • http://www.WestsideAVstore.com/

October 6th, 2010, 06:44 AM	#7
Henry Olonga Major Player Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: London Posts: 201	I believe that the reason the switch was taken out was that many users accidentally switched the nano off far too often in the middle of a take by bumping it.That was what was explained to me when I bought mine anyway. It is a crude way of dealing with it but it does guarantee no lost takes due to that sort of error. Perhaps the on off function can be moved to the play or stop button and it can get held down for a few seconds for example. __________________ My vimeo page: http://vimeo.com/henryolonga/videos My website: www.henryolonga.net

October 5th, 2010, 07:17 AM	#3
Cees van Kempen Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Nieuw-Vossemeer, The Netherlands Posts: 455	I completely agree, as CD already knows. With no on/off switch at least the power safe option should work. I cannot think of any other device of such quality (or of any quality at all) that you have to switch off by taking the plug off.

October 6th, 2010, 07:40 AM	#9
Jeff Silverman Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Jacksonville, VT USA Posts: 100	The reason that the on/off switch was eliminated is that it was of such inferior quality that it was failing after only a couple of uses. Jeff

October 6th, 2010, 04:17 PM	#10
Henry Olonga Major Player Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: London Posts: 201	Hey Piotr. No electrical engineer here and not sure whether CD can do it but - I have an Archos, Blackberry,Laptop and many other gadgets that are turned on and off using the same button. Hold down and it's on. Hold down and it's off. Power is always connected of course. __________________ My vimeo page: http://vimeo.com/henryolonga/videos My website: www.henryolonga.net

October 6th, 2010, 04:38 PM	#11
Alastair Traill Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 626	Thanks for the feedback. I bought the nanoFlash bundle that is considered to be a starter kit. It is very useful for that but I soon found that I miss an on/off switch. I would prefer a toggle switch because you can see at a glance whether it is on or off. Slide switches such as used on the EX3 although hard to knock can be very vague. I once purchased a small well-made toggle switch at a flea market. To actuate this switch you first had to raise the toggle against spring pressure then move the toggle to the alternative position. Releasing the toggle locked it in place. It was impossible to knock on or off, however I have never seen another one like it. Does anyone know if they are still made and if so where to get them?

October 6th, 2010, 07:28 PM	#12
George Griswold Major Player Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 218	Switch For many of us NOT having a switch is one less thing to go wrong. The early nanos had a switch and the forum consensus at that time was we were better off without it. Thinking here is: if you are using a reasonably sized battery and working on making shots it is best to have the unit powered up while you work. When you shutdown the camera for a reset or break simply unplug the nano. Adding a switch to the power cable is a fine solution if that works better for you. Having the power save feature restored would be ideal.... that fell victim to resolving some other issues and adding requested features. I am sure they will figure out how to restore it in a future firmware release. __________________ George T. Griswold, Jr. www.videonow.info New Orleans

October 6th, 2010, 08:08 PM	#13
Robin Probyn Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Tokyo Posts: 590	Yes totally agree.. seemed there were problems with the switch.. and it was another thing to forget,or go wrong! but the power save mode was a good alternative.. great to have that back.. even if it might interfere with the Nano making a good cafe latte.. :)

October 7th, 2010, 12:35 AM	#15
Alastair Traill Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 626	Thanks Billy, I have found a local retailer with stock and I plan to check them out tomorrow. I will also "google" alcoswitch.