Hobie Cat Forums

I have a Drift HD Stealth video camera that I just started using this season. The camera is mounted on the tail of my PA, which is inconvenient enough that I generally turn it on and leave in standby mode as I head out, and then just start and stop video capture using the remote. I am using the high capacity extended-life battery, but find that it still runs out of juice after 3-4 hrs in standby mode while I troll around waiting for something to film. I am considering running a power line from the FF battery to the videocam to avoid this situation, but aside from the problem of rigging the kayak for power, there is the added problem of trying to keep the camera relatively waterproof while the back cover is open for charging. Anybody try this, or have a solution that does not involve taking a pocketfull of batteries out with you for the day?

I have the same camera and in stand-by mode, triggering by the remote, I can easily get 6 to 8 hours of power on the thick hi-capacity battery. Something doesn't sound right about yours.

So Tom - how do you recharge your battery? I have just been leaving the battery in the camera and using the USB cable to charge right from my laptop. It's possible that either the camera or laptop circuitry is limiting the charge somehow. Do you remove the battery and use an external charger?

I have a cable that allows leaving the battery in the camera and plugging it into a wall outlet.

When the blue light goes out on the camera, the battery should be fully charged.

Are you sure your camera is in stand-by mode (sleep) when you're not actually recording?

Tom - Sounds like we are both charging the same way. When I head out, I setup for 1080p recording and check the image framing in the viewfinder LCD. Then I just go. I am not recording until I press the remote button. Is there a sleep mode that permits you to operate with the screen turned off? If so, that may be where I am losing power, because my screen is always on when in sleep mode.

I would change the camera location to be in arms reach and solve the problem and water proof question. There must ba a reason you have chosen out of arms reach? Just wondering and your answer might help me to change my location too?

Thinwater - my reason for mounting far aft was because I wanted to run in 1080p mode most of the time, which is not as wide angle as 720p. In order to include the cockpit area without the wide angle perspective, I had to move the mount back to about the area of the rudder cover panel. I had tried several other locations before coming to this decision, including closer to the back of the seat, siderail, and sail mast tube. This location works OK for me, but as mentioned, is too far back to easily turn the camera on or off.