How do I trun off the "auto power save" feature?

Last night I was recording my daughter's school play with my GL2 and while I was setting things up on the tripod and adjusting my shutter speed the camera screen flashed "auto power save" and then shut itself off. I wanted to get a good shot of the curtain opening at the start of the play but I had to turn the camera back on and by the time it set up I missed the shot.

Going thru my manual today I found the page explaining this feature (p. 36) but I'm still a little unclear which setting it needs to be on. It reccommends leaving it on "Power Save" to save wear and tear on the heads, but because of the problems it caused me last night I'm wondering if its fine to leave it on "VCR Stop". And what exactly will "VCR Stop" do? Will this allow me to actually play around with the settings and the camera remains on for more than five minutes?

Thank you in advance,

Mark

You gotten to the right place. By default, most camcorders operate in camera mode by "pausing" the tape drive instead of actually stopping it. This means the tape is left in contact with the heads, the capstan (or equivalent) is actually spinning and the tape is under tension. The benefit of this is that when you press the red button, the tape starts running, at full speed, almost instantly. The downside is that it puts a lot of load on the battery, stress on the tape and wear on the capstan and heads.

If you select the VCR Off mode, you're actually stopping the tape, and stopping the capstan roller. Less battery drain, less wear on everything. Pressing the red button will still start the tape, BUT, you won't be at full speed instantly. If you've got control of the situation you're taping, wait at least five seconds after you press the button before you call "action" or whatever. If you don't have control of the situation, try to start the tape ahead of the action.

Thanks Randy,

I appreciate your help. So you think its better to leave it on "VCR Stop" ? Thats where I have it now and I let it sit for about 10 minutes and it never shut itself down. I dont think I'll mind the few second delay in exchange for the long re-start it has been doing in "Power Save" mode.

I was a bit confused because on my "Ultimate Guide to the GL2" DVD I think I remember him saying to leave it on "Power Save" feature and that was better. But it just didnt seem right to me.

Thanks again.