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How critical is the supply voltage for digital cameras?

Hi Folks,

Just how critical is the voltage fed into a digital camera?

In my case it is an older Nikon Coolpix 2100 where the AC adapter input says 4.2VDC. No specs about tolerance. The adapters one can buy state

4.5V output so that seems ok. But what if someone wanted to rig such cameras into a fixed installation with power coming off the system?

Since the batteries allowed are about 2.4V if using NiMH or 3V for Lithiums it appears that there must be a little switcher inside that regulates whatever is coming in.

The other thing that surprises me is that it draws over an amp through that tiny little DC jack. Wow. I guess it'll be more modest with the little internal LCD monitor turned off.

Regards, Joerg

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Reply to
Joerg
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My old Fuji FinePix 2400Zoom requires 5V at about 1A. I made a PS for it using an ST L200 regulator chip powered by a wall-wart transformer. It's adjustable, so could be set for 4.2V. I made a little PCB for it, you are welcome to the artwork.

Leon

Reply to
Leon Heller

The DC will typically have internal switchmode regulator(s) so voltage should not be too critical

4.5v into a 4.2 input is unlikely to cause any smoke.
Reply to
Mike Harrison

Was the original 4.2 V adapter regulated? I am assuming unregulated

I design for 80-140 VAC operation, that's a bit much for consumer, but I would bet this was designed for 120 +/ 10%. 4.2V + 10% = 4.62V. I'd say if it stays lower than 4.6 it will be within the camera's design spec.

If it runs on batteries it has to have a wide voltage range. Do you know which battery control and regulator ICs it uses, the spec sheets might give a clue.

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer:  Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.
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Reply to
Nicholas O. Lindan

Hi Nicholas,

It looks like a little SMPS brick, so probably it was.

I try to design 90V to 260V, to cover everything from Japan to the UK. This avoids what happened to me when I was tired. Plugged my FET probe into the lab's 230V rail because I was sure I had used it in Europe last. Not so, it turned out. Things got freaking hot but lo and behold it survived minutes of 230V 'operation' while set to 115V. My electric razor didn't fare so well on a biz trip to Europe. It developed a crater and my hand got a blister within less than 30 seconds. But it was shaving better than ever in those last 30 seconds of its life ;-)

No idea. It is hard to find any meaningful data for cameras like that. The booklets don't have much in terms of specs these days if you want it for odd uses. Same for laptops, just bought one and the 'manual' doesn't even talk about the internal fax modem. But in that case I can pry out the mfg and model number, then get the data on the web. With the camera that's different, even with glasses and magnifier I'd probably never get it together in one piece again.

Regards, Joerg

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Reply to
Joerg

Hi Leon,

Thanks for the offer. But usually there is 5V somewhere, so with a couple of fat Schottkys you'd get around 4.2V, just not very precise. A regular size 2A or so silicon diode would make that about 4.3V but even less precise. So if 4.6V would be ok this may work, as long as the camera tolerates dips below 4.2V during peak load.

Thing is, these cameras are so much better in image quality than web cams. A friend of mine showed me his new 5MPixel version and it is stunning. Even a good quality regular TV isn't able to match that as a display.

Regards, Joerg

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Reply to
Joerg

Don't Sweat it. You have an internal Voltage Regulator that supplies the camera with what it needs. The higher voltage PD is only to insure the voltage regulator remains stable and batteries get a good charge. There are many different arrangements so to insure you dont do any damage limit your voltage to an adapter rated 5V or less. Even if you use the proper voltage unregulated adapter you will still get about (4.2/.707) 6V to the camera.

Reply to
Ducky_Doug

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