Hi--

>I have really been enjoying the F3 I purchased from you. It is an excellent
>camera. I want to use it for Astrophotograpy attached to a telescope.
>Usually camera used in this fashion are shot via a cable release to avoid
>touching both the camera or telescope so as not to screw up the centering
>of the target. Also, shutter vibration is a problem, but we use a black
>cardboard over the telescope's optical end and hold it there for about 10
>to 15 seconds after the shutter vibration has had a chance to settle. My
>question is this, does using the T setting via the shutter dial drain
>battery power? I know that firing the T setting mode via mechaical shutter
>knob on the front of the camera uses no power, but havng to turn that knob
>might cause enough movement of the camera-telescope system so as to screw
>the centering of the sutter. Thanks
>Joe
>PS the FAQ on the F3 on the net implies that using the T setting on the
>regular sutter dial consumes no battery power.
>
>Joseph M. Marietta (Joe)
>codeblue@erols.com

I don't know the answer to this (various people suggested using the MD-4, which powers the camera, or the accessory battery cold-pack for extended
battery life if the camera does use the battery for T). My first thought
was to take the battery out, then try the regular release - but the release is probably electronic... Maybe putting it on T, then releasing the
shutter, then removing the battery would tell (if the shutter remains open,
and closes when the shutter speed dial is moved off T, it probably uses
no battery power to stay open on T - maybe...). Maybe a call to
1-800-NIKONUS will produce the answer... My guess is that T doesn't
use battery power on the F3.