I just hooked up the rear camera and gave it power from the reverse light.  But now I am wondering if there is a reason why I would ever want it on while not in reverse?

Any thoughts?  What did you do?

I added mine to favorite as a lot of times I am hauling stuff or going camping/snowboarding/etc. It is nice to use it as a rear view mirror when the car is loaded with people. If it's raining I also turn it on so I can see approaching vehicles. Sometimes fog/wetness/whatever happens and its nice to have an extra view. Plus you can turn it on and off at your leisure.

I added mine to favorite as a lot of times ...

How do you add that as a fave? I have a 5000...thanks.

If you wire it up to the reverse lights like most installs, then it will be actually impossible to see anything unless you're in reverse gear. If you want to have it on-demand you'll need to wire it to a 12V source from the battery. BUT be careful because a lot of these cheaper cameras are not designed for continuous operation and will overheat after a few minutes.

Use it for both backup camera and for "camera view" source.  Works good. Hooked mine up to reverse  signal wire and to 12 volt power  and tail light wire instead of reverse lamp.