Camera Remote Control and Timelapse
by andyk75 in Circuits > Cameras
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Camera Remote Control and Timelapse
This instructable shows you how to built a remote control for your camera and use it for a timelapse recording.
The software works for different types of cameras: Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Minolta, Olympus, Sony or Pentax. They can all be transformed into timelapse cameras without even opening the housing!
And the best: it works for a few cent! No Arduinio needed, no need to hack external parts, I don't even need a housing.
The software works for different types of cameras: Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Minolta, Olympus, Sony or Pentax. They can all be transformed into timelapse cameras without even opening the housing!
And the best: it works for a few cent! No Arduinio needed, no need to hack external parts, I don't even need a housing.
What You Need
To built this device you need:
- some breadboard
- a cheap microcontroller (i.e. attiny85)
- an IR-LED, a normal LED and two resistors
- two pushbuttons
- a battery
Schematics
The schematic is quite easy. Only two inputs and two outputs.
I checked the resistor R1 to be 30 Ohm so that 40mA of current flows through the two LEDs. Depending on your LED you can use a smaller resistor or a larger one.
If you don't have, or don't want to use an IRLML2502 you can connect the LEDs like in the second picture shown.
Then you need to check the resistor to limit the current to below 20mA, as this is the maximum of what the microcontroller can deliver. In this case R1, R2 and R3, LED1 and 2 and the IRLML2502 are replaced by the second picture schematics.
Also R5 (10k) is optional, mine works well without, if yours doesn't: Try one.
If you don't want to reprogram the uC, then you can also omit the programming port. You have to program your uC in the programmer and then plug it in here.
I checked the resistor R1 to be 30 Ohm so that 40mA of current flows through the two LEDs. Depending on your LED you can use a smaller resistor or a larger one.
If you don't have, or don't want to use an IRLML2502 you can connect the LEDs like in the second picture shown.
Then you need to check the resistor to limit the current to below 20mA, as this is the maximum of what the microcontroller can deliver. In this case R1, R2 and R3, LED1 and 2 and the IRLML2502 are replaced by the second picture schematics.
Also R5 (10k) is optional, mine works well without, if yours doesn't: Try one.
If you don't want to reprogram the uC, then you can also omit the programming port. You have to program your uC in the programmer and then plug it in here.
Build the Board
with these few parts it is very easy to build the whole device on a breadboard.
You may want to try it on a solderless breadboard first, to test the resistor settings and other things and then finally built it on real breadboard.
The pictures shall give you an inspiration of how I did it.
You may want to try it on a solderless breadboard first, to test the resistor settings and other things and then finally built it on real breadboard.
The pictures shall give you an inspiration of how I did it.
The Software
Now you need the software to program to the attiny 85.
What the software does is the following:
Right after you apply some power to the device, the status-led flashes two times. Then it waits.
Now you can chose: if you press the timelapse button, you can increase the timelapse interval. For each button press, the interval is extended by 10s. But not more than 60s. This is because a lot of cameras have an auto-shutdown implemented and if there is no user action for 60s they will shut themselves down. Each press on the timelapse button is confirmed with a little flash of the status led.
When you press the trigger release button, the timelapse starts and at the end of each interval the IR-code will be sent out to trigger the shutter of the camera. Before starting, the status-led flashes as many times as the button-press was registered. And while waiting the led flashes each second. This shows you that you are in the timelapse mode.
But you can press the trigger release button at any time and the IR-code will be sent out. Once the trigger release button was pressed, there is no way of adjusting the timelapse any more! You have to disconnect the battery or install a reset button and start a new.
About the programming:
I now use a special one wire bootloader to programm my microcontrollers. You can find the documentation and the sourcecode here: AVR Bootloader FastBoot von Peter Dannegger
This has several advantages:
The bootloader has to be programmed once for each chip. Maybe I can make a tutorial on this if there are a lot of questions. But it was not my work, I just use it as it is and can only thank Mr. Dannegger for his work!
What the software does is the following:
Right after you apply some power to the device, the status-led flashes two times. Then it waits.
Now you can chose: if you press the timelapse button, you can increase the timelapse interval. For each button press, the interval is extended by 10s. But not more than 60s. This is because a lot of cameras have an auto-shutdown implemented and if there is no user action for 60s they will shut themselves down. Each press on the timelapse button is confirmed with a little flash of the status led.
When you press the trigger release button, the timelapse starts and at the end of each interval the IR-code will be sent out to trigger the shutter of the camera. Before starting, the status-led flashes as many times as the button-press was registered. And while waiting the led flashes each second. This shows you that you are in the timelapse mode.
But you can press the trigger release button at any time and the IR-code will be sent out. Once the trigger release button was pressed, there is no way of adjusting the timelapse any more! You have to disconnect the battery or install a reset button and start a new.
About the programming:
I now use a special one wire bootloader to programm my microcontrollers. You can find the documentation and the sourcecode here: AVR Bootloader FastBoot von Peter Dannegger
This has several advantages:
- you don't need a full 6 or 8-pin programming interface (socket, cables ...)
- it works very fast, sometimes even faster than the ISP.
- You can use nearly every pin of the uC for programming.
- You have more pins free for other jobs.
The bootloader has to be programmed once for each chip. Maybe I can make a tutorial on this if there are a lot of questions. But it was not my work, I just use it as it is and can only thank Mr. Dannegger for his work!
Downloads
Use It!
Check your camera manual how to enable the remote control and then just use it! The picture is a combination of five pictures taken from different distances from the camera. With a new battery my control works up to a distance of 10m.
I plan to use the timelapse feature on the next nightly thunderstorm. I only have to adjust the camera to use 8s of exposure time, close down the aperture to f4 and use the timelapse with 20s, because it takes another 8s to save the picture taken. And then I only have to wait. ;-)
You can use it for cloud evolution, for flower blooming up and many things more. It is only limited by the battery of your camera and the size of your storage card.
I plan to use the timelapse feature on the next nightly thunderstorm. I only have to adjust the camera to use 8s of exposure time, close down the aperture to f4 and use the timelapse with 20s, because it takes another 8s to save the picture taken. And then I only have to wait. ;-)
You can use it for cloud evolution, for flower blooming up and many things more. It is only limited by the battery of your camera and the size of your storage card.