Shoestring camera control

[mickw]

Has anyone had a Shoestring DSUSB cable apart, or found a diagram for it ?  I can't bring myself to pay $70 + duty + VAT + royal mail charges (assuming it ever got here).

I've found this site and there appear to be variations of it - DSLR Focus one seems closest, but the operation needs to be the same as the Shoestring one so it would be compatible with programs such as Nebulosity
http://www.beskeen.com/projects/dslr_serial/dslr_serial.shtml

Any thoughts ?
Cheers

[Mac]

is it for a nikon or canon?

If its for a nikon then i built my one following this info http://www.schneordesign.com/Avi/F100/diy_01.htm

A word of warning though, for the nikon, you need to have the auto focus as well as the shutter control wired in.
otherwise it dosent work, even in manual focus!!
Took me ages to suss that out.
One other bit of info, the pins were incorrect, if you want the correct pin out then i'll let you know,

Total cost about £2 and its compatible with all of the camera control programs.

[mickw]

Sorry, should have said - it's for a Canon (camera, not DSC project  )

[Rocket Pooch]

if you laptop had a 9 pin serial i can make you one.

[MarkS]

Mick,

If you don't have a serial port then take Chris up on his offer and then buy one of these super-cheap USB-Serial adapters:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/USB-2-0-TO-RS232-SERIAL-DB9-9-PIN-ADAPTER-CABLE-PDA-GPS_W0QQitemZ370266362800QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL?hash=item56359853b0

Carole and I both have one and Carole says it also works on Vista laptop

You'll need to download the driver from the Chinese manufacturer (I can give you the URL) or, alternatively, buy a more expensive one that comes with the driver CD included.

Or, to save Chris work, buy one of these that John answered in an earlier question:
http://www.astronomiser.co.uk/300d.htm


Mark

[mickw]

Thanks for all that.

I don't have a serial port but I do have a serial-USB adapter and I've had it working driving the ETX 

Astronomiser is certainly cheaper than the shoestring version and in the UK, but at the moment I don't trust royal mail to deliver anything on time or to the right place 

Sooo Chris, yes please or steer me towards the schematic and I'll toddle off to Maplins 

Cheers

[MarkS]

The optoisolated version here is probably what you want:
http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/dslr/CanonRelease.html

Could probably be done as a UDSC project

[Simon E]

if you laptop had a 9 pin serial i can make you one.

Can u make me one for my Nikon, Tell me your fee and I will pay

si

[Tony G]

Could probably be done as a UDSC project

Great idea, I am now an expert with a blow-torch and some lead, and would love the challenge of sorting this out for you, as you did for me at the last UDSC.
Just give me one chance Mick, I won't let you down.

Tony G

[mickw]

Just give me one chance Mick, I won't let you down

Thanks Tony, you're my hero 

NO

[mickw]

Mark, I had another look at that site and it looks straightforward enough but I noticed it makes no mention of mirror lock-up, which is what I want to do (together with the long exposure).  Although I would imagine mirror shake wouldn't do much harm with exposures over 30 seconds ?
He does have a link to a russian bloke who was having issues with the shutter not closing.  He modified Covington's scheme adding a duplicate circuit which seems to close the shutter via a third wire to the Canon plug.  I believe this connetion is usually used to trigger focussing.
The Russians circuit looks the same as the DSLR Focus adapter, although using different value components and a 9 pin serial plug instead of 25 pin parallel.

[MarkS]

Yes, Canon uses one contact for focusing, the other for shutter control.

If you are doing long exposures then mirror lockup is definitely not required.  I only use mirror lockup for high magnification moon/planetary stuff.

Which Canon is it?  The 300D has no mirror lockup unless you install the "Russian Hack" - which works well.  The 350D has mirror lockup built in and so do the newer ones (I think).

Anyway, the way mirror lockup works is that the first pulse locks the mirror and the second pulse activates the shutter - no extra wiring is required but you program needs to understand this feature.

Mark

[MarkS]

Can u make me one for my Nikon

My Nikon (the D70) has no connector.  Long exposures can only be done using an IR remote. 

[Mac]

My Nikon (the D70) has no connector.  Long exposures can only be done using an IR remote

have a look at this page.
http://www.alanmacek.com/nikon/

Simple project.
Build the Serial output cable, and use the serial port to turn the remote pic on.

That way you can get the computer to controll the IR remote.
problem solved.

I'll order a small pic, IR led I've got some transistors and an oscilliscope, and i'll have a go at building you one.
i'll make it the same as my nikon one, 9pin one end and 9pin the other, so that you can build other adaptors..

[Ian]

I did once find instructions for opening an ML-L3 and using that. It looked pretty easy and the remotes are only about a tenner anyway. I'll have a look later and see if I can find the instructions...