Shutter Success
/Well, all it took was a bigger servo and a battery pack. I’ve now got a computer controlled shutter. Now all I need to do is build the box, add the controls and find a two foot long cable release that works….
Levelled Up Servo
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I really, really want to be able to control the shutter on my Polaroid camera. So I’m in the process of building an actuator which will push the plunger on the cable release. Version 1 was a bust. Almost literally. The shutter button on the camera hardly moved while the servo made some very unhappy noises.
You can see version 2 above. Considerably more beefy. This servo actually contains metal gears. I’ve done a quick test and it seems to work, which is nice. Next thing is to build a cable release holder and attach it to the actuator.
If you want to see it in action, sign up for DD North and come along to my session.
Remote Camera Control Fun at DDD North 2025
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It would be lovely if it worked…
I want to take pictures of folks at my DDD North Session next month. And not just with any camera. I want to use my “self-fogging” Polaroid Camera. You’ll find out how to build your own if you come along. Snag is I don’t want to have to press the shutter button myself. I mean I could, but I really want to control the camera for a brief timed exposure (around half a second or so) for each shot and I’d love them all to be totally consistent.
I found a design for a remote controlled camera release which looked like a good starting point so last night I printed out the actuator and today I printed the box. I then put it all together, connected a microcontroller and fired it up.
It doesn’t work. Not a problem with the device itself, it can trigger the shutter on a lot of my cameras. But not on my “self-fogger”. The shutter on early Polaroid cameras is cocked as you press it. This makes the mechanism simpler and less prone to wear, but it means that you have to work quite hard to push the button down. Something which my little 9gm servo is just not equal to. So I’ve switched to a much beefier servo. We’ll see how it goes.
If you want to find out out how it all turns out, and maybe even get a ready fogged snap of yourself, make sure to sign up for DDD North on the 22nd February and come along to my session.
