DIY Hacks & How To’s: Automatic Camera Shutter Switch

Photography & Video Technology
DIY Hacks & How To’s: Automatic Camera Shutter Switch
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There are a lot of times when you want to photograph something but you can’t be there with the camera. If you want to take aerial photographs with a pole or a kite, you need a way to control the camera without being up in the air yourself. In this project I demonstrate a variety of ways that you can remotely or automatically control a camera.

If your camera has a shutter switch terminal, then you can directly control the focus and shutter with an external circuit such as a microcontroller. If your camera doesn’t have a shutter switch terminal, then you can either add connections to the shutter button or you can use a servo to press the button for you.

There are a lot of possible applications for an automatically controlled camera. You can make time lapse videos. You can set it up as part of a security system. You can set it up in a haunted house to get pictures of people getting scared by your automated special effects. Use your imagination.

Here is the build on MAKE: Projects and Instructables. The shutter switch terminals referenced in the video can be found here.

See all DIY Hacks & How To videos here.

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My name is Jason Poel Smith. I have an undergraduate degree in Engineering that is 50% Mechanical Engineering and 50% Electrical Engineering. I have worked in a variety of industries from hydraulic aerial lifts to aircraft tooling. I currently spend most of my time chasing around my new baby. In my spare time I make the how-to series "DIY Hacks and How Tos."

View more articles by Jason Poel Smith

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