Cheap interval photography? 1

[Niclas]

I need to trigger a camera at a remote location once every 24 hrs to collect images for a stream restoration project in northern Sweden. Can this be done using a very inexpensive camera by connecting it to an alarm clock or a timer? It will be left in the field unattended (but hidden in a bird house) for several weeks so I don't want to use expensive equipment. Any tech geeks out there who might be able to offer some advice?

 

[buzzp]

A timer would certainly work if you can figure out where to hook to your camera, assuming it does not have a feature to allow the shutter to open other than the button on the camera. I can't help you with the camera end but look for a cycle timer. There are many, many companies that make the cheap 2" x 2" timers. Do a web search and you will find many or check Thomas Register (online).

 

[OperaHouse]

A MC14541 timer chip should be able to do that if it doesn't have to be that accurate. The RC oscilator can be set with a frequency counter and the rest is just a numerical countdown. Drive the solenoid with a capacitor that charges over night. I'd do it with a little 8 pin Microchip controller, the fewer parts I have to hook up the beter.

 

[Skogsgurra]

Hi Niclas,

I'm going to "Northern Sweden" (Pitea) next week. Where are you?

And it will be Kiruna third week next year. I can probably hook something up for you - but it will cost you a lunch ;-)

 

[btrueblood]

If it's a digital camera, and you don't mind hacking it up a bit, you should be able to pry off the shutter button, to expose it's connected switch elements. Solder appropriate circuitry/wiring (per above) to the switch, and voila. See latest edition of Popular Science.

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how2/article/0,20967,783958,00.html

 

[gouveia]

See what this guy did with a cheap camera and a LM555 Precision Timer. Sounds like a similar application.

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1757766119821744/

Regards, Mark

 

[Higgler]

This might work,
The digital video camcorder $600 US
JVC GR-DVM70U Digital Cybercam Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode has the following feature:

"A time-lapse capability allows you to record at preset intervals to catch slow motion action such as plant growth or cloud movement"

See pricegrabber.com quote

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=259566/search=JVC%20GR-DVM70U%20

kch

 

[Niclas]

Hi again and thank you all for your suggestions! I have seen Phillip Torrone's description of a hacked digital camera and I think it seems promising. However, the timer he uses (555) seems a bit inaccurate for my long exposure intervals, and if you want the shots to be taken at noon each day you also have to start up the camera at that time. I was hoping to combine a digital camera with a small digital travel alarm clock. This way I could easily program the daily exposure time and start up the system at any time of the day. I don't know how difficult this would be since I am not very familiar with electronics, but that's where guys like you come in! Is this a way forward or not?

To keep the costs down I would probably, like Phillip Torrone, use an old second-hand digital camera. The $600 videocam solution is way over my budget and nothing I would like to leave in the forest unattended for weeks.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Skogsgurra]

Do you need more than 36 pictures? Then you probably need a digital camera. If not - or if you can visit the camera to change film every fifth week - then an old 24x36 mm "analog" camera will do.

The batteries in a digital camera will surely not last very long, but they will in an old analog one. The trigger probably (surely) will need to be mechanical, but that's fairly easy to arrange with a small motor and a gear that turns a cam to press the trigger.

Motor starts from your alarm clock. You need to tap the loudspeaker signal and rectify/smooth it before having it control a transistor that starts the motor. There should be a way of preventing more than one exposure each time and perhaps some other minor additions to the functionality.

I think that any nerd in your neighbourhood can do this for you. You might even try it yourself

 

[Niclas]

Hello Skogsgurra and good to hear that you are visiting Norrland soon! I am working as a hydrologist at Umea university, but I am doing research on both the Pite and Vindel rivers. Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot of field work going on during the winter season so I don't travel to Pitea very often (in order to buy you a lunch). You can read more about the research I am involved in here:

http://www.eg.umu.se/river/projekt/EVPstarteng.html

I like your suggestion of using an analog 35 mm camera (with motor winding) instead of a digital camera. Film cameras are very cheap at the moment and represent a good option since I won't need to store more than 30-35 pictures (representing about a month in time). In addition, the batteries may last longer in a 35 mm camera.

The question is then how to hack an alarm clock and replace the speaker with a servo motor that presses the shutter button on the camera. Alternatively, the shutter may be activated electronically depending on camera type. It may also be necessary to shut down the camera between shots to save power, but this would also depend on the camera type. I guess I'll have to call a camera store soon and find a suitable model for the experiment.

Can anyone recommend a tech geek / nerd in Sweden who might be willing to explore this idea in practice? I am not so familiar with this community.

 

[ScottyUK]

Niclas,

Many of the older SLR's have a facility for a remote bowden cable actuator which tend to be used if the camera is mounted on a tripod. It should be quite easy to arrange either a solenoid, or maybe a motor and cam arrangement, to operate the plunger on this type of actuator. You would probably need a small (~2 AH) VRLA or lithium battery to provide the power source.



----------------------------------

If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!

 

[Skogsgurra]

I probably go by car to Kiruna. I am willing to stop over in Umea for that lunch. Big Grin.

Let's see if I can fix that function for you. You supply camera and alarm clock. I put on my nerd cap and see what happens.

 

[Niclas]

Yes, I'm willing to give away a free lunch in Umea in exchange for an ingenious solution to my problem!

I'll start looking for a camera that can be activated electronically (to keep mechanics out of the equation). It will be important to develop a cheap and simple solution since I plan to build about a dozen of these and monitor many research sites simultaneously. You can find my contact information at the Umea university/EVP website posted earlier. /N

 

[ijl]

Just to be sure, is the automatic operation of the shutter your main problem? It tends to be cold, with lots of snow in northern Sweden at this time of the year Your bird-house should perhaps have an automatic door to keep the snow, frost and condensate out of the camera, especially the lens. Some heating would also be nice to have. Ask the local police. They should have the know-how, because of the cameras that have been installed to automatically photograph speeders

 

[jraef]

Don't forget that a film camera will not work unless it has a motorized winder!

There are several digital cameras available that have remote shutter options, and those are always just some sort of a digital input that can be converted to a contact closure. ijl has a very good point about cold though, most electronic devices have limited tolerance to condensation and freezing. You may need a substantial battery supply to keep it warm over a long period of time, but a cheap solar array may help (unless you are so far north that you get no sun this time of year!).

Here is a link to a motion operated digital camera scheme using a canon cheap-o camera that has a remote shutter input capability. Just substitue a battery operated time clock for the motion detector and you are off and clicking!

http://www.jesseshuntingpage.com/site/homebrew-cams.html

"Venditori de oleum-vipera non vigere excordis populi"

 

[skiier]

If I leave my digital camera "switch" in the "on" position and remove the batteries it turns the camera off. When I put the batteries back in it turns the camera back on. Does your camera do this?
If so you could easily set up a digital camera to take pictures as you want.
The simplest setup would be a camera that didn't have a lense that popped out on powerup - although this would help in keeping the lense clean. In cold temps the camera motor may have trouble starting - I have experienced this at home in Canada.
A bit of electronics and you could hack the camera to work for you. "Break" into the battery connections and use some extra batterys in parallel to give a bigger more reliable supply. Battery power drops with temperature- the extra batterys ensure it works. A little breadboard, a timer chip, a cap and a resitor and your off to the races. Well a little more than that I guess - but you get the idea.
Set a clock in the circuitry to power up the camera - the camera already being set in the "auto" mode or whatever setting you want. Wait a few seconds after powering up
and then snap a picture via the hacked camera shutter button. Then via another timer turn the whole thing off again. Simple concept huh?
It's actually all pretty simple if you are familiar with electronics. This could be put together very quickly.
A solar charger could be used as well, but this may be a problem in Sweden with the long dark winters.
A standard 3.2MB pixel camera with a 1GB card could take a lot of pictures of that stream project - say about 700 pictures if you wanted - and not one moving part to jam or mess up.
Sounds like a good project. Now you have me thinking.
good luck

skiier

 

[skiier]

I guess my previous reply was pretty simplistic. The problems of temperature and condensation cannot be overlooked. Condensation being the absolute killer. I think that if you leave something outside for an extended period of time one must ensure that it stays ABSOLUTELY dry. The temperature problem can be easily rectified. I think. The box that you put your camera in must have a very strong seal to ensure that moisture doesn't get at the cicuirty. Almost like some sort of Lexan/Plexiglass arrangement. Although this may distort/degrade the quality of the photo you get if the lense is pointed through the Lexan/Plexiglass.
Can your bird house do this? Here it is -20C tonite. I am going to see if my camera even works if I leave it in the car overnite.

 

[jraef]

I doubt if you can possible seal an enclosure tight enough to prevent all internal condensation, but you may be able to store a sufficient quantity of a dessicant in a sealed enclosure so that it will keep moisture away in between visits.

"Venditori de oleum-vipera non vigere excordis populi"