6-v Push Solenoid

This is about the best I could quickly find, but this site has many more.

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=9399369&PMT4NO=40689714

You should also look through speciality photo catalogs, they may have something special built for this, perhaps even wireless.

Jewell Instruments C4 series will probably work. You can find the data sheet here.

KGS sells tubular push solenoids. The PH series are built so you could also manually push the shutter button without having to remove the solenoid rig from the camera. Here's their datasheet (zipped).

PS, if you get this to work, let me know. My wife is a photographer, and she'd love it!

Tony

Because of the limited amount of travel needed for a digital camera....

AND the fact that most digital cameras need a short time before the shutter is operated to adjust the focus etc...

Why not consider the old fashioned idea of using a bellows to operate the shutter release with a small air line to a ball pump in your hand...

Then you can be infront of the camera and pump carefully until you hear the beep indicating the focus / time has been set and then complete the picture with a small extra pump!!

I know with my digital camera if you smack the button down quickly the focus doesn't have time to adjust and the picture usually comes out worse than a mobile phone camera!!

Also with a pneumatic action there would not need to be any fixing, it could be attached to the camera using a G clamp arrangement that could be easily and quickly removed...

John.

why not use the inbuilt self timer that can be adjusted for delayed exposure?

vshwn7@aol.com

To be able to pre-focus the your digital camera prior to firing the shutter, I suggest you consider using a cam mechanism attached to a small drive motor.

I'd post a crude drawing of how a cam drive might be employed to operate the pre-focus and shutter release, but can't seem to figure out how to attach a drawing. Perhaps someone can help? Thanks!

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Hmmmm, sounds simple enough, but I haven't seen the camera icon anywhere, except in your post. Does it matter that I am using a Mac instead of a PC?

Thanks for the information.

What I'm doing is connecting a small (1-1/2") TV to the video out and putting the camera on the end of long pole. The remote will let me take photos from a physically inaccessible viewpoint or stand in a safe location and take a photo from an unsafe one.

So, the camera you are using is a digital VIDEO camera?

No, it's a point and shoot Fuji S3000. It's my "everyday" camera, for when I don't want the extra effort of carrying the DSLR. It just happens to have a "Video Out" connection.

So its still going to need a delay for the auto focus to operate...

I don't think a solenoid smacking the button is a good idea, either for the auto-focus or for the effect of jerking the camera by the force (maybe?)

John.

The following link will lead to a picture of my suggestion to use the apparatus to pre-focus and release the shutter on a digital camera. http://www.flickr.com/photos/iskeeter/

Ahhhh they say a picture is worth a kilo-word!!

That would do the job... not sure about how expensive he wants to go though..?

John.

I think this is a worthy project for the OP and me. I have a tiny, slow rpm, dc gearmotor around here somewhere, that I have used to turn fly rods while the thread epoxy is drying. It wouldn't take but a little time to build the shutter release device, once I find the motor, but if I can't, then other cheap options are available with a little searching... I like the following gearmotor, due to its having an easy reverse by changing polarity. Don't have to wait for a cam to fully cycle. http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G16619

After reading your comments, I'm rethinking my system. How about a rotary solenoid and a cam? Another alternative is to look for a l-o-n-g manual cable release. I've seen pneumatic ones that could do the job.

Sorry, forgot to Login. The above comment is from me.

Harry

Harry, I mentioned the pneumatic ones earlier...

Whatever you choose to do you really must have a delay so that the camera can auto-focus...

John.

Harry,

Will your camera be stationary, or do you wish to rotate it at the remote location?

I will he holding a pole, 10-12 ft long. The camera will be at the top. I'll be watching the TV to get the camera in position. If I have to make 5-10 tries to get a good shot, that's OK. Each image is free, unlike film.

Greetings, Harry,

You might use a section of 10' electrical conduit on which to mount the camera. Then, use a piece of stiff wire, like clothes line wire, to run inside the conduit to operate the pre-focus and shutter release button, via a lever between the wire and button. Pushing on the wire at the bottom of the pole would trip the shutter.

Here's the url for the photo site to get to a new design suggestion. When you get to the photo, just click on it for a larger version.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iskeeter/#photo2388608735

Another thought on triggering the camera would be to switch the fulcrum and conduit in my last drawing, and use an cord instead of wire to pull the lever onto the shutter release. That might be easier to fabricate, and it allows for simple manipulation at the bottom end of the pole.

The motor idea is a good idea, but I think it would be difficult to tool it up.

I have used RC hobby servos to press buttons remotely. I suggest the "return to zero" type that reposition themselves back to their initial point when you let go of the stick. A simple momentary button could be used as your trigger. As long as you hold down the button, the servo would be holding down the shutter button. I like this because the remote button could easily be made with the action of a shutter button.

phyd man

Hi

I'm actually building a solenoid-shutter-pusher right now, which is how I found this thread.

Guardian electric makes a line of very small push-type solenoids. Some of these can be Pulse-width modulated to vary the amount of stroke in the solenoid, thus solving the focus problem.

For the OP, you may not realize this, but you are smack dab in the middle of solenoid heaven. Placed like Dayton have lots of electromechanical companies. There is also a MASSIVE surplus place in Dayton called Mendelsohn's. Just Google "Mendelson's surplus". They will have the solenoid you want.

Also, you might just find it much easier to open the camera and attach two wires to the shutter button. If you place a diode across these wires, it will trigger the shutter in one direction. That gives you the polarity, which can be transposed to a transitor driver circuit, or an optoisolator if you want to have true electrical isolation.

D