Computer control for Canon 400D?

[Astroman]

Anyone used the circuit below for control of the Canon 400D?

http://www.beskeen.com/projects/dslr_serial/dslr_serial.shtml

[RB]

I've built and used it on the 300D and 20Da, works very well.
I don't see why it wouldn't work on the 400D.

[Shawn]

I built the Opto,isolated one with the two LEDS "very fiddly" best reading glasses stuff.. cant damage the camera with that one and it works very well with 350, the 400 apparently is no different here, so I cant see why it shouldnt work, .

S

[RB]

The bi-led's give instant feedback as to the state of the device and whether it's receiving the signals, well worth it, but yes it's a bit fiddly.

[Astroman]

Any idea on the source for the biLED, I can only find the three legged variety..

[Astroman]

with the two LED's did you just have one reversed?

[RB]

Got mine at jaycar, can't remember if they were 2 or 3 pin.
I'll get back to you on that.

[Astroman]

found them from Jaycar CAT. NO. ZD0248

[Astroman]

just to bug you guys some more, what opto coupler did you use?

[mnm]

I would follow the recomendation below the picture to not connect the grounds between the serial cable and the camera.

As for the opto, you can get the 4n25 from Dick Smith for $1.40.

Martin

[Astroman]

Yep good point, keep them as isolated as possible, less chance of making a paperweight..

[mnm]

I built the opto version yesterday and tried it on the 400d last night and it worked perfectly with DSLR Shutter.

I used the 4n25 opto and a Jaycar LED.

I also omited the ground connection between the serial port and the camera so they are properly isolated.

Martin

[Astroman]

Thanks Martin for the confidence booster. Glad it worked, I will go ahead and make mine now...

[g__day]

I mentioned to my brother yesterday that the USB connection doesn't expose control of the Bulb function itself. He was quite surprised by this - he works for Canon Research (as opposed to Canon Australia), so he was going to pass on some suggestions to the team developing the 400D and other DSLRs.

I thought if there are folk with specific requests or ideas it would be great to pass on some wishes of the astronomy community back directly to Canon Research - we might get some improvements earlier!

[Astroman]

There should be FULL functon of the camera via the computer aswell as the bulb function added to their camera utility, to allow precise control over the exposure in short exposures <30sec aswell as long exposures >30s. Also the ability to save the picture onto the hard drive at the same time. As well as a counting timer to show on the laptop how long the exposure would be going for. Just a few items :) Could this be done to the current software so it could be used on the 400D?

[Astroman]

made my adapter up tonight, works extremely well a couple of things I noticed, I put the LED in the wrong way so neutral operation is red and exposing is green, never mind as long as it works. When you have to reset your computer make sure the camera is turned OFF. watching the shutter open and close while the USB adapter kicks in isn't something I would want to see happen everytime. other than that I am really happy with it. Cant wait to try it out properly.

[mnm]

I did exactly the same thing with mine. I figure that it is green for go (shutter open), red when it is stopped (shutter closed). :D

I hope to get out this weekend and give mine a go, along with the solar filter I have just put together.

Martin

[ballaratdragons]

Yep, how about they design a method of plugging a cable into a DSLR and getting the image of the little Viewscreen onto a lappy screen. It would make focusing a dream come true. :thumbsup:

[g__day]

Now that is one clever idea! I've already passed the other suggestions on, so I'll forward that one too tonight!