Controlling 350D from Laptop

iceman (Mike) · #1 30-09-2007, 11:48 AM

Hi

I've got a cable (courtesy RB, thanks!) which goes from the serial port to the side of my 350D, to allow me to control the camera using software like ImagesPlus, DSLRFocus etc.

I finally tried it today, but nothing is happening.

I'm using ImagesPlus Camera Control, and no camera appears in the list, and when I press "Connect" it comes up with an error.

Is there any settings I need to set in the camera?
Do I need to set anything on the laptop (Windows XP)?
Do I need to enable the serial port somehow? (I doubt i've used the serial port on this laptop before).

When I go into Device Manager->Ports, serial isn't listed (just shows COM1 and LPT). I did "Scan for Hardware Changes", and the red light on this box thing RB made flashes, but nothing new appears.
Is COM1 the serial port? Should Flow Control be set to anything?

Is there a sequence of events I need to do, in terms of turning camera on, plugging cable in, starting software?

Any help is appreciated!

iceman (Mike) · #2 30-09-2007, 11:52 AM

The ImagesPlus help says that:

Quote:

Note: Connecting to a Canon DSLR using the Connect button on the Connect tab and
camera USB cable enables the Connect, Settings, Custom Setting, Focus, Capture, and
Transfer tabs but not the Bulb Capture tab.
The Bulb Capture tab requires

So do I need the USB cable instead?

rogerg (Roger) · #3 30-09-2007, 11:57 AM

COM1 is the serial port you want. Default settings of flow control etc should be fine. Normally for DSLRFocus I:

1) power up PC and open DSLRFocus
2) turn on camera
3) PC detects the camera with usual canon software - close that
4) go in to DSLRFOcus and connect

then it's all ready to go ... until the battery gets low on the 350D (before the indicator says it's low... can be a bit problematic).

JohnG (John) · #4 30-09-2007, 12:04 PM

Hi Mike

You don't say that you have both cables plugged in. You need them both plugged in otherwise the software will not pick the camera up.

Cheers

RB (Andrew) · #5 30-09-2007, 12:14 PM

Yes you need both cables connected to the camera.

I sometimes use it without the USB and just adjust the ISO etc manually.
Just connect the serial cable to a com port.

Go to:

Camera Control | Bulb Exposure Setup | Port setup

In the serial setup select your com port, set it to RTS and press Test Port.
The LED should blink and the shutter should activate (camera in Bulb mode)

Now you're ready to use it manually.
Go to:

Image Capture | Long exposure TAB | then setup your times or do a manual press and release sequence.

Just ignore the "no camera connected" warning.

But to fully utilize the features connect the USB too.

iceman (Mike) · #6 30-09-2007, 12:36 PM

Are those instructions for DSLRFocus? I don't have that.

I'm trying to use ImagesPlus.

iceman (Mike) · #7 30-09-2007, 12:41 PM

It can see it's a 350D, but when I click connect it says "Not supported" and then "Could not lock camera UI for operation. Is the LCD display on or camera busy?"

Then it says "RAW + Jpeg image quality not supported. Select RAW or Jpeg". But I do have it set as RAW.

And the LCD for the camera is showing the "Busy" flashing. Should it be doing this?

JohnG (John) · #8 30-09-2007, 12:45 PM

Did you clear the port by pressing the Refresh tab and are you using the ED camera control for newer Canon models.

Cheers

iceman (Mike) · #9 30-09-2007, 12:45 PM

It knows what camera it is, the battery level, firmware version etc, but once I click past those errors it disappears and all the other tabs have their buttons greyed out again.

iceman (Mike) · #10 30-09-2007, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnG

Did you clear the port by pressing the Refresh tab and are you using the ED camera control for newer Canon models.

Cheers

Yes, I'm using the "ED camera control for newer Canon models".
The refresh buttons are greyed out.

JohnG (John) · #11 30-09-2007, 12:48 PM

Hmmm, I will connect my camera up and try and see what you are doing.

Cheers

iceman (Mike) · #12 30-09-2007, 12:51 PM

The only other thing I can think of, is that the cable RB made isn't quite right? Is it any different between a 300D and a 350D?

JohnG (John) · #13 30-09-2007, 12:55 PM

Not that I am aware of, I use a Shoestring Astronomy DSUSB connection with my 350D.

iceman (Mike) · #14 30-09-2007, 12:55 PM

The USB cable is all that's required for most of the controls, isn't it?

JohnG (John) · #15 30-09-2007, 12:59 PM

Take the long exposure cable out, then try to connect with only the normal USB cable, if it connects OK then the problem is in that cable.

JohnG (John) · #16 30-09-2007, 01:07 PM

With your long exposure cable, in the Bulb Capture tab, down the bottom is a drop down tab called Control Type, have you changed that to one of the Parallel Ports.

iceman (Mike) · #17 30-09-2007, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnG

With your long exposure cable, in the Bulb Capture tab, down the bottom is a drop down tab called Control Type, have you changed that to one of the Parallel Ports.

I changed that to COM1 - the serial port that my cable is in. That's right, isn't it?

I selected 350D from the other drop down and could configure the exposures, but when I clicked "release", it just didn't do anything on the camera.

iceman (Mike) · #18 30-09-2007, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnG

Take the long exposure cable out, then try to connect with only the normal USB cable, if it connects OK then the problem is in that cable.

I tried without the long exposure cable (using just the USB), and I get the same errors when I click connect.

The camera still flashes "Busy" - is that normal?

JohnG (John) · #19 30-09-2007, 01:21 PM

Sorry, I thought it was a parallal cable, if your laptop dosen't have a proper serial port, you may have to go looking for it, from memory it is usually up around Com 5 or so.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceman

I changed that to COM1 - the serial port that my cable is in. That's right, isn't it?

I selected 350D from the other drop down and could configure the exposures, but when I clicked "release", it just didn't do anything on the camera.

JohnG (John) · #20 30-09-2007, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceman

I tried without the long exposure cable (using just the USB), and I get the same errors when I click connect.

The camera still flashes "Busy" - is that normal?

Odd, I will go through my connection sequence.

Plug in the USB cable, turn the camera on and wait until the EOS Utility appears, shut it down.

Open ImagesPlus, open the camera control, select ED Camera Control.

Hit connect, then Refresh.

Camera connected.