Am I in the right way

Nexus8

2

« on: 25 / October / 2013, 18:53:53 »

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Hi,

I just found out about CHDK and I want to ask you guys if I can accomplish some specific goals that are going through my head.

First, mine is a battery powered wildlife photography project, I plan to use several hidden cameras which I'll not be able to check on a daily basis. So the question is: Is it possible for me to make my cameras turn on with an Arduino and then the CHDK would run one script to set all exposure parameters and take a photo? Of course, the Arduino would turn off the camera after each shot.

I have experience with programming, not exactly Lua or uBasic, but I can work it out. I just want to know if it is worth it to go with CHDK to make a reality my ideas.

Thanks
Nexus8

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waterwingz

12138

Re: Am I in the right way

« Reply #1 on: 25 / October / 2013, 19:00:28 »

Assuming you can get the Arduino to handle the power up / power down part, then having CHDK handle the setup and shooting is easy. All it takes is a little script and setting the CHDK menu script Autostart to [ * ].

In fact, CHDK can even shut the camera off when its done shooting.

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Ported : A1200 SD940 G10 Powershot N G16

Nexus8

2

Re: Am I in the right way

« Reply #2 on: 25 / October / 2013, 19:28:52 »

Hey! Thanks for the quick answer.

I'm starting this project as soon as possible. I'm choosing the cameras based on the CHDK compatibility list. Just one more thing, I can measure the ambient light with my Arduino easily and I was wondering if it's possible to send this information through a serial link to the camera. I want my script to set exposure parameters based on this information. Am I wrong?

Thanks,
Nexus8

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waterwingz

12138

Re: Am I in the right way

« Reply #3 on: 25 / October / 2013, 20:10:24 »

Quote from: Nexus8 on 25 / October / 2013, 19:28:52

Just one more thing, I can measure the ambient light with my Arduino easily and I was wondering if it's possible to send this information through a serial link to the camera. I want my script to set exposure parameters based on this information. Am I wrong?

Why not let the camera set the exposure itself ? Or have CHDK do it? Do you have a way to measure a calibrated ambient light level with the Arduino?

Also, sending data from the Arduino to the camera is not easy unless you have an Arduino that is capable of being a USB host.

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Ported : A1200 SD940 G10 Powershot N G16