Multi-camera Intervalometer

thebam44

« on: 04 / April / 2017, 14:27:32 »

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Hello,

I am quite new to the world of CHDK, so any information will be greatly appreciated. I am using four D30s to take images simultaneously on a 5sec interval. These cameras will be on a drone, and as such some of the other scripts I've seen require external input via a computer or user input. Conversely, the normal interval shooting scripts I've seen don't allow for precise image capture timing between the cameras, which is a must for my project.

Is there a way to connect them using USB cables and have a master camera to trigger the other cameras all at the same time?

Thank you very much!

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reyalp

13793

Re: Multi-camera Intervalometer

« Reply #1 on: 04 / April / 2017, 16:05:02 »

Quote from: thebam44 on 04 / April / 2017, 14:27:32

Is there a way to connect them using USB cables and have a master camera to trigger the other cameras all at the same time?

There is no direct way to have once camera act as master, because the camera doesn't have any controllable electrical outputs. The closest you could do would be something with one of the LEDs and a photo diode. At that point, you might might be better off making a circuit to control all the cameras. It could as simple as a timer, or use an arduino, or use an output from your flight computer if you have that option.

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thebam44

Re: Multi-camera Intervalometer

« Reply #2 on: 04 / April / 2017, 16:24:11 »

Hmm...Thank you for your input!

Do you know if there would be a way to start the intervalometer for all four cameras (input from me) so they could be at least really close? If not, I believe that the Arduino would be a possibility.

Thank you!

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reyalp

13793

Re: Multi-camera Intervalometer

« Reply #3 on: 04 / April / 2017, 17:29:48 »

Quote from: thebam44 on 04 / April / 2017, 16:24:11

Do you know if there would be a way to start the intervalometer for all four cameras (input from me) so they could be at least really close? If not, I believe that the Arduino would be a possibility.

How close is close?

You can use the USB remote (http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/USB_Remote) to start a script, or to trigger some action in a script. This can be built with just a +5V source and switch. In script you can detect this with an accuracy of a few tens of milliseconds. Getting that same level of synchronization in the actual shooting would take some work but should be possible, although the amount of long term drift would need to be tested.

If you use a purely external trigger (Arduino etc) you could probably use waterwingz already written KAP UAV script: https://chdk.setepontos.com/index.php?topic=10822.0
You might also be able to use this for start with the remote, but I'm not sure off hand what level of synchronization you'd get.

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