limiting factors of CHDK for extended time-lapse

waterwingz

12138

« Reply #30 on: 04 / August / 2018, 18:00:04 »

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Quote from: Sdack on 04 / August / 2018, 17:50:42

The IXUS160 is the newest, reasonably priced and readily available camera I have managed to identify from the PID list.

That's what I've noticed too. But can you still buy an IXUS160 new? Or is it the refurb / ebay market now too?

Not looking to add to my hoard of 10+ Powershots - just curious.

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I have asked on the forum before for upgrade recommendations but people seem reluctant or perhaps too polite to offer any. There are so many cameras and, being a newbie to the Canon range, I've been confused and overwhelmed several times trying to find something better. I've also been a bit reluctant to chance the move to another CHDK port.

That's been the worsening CHDK struggle for many years now. There are only a few people still hanging around with CHDK porting experience, although the sig finder & codegen utilities have made the process a lot easier.

The advent of really good cameras in smartphones has pretty much killed the low and medium price P&S market. So we are gradually being moved to a world of high end $800 Powershots where many of the features that made CHDK unique for low end models are shipped standard (especially RAW).

Except scripting of course !

« Last Edit: 04 / August / 2018, 18:52:13 by waterwingz »

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Ported : A1200 SD940 G10 Powershot N G16

reyalp

14080

Re: limiting factors of CHDK for extended time-lapse

« Reply #31 on: 04 / August / 2018, 18:11:11 »

Quote from: waterwingz on 04 / August / 2018, 17:44:28

I'm pretty sure @reyalp was not suggesting disabling anything. He was just pointing out that power cycling the camera adds wear & tear on the mechanical components and motors.

Exactly. In the kind of usage these cameras are designed for, the camera might extend and retract the lens a few times a day on average.

Lens error is a common way for them to die, but it's not obvious whether repeated use in clean environment would be a problem, or whether dirt and rough handling is what makes them fail. So it's a worthwhile experiment

Some people have gotten cameras to work with stock lens hardware removed / disabled, but they didn't need the original zoom, focus and ND to continue working. It also generally involves some pretty extreme hardware modding.

To forestall the obvious question:
Shutting the camera off with the lens out does not solve the problem, because if it finds itself booting with the lens out, the first thing it does is retract it. This could perhaps be bypassed in software, but I would expect it does a lot of complicated initialization.

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reyalp

14080

Re: limiting factors of CHDK for extended time-lapse

« Reply #32 on: 04 / August / 2018, 18:13:22 »

Regarding similar, currently available cameras, the ixus175 / elph180 is now in the autobuild, and there is an ixus170 / elph170 port in svn which probably only needs minor work.

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Sdack

195

Re: limiting factors of CHDK for extended time-lapse

« Reply #33 on: 04 / August / 2018, 18:51:57 »

I think it is possible to still get new IXUS 160s but I have been picking them up on Gumtree for $60 - $80

I keep checking back to see if there's a final port for the newer IXUSs but it's the 'probably ready' part that make me hold off.

It's a shame that all the awesome work that's been achieved here can't be ported over to Android because smart phones come with so much goodness as well as the ever increasing quality of camera. The battery life, small form factor, mobile connectivity and processing power are awesome. The intervalometer and camera control part is so simple in comparison.

I am not disparaging this community and it's dedicated generous contributibutors. I guess I have reached a point where, through your help, I have proved that long term time lapse is a passion that I want to pursue to the next level. To go commercial with it.
And, for that to happen, I need very robust, solar powered rigs that won't overheat in my environment.

Cheers

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Sdack

195

Re: limiting factors of CHDK for extended time-lapse

« Reply #34 on: 04 / August / 2018, 20:00:23 »

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Still shooting with an IXUS160? From a quick look at the manual, it does not have a native sleep mode or shortcut key or OVF. So that limits the power saving options a bit.

I'm looking now at IXUS175s and wondering if it offers the native sleep mode, shortcut key or OVF (whatever that is).
I searched for OVF in the manual but couldn't find a reference. It has this to say on power saving modes

Can you suggest where I look to find out if there's more power / heat saving potential with the 175?

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reyalp

14080

Re: limiting factors of CHDK for extended time-lapse

« Reply #35 on: 04 / August / 2018, 20:26:37 »

Quote from: Sdack on 04 / August / 2018, 20:00:23

I'm looking now at IXUS175s and wondering if it offers the native sleep mode, shortcut key or OVF (whatever that is).

OVF = optical viewfinder. None of the modern, low end canon cams have them. I think the most recent OVF camera is the G16. Some much older ixus and A series cameras had them.

The ixus175 has the same power options as my elph130, I expect the same as ixus160 and other similar models in between. It doesn't have a sleep shortcut.

With a 60s interval, switching to playback between shots should be viable. It's not clear how much improvement it would be over the 10s display+sensor off, but it should be easy to try. The lens retract time can be set to 60s, so with the shooting overhead of a few seconds, it shouldn't be an issue.

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waterwingz

12138

Re: limiting factors of CHDK for extended time-lapse

« Reply #36 on: 04 / August / 2018, 20:32:21 »

OVF = optical viewfinder. The Powershots with OVF typically allowed you to turn the display fully off. This probably mattered more when CHDK was only able to turn off the backlight.

Sleep mode is mostly only available in the higher end G series.

I don't expect any of the current IXUS series Powershots to have significantly different power options or consumption.

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Ported : A1200 SD940 G10 Powershot N G16

Sdack

195

Re: limiting factors of CHDK for extended time-lapse

« Reply #37 on: 04 / August / 2018, 20:47:10 »

Thanks for the update guys,

I have an experiment running now

Arduino set to power up a camera for 30 seconds, then sleep for 30 seconds
KAP UAV script autorunning with a take one picture then shutdown the current cycle seems to be down to 21 seconds, compared to the other day when it was mid 20s

The Arduino amperage draw barely measures on the meter but when the camera's on I'm seeing .46 Amp at peak, during lens extension then settling back down to around 3.2 Amps

I will run it for an hour and see the Watt Hours, which I now realize my cheap USB tester can measure

Cheers

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waterwingz

12138

limiting factors of CHDK for extended time-lapse

« Reply #38 on: 04 / August / 2018, 21:21:12 »

I'm assuming you mean milliamps and not amps?

The kap script has some purposeful delays at startup to make sure everything is stable. Values were pulled out of thin air, it should be pretty easy to beat 20 seconds.

Edit : the attached simple script will take one shot and shutdown. Setup CHDK to autostart scripts on powerup in the Script menu. There are a couple of user configurable delays on start & stop if it does not work reliably for you. On my G16 with delays set to 0 I get a six second time from power button press to a full shut down. If you want to start your camera normally when the powerup option is enabled, press the shutter button before the script completes to abort it.

one_shot.lua (0.33 kB - downloaded 17 times.)

« Last Edit: 04 / August / 2018, 21:59:49 by waterwingz »

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Ported : A1200 SD940 G10 Powershot N G16

Sdack

195

Re: limiting factors of CHDK for extended time-lapse

« Reply #39 on: 04 / August / 2018, 21:44:37 »

D'oh.. 0.32 Amps or 320mA @ 5V I think

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