Why don't nerds take apart their cameras? - General Chat - CHDK Forum

Why don't nerds take apart their cameras?

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Why don't nerds take apart their cameras?
« on: 03 / December / 2008, 09:12:43 »
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Most electronics are barely for sale before there are disassembly pics online. no matter the price or the complexity of the item.

why not with cameras as well?

i found that the canon a5x0 line had terribly convenient soldering pads near the power switch. its like they wanted me to hack it. the a650 does not. its going to take a lot more disassembly to find good soldering spots to achieve the same result.

arg!

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Offline zeno

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Re: Why don't nerds take apart their cameras?
« Reply #1 on: 03 / December / 2008, 09:47:34 »
There are some disassembly pics online Matt. For example, here's some for the A650 Random Bits of Usefulness: May 2008
I used these when taking my A570 apart after I dropped it into a river (kite collapsed when camera rig was 50 feet up).

The main problem with cameras is that there are many very small parts crammed into a small space. Coupled with the use of slightly different screws makes documenting the dis-assembly hard (and re-assembly error-prone).
A570, S100, Ixus 127
Author of ASSIST, STICK, WASP, ACID, SDMInst, LICKS, WICKS, MacBoot, UBDB, CFGEdit

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Offline waldo

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Re: Why don't nerds take apart their cameras?
« Reply #2 on: 03 / December / 2008, 12:40:31 »
I used to routinely take apart my cameras to solder wires across the shutter switch for remote control.  Now with CHDK, I don't need to.

BTW, Canon SD-series cameras are actually very well designed from the standpoint of disassembly - much better than an Optio I took apart once.

Re: Why don't nerds take apart their cameras?
« Reply #3 on: 03 / December / 2008, 13:11:12 »
pictures and info here:

Photos of insides of TX-1

george

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Offline wontolla

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Re: Why don't nerds take apart their cameras?
« Reply #5 on: 03 / December / 2008, 20:05:39 »
many thanks!

i'm trying to get ahold of the a650 disassembly guy in hopes that he can give me further guidance. right now i'm not sure if i'll be able to solder wires to control the power button or if i'll need to use something physical like a solenoid.

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Offline wontolla

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Re: Why don't nerds take apart their cameras?
« Reply #6 on: 03 / December / 2008, 20:34:49 »
Are you aware that you can trigger the shutter with a USB cable remote instead of hardware-hacking the camera?

Just to check, perhaps I am rescuing a defenceless camera of being disembowelled.

On the other hand, if you are the electronic-butcher kinda guy, be my guest!

Re: Why don't nerds take apart their cameras?
« Reply #7 on: 04 / December / 2008, 00:15:46 »
I certainly am! i'm already pressing the shutter through the script.

this is for those awful moments when something goes awry and you need to restart the camera.

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databoy

Re: Why don't nerds take apart their cameras?
« Reply #8 on: 04 / December / 2008, 10:37:33 »
Occasionally I still read the forum.

This has to be the funniest post I have read for a long time.

NERDS I love them.

I was an original technology nerd when most of you guys were still eggs in your mother's womb. I have worked with nerds all my life. There are NERDS and there are nerds. I wire wrapped my first computer CPU board and used hex code to read the cassette interface to load the program.

PROFESSIONAL NERDS take apart new release equipment, review it and get paid good serious money for the privilege. Pretend nerds just like to talk about the experience on forums.

Relax, enjoy using your camera. You do not need any extra wiring. You camera will never crash - it does not contain WINDOWS.


 

Re: Why don't nerds take apart their cameras?
« Reply #9 on: 04 / December / 2008, 10:46:26 »
databoy - I am so grateful! You've solved my problem! Apparently I was just being a silly nerd!

File transfer relies on an eye-fi card which i have not found to be completely reliable. however, it works perfectly fine after restarting the camera.

hitting the power button is necessary.

 

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