HOW-TO: Take digital photos from a kite--Part 2, the kite and the pictures
posted Sep 21st 2004 2:00PM
This week's How-To Tuesday is the second part of our series on taking digital photos from a kite; last week we showed you how to convert that old digital camera you're got in your closet to one that takes a picture automatically every second until the memory card is full, which will we use in this week's How-To, where we'll put that camera on a kite. There are many other applications once you hack a digital camera to take a shot a second, and we'll also go over those in future How-Tos, for example we've mounted one to a car with a GPS and next week we'll show you how our house pets are now taking photos on their own as well.
Before we get started, let's recap how we hacked our camera to automatically take pictures.
A couple years ago we bought an Olympus "Camedia" D-360L 1.3 Megapixel digital camera which took "okay" pictures and
used that goofy SmartMedia format. At the time it was a good camera, but eventually we moved on and it's been sitting
in the basement waiting for a project, dreaming of the day it'll fly, fly away like a bird.
There's been a lot of interest in taking digital photos from kites over the last few years, but all the articles we've
seen involve really complicated gear and remote controls, most being very expensive—all we want to do is take as many
photos as we possibly can until the battery dies or the card is full. Most importantly, we wanted to do this on the
cheap since there's a good chance the camera will get smashed. We checked eBay and places like Fry's Electronics and
found a lot of crappy digital cameras that people will be able to use to take photos from kites. The project shouldn't
cost more than $30 for the camera and the parts.
Ingredients
1 digital camera that will be hacked apart
RadioShack 1 LM555
Precision Timer - 8 Pin DIP
Wires, solder, hot glue
Many cameras will work with this hack, but we realize digital cameras are different—so this week we're going to show
you the theory behind our digital camera automation, and next week we'll show you how to string it up to a kite. As we
get feedback from the folks trying this at home, we'll add more ways to automate the digital camera hack.
The Camera
Our soon to be airborne camera is an Olympus D-360L. A little bulky for kite pictures, but a good experimenter camera
to get started.
Only 4 screws held the camera together, and quickly the camera face and back plate were off—this is another reason that old digital camera is good for hacks.
We located the shutter mechanism and popped the button off. Under the button there are 4 contacts, one was labeled "shutter" and that was the one we were after.
We then found positive and negative leads coming from the batteries (red and black). We're going to tap in to these and power our timer chip. To do this we simply soldered two wires directly from the leads.
We also soldered a wire directly to the lead that says "shutter" this is what triggers the camera when the black wire (negative) it applied to it. If you're testing your own camera this is a good way to test how the camera takes photos, once you figured that out, solder the wire from that button/lead.
For kicks we tested how many volts were going through, just to see what's flowing through there (it was 5.98v) which
makes sense since the camera takes four 1.5v AA batteries.
The Timer Chip
The LM555 Precision Timer (8 Pin DIP) is available for $1.49 or less at every RadioShack we've ever been in.
This chips allows us to simulate the button being pressed continually once we wire the power from the camera through it and then in to the shutter.
Once you get the chip, you can solder it up according to our diagram below or you can use a breadboard to test. A
breadboard (also
available at RadioShack) will allow you to test wiring and the chip before you commit to soldering it all up.
The Wiring
With the chip pins down and the little round dot at the upper left, the numbers are 1 to 4 going down on the left side
and 5 to 8 on the right side going up.
The black wire (negative) goes to the 3rd pin, Red (positive to the 4th pin). Run a wire from the 2nd to the 6th pin (or just fold the pins over the back and solder) then connect the 6th to the 7th pin. Last up, run the shutter wire to 6th pin. For the hardware geeks out there, you can of course add resistors and capacitors to change the timing (and possibly do a better job of not frying the camera than we did).
Once we tested the chip and the camera snapped dozens of photos without having to press a single button we then added the wires to the outside of the camera.
We used a small plug found in a pile of spare parts just so we could unplug it when not in use, or if we want to use for other projects. You don't need to do that, but we did for ease of use.
After that, we hot glued the chip as well as the wires to the outside of the camera.
The finished product. It works! Now we'll show you how to mount the hacked digital camera to a kite (and other things) to take photos automatically.
Cheap Mount
We need to mount it to something to hang from the camera line. For our example, we wanted to just use something cheap,
so we used a coat hanger and made a loop.
At the bottom of the loop we used electrical tape to hold the camera on, it worked great (as in: no camera fatalities in really high winds).
For more ideas on cradles, click here.
Since we could, we also strapped a GPS for some of the photos so we could tag them later. That way others could not only see the photos, but find out where they were taken. To learn more about that, click here for our How-To.
The KiteWe have a parafoil 40 x 52-inch kite; it's got some pretty good lift, but you can use just about any type of kite provided there's enough wind to pull the load up.
It's a good idea to have a friend to help launch and/or catch falling digital camera if it happens to go down.
The first time we tested out the camera and kite combo, we tied the camera to the portion of where the teather and
the attachment strings meet. This wasn't very stable, so we found placing the camera about twenty feet down the
line worked better.
Since we were taking photos at about 800 per hour (640 x 480 on a 64mb card) we tested a lot of options without
having to worry about running out of pictures.
The Pictures
We got caught in a rain storm at GasWorks park out here in Seattle (shocking, we know) but the pictures turned out
pretty well. Here are a few (the last one is when the kite actually went into a low-flying cloud, and if you look
closely you can see the Space Needle in the background):
Phillip Torrone can be reached via his personal site: http://www.flashenabled.com
this is exactly why I love this blog so damn much. keep 'em comin' guys
really cool!
Nice photos - I think you got better photos than I did, but gasworks in Seattle is an excellent place to take photos at. My photos are at http://3cats.us/gallery/KAP
It's a fun little hobby, but I keep loosing my kites :-(
- Mike
Cool! This reminds me of another cool arial video/photo thing. The Hyperblimp http://www.hyperblimp.com/
I saw this on slashdot - great idea. But I can't figure out why you've wired up the 555 in such a truly odd way.
Normally, you'd use pin 1 and pin 8 for 0V and +6V respectively. Pin 3 is an output pin, and pin 4 is the reset. Have you done this rather unorthodox thing (powering the chip from an output and a reset line!) by accident, or is it a very clever hack?
Just a thought: what about water-proofing a camera (heck use one of those $30 digital cameras just in case), placing it on a small, circular board of styrofoam in a clear, spherical container hung in pendulum fashion from the line? This would seem to provide a more level system for the camera.
Cool, but I wouldn't be flying kites in storms...
Follow the url above to see two simple rigs.
The pictures here are very good.
What a great idea... Those are some great pictures too, wouldn't mind using somewhat of a better camera to try this out. Thanks for the idea
A camera cell-phone? Is there any way to trigger picture taking by calling the phone? They're almost free nowadays, nice and light, and you could then take pictures by calling the phone rather than relying on arbitrary timing.
Also, wouldn't a parachute recovery be cool, with descent photos... you know, your own little Huygens probe? I guess you could also haul the camera up with a second line through a loop near the top of a camera... like the cable on a crane. That way you could simply fly your kite until you reached the altitude or stability level that you desire, and haul the thing up or down.
Finally, anyone ever try this with one of those mini video cameras and transmitters that are commonly advertised for live feeds from the kite?
Ped.
Since you are in seattle... rent a kayak again, and make a underwater camera sub thingy, with a mag flashlight etc. The more you get into winter time, the clearer the water will be, and you might see something cool (like a fish?...). Anyways, just an idea.
Great blog!! Love it!!
-Piffer
You can get 555s for free. One well known company that makes them will send out free samples. All you need to do is sign up on their website and call yourself a design engineer or a similar title. And you can then order samples of some of their chips. Even the postage is free.
But better than the 555 is the 556 which includes two 555s in one mdip. So you could use one as a delay timer then use the other to trigger the camera. So you could have it delay 5 minutes while you get the kite in the air then have it take photos every 30 seconds.
Some guy in Hong Kong is selling the tiny RF mini cams that run on a 9V battery on EBAY for about $20 bucks. They transmit on 1.2Ghz which is quite illegal (FCC) in USA. That's an aeronautical frequency. Also Wal-Mart sells those tiny pocket sized digi-cams for $20 bucks.
How about a tethered Edmund Scientific weather helium balloon or a model RC aeroplane as a aerial base?
Nice hack and photos - although the diagonal horizons may be deliberate to make the photos interesting - to my photographer's eye they are "a flaw" and I would add some kind of small weight on a wire (another coat hanger?) rigidly attached to the cradle below the camera to make it stay more horizontal. I know weight is minimized so the kite can lift everything in a lower wind.
I am currently making a shutter release using a motor and small gear box available at electronics shops. It rotates the output shaft once every 3 seconds and uses one 1.5V battery (Good if you don't want to run wires inside a good camera). I will use the tripod mount to attach a bracket and put another threaded hole for mounting on a tripod or inside a lunch box with a glass filter attached to lid. This will make it water proof and it would float for over the water shots. Might even get some better shots of ducks from an R/C boat.
I started working on this hack as soon as i saw it. Headed out to a RadioShack, and got ripped off for the chip: $3.49 Canadian!
Partway through wiring it up to my JamCam, and I looked at the pinout diagram. I coincide with Richard Neill, it is a rather strange wiring diagram. Clarification would be appreciated.
only 97c in Australia - http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/4150f111058623b8273fc0a87f9c06ea/Product/View/Z6145 which is about 70c US. The expensive ones you probably got the CMOS version - http://www1.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ZL3455&CATID=&keywords=555 .
I would also like some information on the wiring of the chip - also how it worked without any resistors or capacitors to provide the timing. The 555 relies on the RC network to set the period and duty cycle.
This is very interesting for video shooters ,but they
will require to learn kite flying.
Also it seems that it would not be under the control of the kite flier to take the exact photo clip of the things he want.
And he also requires the exact calculation of the time
to set the timer properly.
Check out the LM3909 as well!
Why not use a disposable Dakota adigital cam with a hacked USB cable? sure, they take pretty crappy pictures, but with a quick hack you can snap away without worry of breaking a more expensive camera.
Wow that is awsome. I love the last pic. Good job!
What an excellent idea! Great shots
Like Richard Neill, I am interested in your hack of the 555. I have been using 555's for many years but have not seen one wired your way. We would really appreciate a lesson on your innovative use.
The suggestion of using a 556 has merit. It would require only a little extra space to accomodate the larger capacitor needed to give the first stage delay (launch time).
Like Richard Neill, I am interested in your hack of the 555. I have been using 555's for many years but have not seen one wired your way. We would really appreciate a lesson on your innovative use.
The suggestion of using a 556 has merit. It would require only a little extra space to accomodate the larger capacitor needed to give the first stage delay (launch time).
Great work Phil, loved the article. I was wondering of ways to take the idea to the next level. 1) Remote control of the shutter release
2) Directional control of the vehicle. Any other ideas?
I'm not sure about a solution to 1) maybe a "radio supplies" type shop sells some generic radio frequency RC gear that you could mate to the DC motor mentioned above.
For 2) I guess one option is for one of these powered RC flown model aircraft - but these seem to have spectacular crashes on landing sometime? I have also seen these (indoor) mini airships, is there an outdoor version anyone knows of? Keep up the good work ....
GOD!!! I love being a geek (Well, Geek 2.0)
I would like to do something like this with my five megapixel camera, but given its value I would be very sqeamish about taking it apart! Besides, of course, I would still like to use it as a non-timed camera. Besides, mine and many other cameras have a pressure-sensitive button (push lightly to get ready to take a picture, and harder to actually take the picture.) This hack loses that feature.
I hope to see a future hack that does this mechanically, so you can press the shutter risk-free.
If it can be of any use to you ... instead of
opening the case of the camera and play with the
switch, you can send orders to the camedia via its
RS232 port. I have written the appropriate command
sequence for linux-based PCs and a variety of
microcontrollers (simple 9600 bauds RS232 sequences).
For example for just taking a picture one would send:
1/ initialization sequence:
send 0x00 (init communications)
read: answer should be 0x15
write 0x1B,0x53,0x06,0x00,0x00,0x11,0x02,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x13,0x00
read: answer should be 0x06 (ack)
2/ for each new picture to be taken:
write 0x1b,0x43,0x03,0x00,0x02,0x02,0x00,0x04,0x00
read: answer should be 0x06 (ack)
read: answer should be 0x05 (picture taken)
repeat 2/ as many times as needed.
Jean-Michel
Back in the 80's a friend (David Doepel) hacked his SLR to do the same thing and used to throw it off the top floor of the tallest buildings he could find in Canberra, Australia. Great stuff.
Imagination is definitely the key to everything.
Respectfully,
Simon Bennett.
Any idea if this hack would work in an Olympus C3000 digital camera?
For a low-tech additional feature (and undertsanding that low-tech may not be what folks here are interested in! ^_^), get one of those crib mobiles that slowly revolves while playing some tinny version of Brahms' Lullaby, trim excess bits, and attach camera under that -- allowing the camera to slowly rotate as it shoots, making sure you get views in all possible directions. Plus, your flying kite camera will also play soothing music as it ascends!
What could be better?
JIM MARTIN
American Kitefliers Association
Wings Across Carolina Kiting and Okra Society
(WACKOS)
hi
can you please tell me if you sell any remote control shutter releases without all the fancy stuff I just want to trip the shutter it is for a SLR Pentax MZ-50 it has a halfway depress which only focusses so i need one that will push it all the way down if possible can you please tell me what your cheapest one is.
thanks
Joshua
Re: RC airplanes and video, I've done both stills (35mm) and video (microcamera and 434Mhz TX) only problem I found with both was vibration which caused fuzzy pictures and awkward camera angles due to the engine/motor being mounted upfront. It's still pretty cool to watch though. I've been meaning to try the video again with a more powerful TX I bought (Videolynx.com) but haven't made time. Plus I'm concerned about interference from that powerful a TX onboard.
Yours was an excellent project, congrats! To all the naysayers: Do it better and show us how.
Re: your nifty mod for kite flyin' pix takin'
Snap snap grin grin wink wink say n' more!
A long time ago, i saw a german-made toy called a Drachenseilbahn --a "kite cable car". It had two sail-like wings that carried it up the kite line on two little pulley-like wheels. When it reached the end of the line up by the kite, rubber bands would shut the wings, and it would come rolling back down. You could pro'ly modify your setup so that the camera would only
take one shot, using some similar contraption, and then use some smaller drag 'chute to protect the camera from getting smashed at the bottom when it comes whizzing back down.
E
You have way to much free time
I think what is happening with the timer is that its not really timing. If you wire up the rig using an LED in place of the camera, the LED stays on constantly. Since the camera has to reset after each photo, it appears to be "timing." Soldering a wire from the positive to the shutter contact will give you the same result.