Stereo Data Maker

Everything camera related. Includes triggers, batteries, power supplies, flatbeds and sheet-feeding scanners, too.

Moderator: peterZ

Cabe
Posts: 34
Joined: 04 Mar 2014, 00:52

Stereo Data Maker

Post by Cabe »

With regards to this piece of software, is it only used to allow simultaneous triggering or have I missed a "critical feature" ?

I'm having real trouble finding a pair of the Canon's that support SDM on ebay, but I know there are others I can trigger together that don't support it.
User avatar
rob
Posts: 773
Joined: 03 Jun 2009, 13:50
E-book readers owned: iRex iLiad, Kindle 2
Number of books owned: 4000
Country: United States
Location: Maryland, United States
Contact:

Re: Stereo Data Maker

Post by rob »

Yes, it is only used to trigger both cameras conveniently from one button. As far as I can tell, there's no real requirement to take the pictures simultaneously, but it's nice to trigger both cameras off of one button.
Cabe
Posts: 34
Joined: 04 Mar 2014, 00:52

Re: Stereo Data Maker

Post by Cabe »

That's my impression as well.

I'm more a hardware man so I don't mind getting my hands dirty bodging up a remote release for the cameras. I just didn't want to hit ebay with some coin without checking my brain hadn't gone and cracked on me again :)
User avatar
daniel_reetz
Posts: 2812
Joined: 03 Jun 2009, 13:56
E-book readers owned: Used to have a PRS-500
Number of books owned: 600
Country: United States
Contact:

Re: Stereo Data Maker

Post by daniel_reetz »

That is the primary feature, but it's good for a lot more. I mean, there's nothing wrong with cracking open a few cameras and soldering to the switch contacts, but SDM will give you readouts of all important camera parameters, like zoom, and give you raw format support, and timers, and all kinds of doohickeys that probably don't matter.

There are tons of cameras around that support it -- is there a specific model you have in mind?
User avatar
daniel_reetz
Posts: 2812
Joined: 03 Jun 2009, 13:56
E-book readers owned: Used to have a PRS-500
Number of books owned: 600
Country: United States
Contact:

Re: Stereo Data Maker

Post by daniel_reetz »

For example, there are a number of Powershot A630's on eBay that are selling/have sold for around a hundred bucks each.
User avatar
daniel_reetz
Posts: 2812
Joined: 03 Jun 2009, 13:56
E-book readers owned: Used to have a PRS-500
Number of books owned: 600
Country: United States
Contact:

Re: Stereo Data Maker

Post by daniel_reetz »

Refurbished A560's in the Canon store for $59!!!

http://estore.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/ ... &pageView=
jrichards
Posts: 22
Joined: 04 Mar 2014, 00:52

Re: Stereo Data Maker

Post by jrichards »

I use this as one of my camera's. It is not 8MP but with most software like Abby Finereader 9 or Omnipage Pro it is sufficient and does the job.
xylon
Posts: 27
Joined: 04 Mar 2014, 00:52

Re: Stereo Data Maker

Post by xylon »

I mean, there's nothing wrong with cracking open a few cameras and soldering to the switch contacts
Image
this is my powershot A80 as you can see it is not easy to reach the board and jump the switches without a complete tear down. from what i can tell at least on this model it will be easier to try to press the buttons with your fingers mechanically threw servos or bike cable maybe, then to try and solder the switches.

Image
the white semi-octagonal thing is the shutter button. i think the button is made of mica? i am not sure how these types of switches work. just below the shutter button is a vary small delicate plastic black switch that moves both left and right. this is the zoom switch. up and to the left of the function wheel you can see a button with a white s;air frame this is the power button. above that on the frount of the camera you can see the targeting LED that goes of during focusing. up and to the right is the mic.

you may not be able to tell in this picture well but that is not an orange circuit board that the switches sit on is actually a flat ribben cabling with a circuit on it so it can bend around areas. you can see it bending around top of the camera to the fount of the camera by the power button. you would have to find where this cable goes to jump it.

Image
i don't know how the focus circuit works.
User avatar
daniel_reetz
Posts: 2812
Joined: 03 Jun 2009, 13:56
E-book readers owned: Used to have a PRS-500
Number of books owned: 600
Country: United States
Contact:

Re: Stereo Data Maker

Post by daniel_reetz »

Nice teardown shots. I have a few broken cameras, and I just took one apart.

First, you can actually solder to that little ribbon. It will suck, but it can be done with a low-wattage iron, a fine tip, and tinned fine wire. The trick is figuring out the pinout. I figured out the pinout for my broken A540 using a multimeter and pictures of the little switch guy. Remember that the switch has two positions (half-press and full-press, to focus and then fire the shutter). That means it must have at least three wires coming from it.
BEST_GUESS_IMG_1966.jpg
BEST_GUESS_IMG_1966.jpg (184.45 KiB) Viewed 14828 times
Attachments
IMG_0019---daniel.jpg
IMG_0019---daniel.jpg (86.49 KiB) Viewed 14828 times
User avatar
daniel_reetz
Posts: 2812
Joined: 03 Jun 2009, 13:56
E-book readers owned: Used to have a PRS-500
Number of books owned: 600
Country: United States
Contact:

Re: Stereo Data Maker

Post by daniel_reetz »

Please ignore the "COM" in my first image; it is a ground plane, not a common between the three contacts.
Post Reply