Various controls can be used to move the camera mount and trigger the cameras:
- programmable servo controllers such as AuRiCo, Gentles, Pololu Micro Maestro
- Remote controls as known from model making
- mechanical devices such as rubber bands, kitchen timers, etc.
- (Interval) programs in the camera such as CHDK
- and of course a combination of several of these control optionsMy controls
During the period in which I worked with KAP, I used various controls.
At the beginning it was a Futaba remote control, in which the camera was triggered by a servo with a self-made lever. Then I switched to an AuRiCo control from Peter Engels.
But because I wanted to try something different, I used a Pololu Micro Maestro servo controller, which I have stayed with to this day. What I really like about this controller is the ability to write the exercise program yourself and thus adapt it to your recording preferences. Since the 6 channels can be configured either as an input, a digital output or a servo output, there are numerous possibilities.
I also have an Ikea kitchen timer and, the latest addition, an Arduino-controlled remote control.
A few more words about the program that runs on the memory card of my Canon cameras and contributes a large part to the fact that I can control the camera at all via the USB port: CHDK-Canon Hacker Development Kit. CHDK is an extension of the firmware that works on many Canon digital compact cameras (PowerShot and Ixus).
CHDK is copied to the memory card and can be loaded (manually or automatically) after booting if necessary. It offers additional functions that are not currently available in the native camera firmware.
