[Phillip] published this great step by step tutorial on making a remote shutter release from a wireless doorbell. The pictures are great and the process is fairly simple. There is only one additional chip requred and a little bit of soldering. This is a great way to get some remote shots for cheap.
[via Lifehacker]
some of the comments on that site are semi amusing. a few people seem to think their camera might spontaneously combust from doing this…
@sparky
wrong post! so it basicaly means im first!!!
great idea though
@digidev
Huh?
Look at diode.jpg It’s a crummy solder joint.
Then look at the link I provided for examples of bad and good solder joints.
That solder joint makes me want to cry.
@del
When your camera costs upwards of $1500, you tend to make absolutely positively sure your camera will not implode if you touch it with anything. (and photographers are typically not electricity savvy)
the author suggests a 15-25 watt soldering iron. For me, anything less than 30 watts tends to give me cold solder joints, especially with braided wire.
Hey Guys,
I’m the one who wrote the tutorial, great that you liked it :) I know that the soldering is, well, shitty. You should be glad I didn’t post a photo of the finished chip, that would have made some of you jump out of the window. It was only important to me that it works, but definetely something that I should improve my skills in. That was the first real project I did, and I hope my soldering will get better. Thanks for the link, Sparky!
Reading this
“…Now wrap the copper core of the wire around the part you want to connect it to. Put some solder on the tip of your soldering iron so it melts…”
Makes me want to puke!
I once did something similar to this with a wireless doorbell to make a garage door opener. Good to see someone else ripping apart a wireless doorbell.
Hi there,
As a hobby this is fun, but why would you waste your time with something like this when a shutter for Canon EOS or a Nikon D90 is only 20 USD ??
Mac
This is fun, but not very practical for out in the field…I’m debating between an infrared release and a cable-based one – any recommendations from people who have used both?
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Clever project, but one comment: Image diode.jpg shows one god-awful solder joint.
Look at a few of the photos at this site:
http://www.sabest.org/kitinfo/soldering/soldering.html