greeneggs
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Thank you very much, Rob, Tortie, Lord V, holgerc, rocco61 and 2urn.
Tortie, I agree that the black looks better now, but I still see it as a challenge to get the white background working. It is harder to light the white. I have an image in my eye of what it should look like on white, but haven't gotten there yet.
rocco61, the splash is mostly sharp (although the focus isn't quite there on #2). The limitation is that the Nikon SB-800 flash only goes down to 1/128th power. This is a slightly longer flash duration than I would like. The Vivitar 283 can drop down lower.
2urn, here is a shopping list, working out to $46 + shipping for the main components. I have linked to Sparkfun in almost all cases, to save on shipping. It might be possible to get better prices elsewhere, and lots of these components are probably available locally for comparable prices.
I can also post any information you might need on plugging these components together, and source code for the Arduino.
Arduino:
- Arduino USB board: $30
- USB cable A to B, 6': $4 (You might already own this cable. It is for connecting the Arduino to your computer and powering it; if you don't have a laptop you might want a dedicated Arduino power supply)
Misc. electronics:
- Breadboard: $6
- Hook-up wire: $2.50 (You can cut and strip the wire with scissors or a wire cutter. Two or three colors is useful.)
The drop detector:
- Photo interrupter: $2
- 330 ohm resistor: $0.25 (This resistance value is good for LEDs.)
- If you buy your photo interrupter elsewhere, you might also need a 10K resistor. The photo interrupter linked to above has one built in, but the photo interrupter in the Hiviz kit does not.
Per flash you want to trigger:
- 10K ohm resistor: $0.25
- Sensitive gate SCR (400V or higher, e.g., EC103D-ND): $0.77 at Digikey. I have linked to Digikey for the SCRs because Sparkfun doesn't carry them. Sparkfun sells an optoisolator for $1.25 which will work to trigger any newer flash, but it can only stand 200V. (I ordered one anyway, but it broke when I plugged it into my ~300V Vivitar 283 flash.)
- Some way of getting wire to each of the two flash terminals. This depends on your flash. I have a Nikon SB-800 with a PC port into which I have simply taped two wires. I also have a Vivitar 283 with a Vivitar PC port, for which I have taped wires to the end of the cord. The Hiviz website has details on different options. PC port to audio jack cords are sold by AlienBees and FlashZebra, but they end up being pricey after shipping. I imagine you should be able to trigger your flashes from the camera wirelesly, but I can't vouch for this myself.
- You also need to be able to control the flash power. I can set my SB-800 to 1/128th power and actually I would prefer if it allowed setting it to 1/256th power. For my Vivitar 283 I have stuck a 10K linear variable resistor into the front plugs, as described here.
The following components are optional. You can trigger the camera by hand with, say, a 2 sec shutter speed. Triggering it remotely will allow a shorter shutter speed, reducing noise.
To trigger the camera (optional):
- Infrared LED: $2
- 330 ohm resistor: $0.25
- Mini-breadboard: $4 (It is convenient to have a separate breadboard to place the infrared LED immediately in front of the camera.)
To set the delay in hardware (optional):
- Linear trim pot (variable resistor): $1 (You can easily set the delay in software, with a decent interface even. But it is fun to have a dial to turn. Other interface improvements might include adding buttons and maybe a serial-enabled LED display.)
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