chris.maddock
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 p.2 #9 · Your experience with vertical grips | |
Cableaddict wrote:
Hey, Chriss, I'd love to see that hack job of yours! What did you do, replace one battery with the receiver? Did it actually fit?
Interesting idea, though I'd hate to lose the second battery.
That's a thought, if I am completely strapped for space - although tricky as the batteries fit in a tray, end to end, and the one that MUST be fitted is the furthest one in when the tray is in place.
No, I managed to squeeze the remote circuit board in on the right-hand side of the grip by removing the tray that is supposed to hold the camera battery compartment door. Since the door rattled when it was in the tray, it's no great loss ;-)
I've powered the remote off the BP511 batteries as I couldn't find room to include a CR2 battery as well, this required a small voltage stepdown circuit. The remote on/off was a momentary contact push button switch, working on the trailing edge of the pulse, so I had to rig up a little delay circuit to replicate that when the grip power switch is turned on. I just about managed to squeeze the circuitboard for those two mods above the grip's main PCB, but it was certainly a tight fit. The only external clue is that it sports two LEDs on the back of the grip - power and remote signal status, both taken fom the remote as bought.
I've basically ended up with the equivilent of Canon's grip, timer remote and wireless remote controls - all in one handy unit, permanently fitted to the camera, so no fiddling around with two remotes and having to plug them in.
What I'm hoping to do now is work out how to replicate the signals that the control dial sends to the camera. If I can, then I'll rig up some circuitry and a program on my PDA to send appropriate signals to control the camera. The theory is that I'd use DTMF tones out of the headphone socket on the PDA to issue the commands and a receiver in the grip to handle them, thereby just needing an audio cable linkup.
Then I would tell the program on the PDA the number of shots I want, the number of stops interval and the interval setting on the camera, 1/2 or 1/3 stops, and set the camera to Manual - so that the dial controls the shutter speed. I'll also have to tell the program what shutter speed is set so that it can delay the next "fire" instruction if the time hasn't reached the last exposure duration.
The PDA would then issue instructions like, for 5 shots at 1 stop intervals with 1/2 stop spacing;
turn dial left, left left, left, fire
turn dial right, right, fire
turn dial right, right, fire
turn dial right, right, fire
turn dial right, right, fire
turn dial left, left left, left - to return the shutter speed to the starting point again.
Should be a nice little challenge, as well as being a bit of fun to do - and very handy if I succeed. The tricky part is that I need to get to the terminals for the grip's control dial, which means stripping it all down again and taking it apart. Knowing how tight a fit it was to get everything inside in the first place I've been putting that off - at least until after my next trip away in a couple of weeks ;-)
KRs
Chris
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Couldn't live without one. 
What's 'dat' about? And the re-sale $$ on used grips is still off the charts expensive. The wireless grip for the 5dmark II (and other top of the line 1ds) seems promising, but it doesn't in fact improve battery life as I understand it -- so in some respects, the big 2 (or at least Canon) appears to be going backwards in terms of value-added with grips. Is it too much to ask for a grip with wireless data transfer and additional battery compartments as part of the original price of higher end cameras??