DSLR Camera Slider

[Scott™]

Can anyone recommend a MOTORISED version sub £500?

 

[Feirny]

Yeah, I'll get links. You know what I'm like.

*Scrap that, not sub £500.

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

Might be able to get them from here.
On my phone and its not the best site for mobile use but looking through it you should be able to get the setup for your price range.!

http://digislider.co.uk

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Well under budget

I guess this is for time lapses etc ? :approve:

http://www.technicapture.com/mododolly.html - No prices but worth an email ? First thing I've found... apart from the above

~~~~~

Looking about, I think you're going to need a mortgage TBH... ouch.

Second hand eBay or make it yourself I think !

 

[Scott™]

Yeah, I'll get links. You know what I'm like.

*Scrap that, not sub £500.

Serious? lol i though £500 was steep enough.

 

[Scott™]

Well under budget

I guess this is for time lapses etc ? :approve:

http://www.technicapture.com/mododolly.html - No prices but worth an email ? First thing I've found... apart from the above

~~~~~

Looking about, I think you're going to need a mortgage TBH... ouch.

Second hand eBay or make it yourself I think !

 

[Cup_Phil]

They are stupidly expensive

Do a google search for DIY ones - quite a few people have bought the normal sliders and then used like an arduino (or even lego motor) to power a belt to move it up and down
The arduino ones are quite cool as you can program speed etc..

 

[Scott™]

They are stupidly expensive

Do a google search for DIY ones - quite a few people have bought the normal sliders and then used like an arduino (or even lego motor) to power a belt to move it up and down
The arduino ones are quite cool as you can program speed etc..

Yea I'm not really down for making one. Making the time lapse is hard enough, let alone making the gear to do it. Hence I'm prepared to pay a bit of money for one.

 

[f0xy]

They are stupidly expensive

Do a google search for DIY ones - quite a few people have bought the normal sliders and then used like an arduino (or even lego motor) to power a belt to move it up and down
The arduino ones are quite cool as you can program speed etc..

Indeed... this cost less than 1/5th of the price mentioned, took a few hours to cut/drill/bolt things together. I'm using it for both video/timelapse, settings via a small LCD. All runs from a 12v battery. The below is just doing video, timelapse does move-shoot-move to whatever the user specifies in the settings..

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

Nice ^^

I've just ordered some parts. Going to make the dolly out of alu, using bearings as wheels running along some box section, just need to buy that and make the frame. It will sit centrally on one tripod I think.

I have a motor set up but I think I'll start again with a programmable arduino so I can have control of the speed.

Will update this thread when I'm done.

 

[Cup_Phil]

NICE!

Is that magic lantern you're running too?

You should make them up and flog them, not all of us have your ninja fabrication skills

 

[Andy_con]

ive been looking into making a slider and came up with this. its a very cheap a simple system but would do the job

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150854583486?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

and you can get a range of motors

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20RPM-Out...al_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item5d3a34f485

 

[Hixle]

Awesome skills! I wouldn't know where to start!

 

[Andy_con]

as i psoted here yesterday i want to get a trigger and make a slider and have a little play

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?686505-Hi-Speed-Trigger-Kits

i have the bonus of owning a cnc mill so can machine all the parts needed to make a slider.

if someone wanted to sort out the arduino with coding sorted, id happily do the metal work and we can combine them to make a working slider

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

This is what I'm thinking of making.



Just need some rails welding and to make the dolly unless I come across something in the meantime.

I had a beginners motor gear kit form Maplins a while back and quickly put together a little winch with it but I am now looking at them motors and board you just posted as it will make life so much easier. Will probably use a decent fishing line too when I do it.

Home made winch (timelapse, should have just video'd it though)...

 

[Andy_con]

this is what id like, looks awesome

http://arduinoarts.com/2011/09/news-arduino-based-motorized-camera-slider/

 

[f0xy]

Yup, same IGUS rail on that one too. Hes using a servo instead mind. I went for a stepper so I could microstep it with a driver and get 3200 steps to a single revolution

 

[Andy_con]

sounds like a good plan, so can you give me/us some info on what electronics exactly you went for?

 

[Andy_con]

no info on electronics??

 

[f0xy]

NICE!

Is that magic lantern you're running too?

You should make them up and flog them, not all of us have your ninja fabrication skills

Yeah ML. Its very good, especially for video focusing and every other function it adds!

sounds like a good plan, so can you give me/us some info on what electronics exactly you went for?

Sorry only just seen the replies.

• I'm running an Arduino UNO R3, with a 16x2 LCD and 6 push buttons (L,R,U,D,Select,Reset)
• Using a 2A Stepper Motor Driver with 1/16th Microstepping support (200step motor becomes 3200step)
• NEMA17 1.2A Stepper Motor (4v) with enough holding torque to support the weight of the camera when using it at steep angles
• Small custom circuit using an Optocoupler for firing the camera shutter via the N3 connector (optocoupler is there to protect the camera from my circuit/Arduino)
• Using a external flash cable back from the camera into a digital input on the Arduino (so I can calculate the delay between the shutter firing and the shutter actually opening - usually between a 30-50millisecond delay) - basically allowing accurate control of shutter speed from the code rather than setting it on the camera beforehand.
• All running from a YUASA 12v 7aH alarm battery

With regards to the code on the Arduino it helps if you have done C before, if not you may struggle to pick it up. Luckily I've done quite a few (web) languages and most are very similar with regards to syntax, but it still took a bit of messing about.

I ended up creating two modes for now, one like in the video where I can do video runs at various speeds in either direction (does not do anything with the shutter input). The other mode is for timelapse where I can set the total run duration, amount of movement per shot, or number of shots, and shutter speed.

Eventually when I can be bothered doing the maths/code I will program some exposure ramping into the code, so you can set a start exposure and end, with a specific curve (for doing sunrise/sunset) - this is where the flash trigger input comes in as you would need to accurately know how long the shutters been open for without the variable delay the Canons seem to have.

The Magic Lantern firmware has its own exposure ramping menu, which gives good results when set up right, but getting that timed right with the movement isn't easy, as it gives you way of setting when the camera should be moving - this is why you need the movement/shutter all in one program.

Hope that helps.....

 

[Andy_con]

perfect many thanks for the detailed reponse

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

That's helped me, cheers foxy!
I'm going to show a couple of guys in work who are well in to arduino , they can point out what I will need, help me with the coding if I decide to go that route. I just need to get the frame and dolly sorted this week then I'll see what's what.

 

[f0xy]

Cool. I nearly didnt bother with Arduino, could have just created a simple PCB and controlled the driver/shutter from USB to a laptop and write the software there, but saves lugging it around. Plus the Arduinos are dirt cheap and have thousands of libraries ready to use!

 

[Andy_con]

That's helped me, cheers foxy!
I'm going to show a couple of guys in work who are well in to arduino , they can point out what I will need, help me with the coding if I decide to go that route. I just need to get the frame and dolly sorted this week then I'll see what's what.

any chance of sharing that coding?

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

any chance of sharing that coding?

If they help me I'll help you /anyone on here.
One of the guys has just built a wind turbine and its run with an arduino, he's had to code that and told me that my little project should be easy!

 

[Andy_con]

cool, if i can help you with any metal work just let me know. i have a metal workshop in ym garage

 

[f0xy]

Just uploaded a couple of photos if they are of any use to anyone. This is a Continental HTD (5mm Tooth, 9mm Width) Timing Belt, a 24 tooth pulley and two idlers (removed from an LTO Tape Drive).

Motor, Belt and Idler Detail by f0xy, on Flickr

IGUS Drylin Rail and Carriage by f0xy, on Flickr

Full DSLR Slider Assembly by f0xy, on Flickr

 

[Andy_con]

im thinking no belt, just a wheel on the bit that moves directly connected to the servo

 

[f0xy]

Yeah, plenty of ways of doing it. All depends on type of motor, gearset, rail etc. Worm drive on a DC motor are the most powerful and can hold a LOT of weight, as they cant freewheel backwards if they loose power. I only used a belt to give precise accurate movement with the stepper - can run it up and down the rail 20 times on a single command and its still within a millimeter of its original position

 

[Andy_con]

um sounds like a good setup i need to have a play and see what i can come up with.

these look mega fun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjZod2SWvz4

although not cheap at £300 a pop

 

[f0xy]

Very clever!

Another:

 

[Andy_con]

nice, i like the look of the RC controlled camera mounts.

so you have a slider like yours with an servo arm controlled by RC, slider moves along you aim the camera

 

[Slammed172]

Here's a super cheap dolly, although for GoPro I'm sure you could rig a DSLR to it.

[video=vimeo;45827283]https://vimeo.com/45827283[/video]

The How-To: http://www.digitalanthill.com/gopro-timelpase-dolly/

 

[Andy_con]

thats the sort of simple setup i was thinking but using this as it gives a little more control over the motor

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150854583486?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

but what foxy has done is much more advance, but sadly im an engineer not a coder

 

[Andy_con]

anyone made any progress yet?

just bored so thought id see how others are doing

 

[f0xy]

I've been messing around with the code on mine, just been messing around with it this afternoon so I will put some results up later

 

[Ay Ay Ron]

I'm waiting for some bits in the post to make the dolly, not sure what I'm making the rails out of yet though.

 

[f0xy]

All the clips were done as individual shots, then imported into After Effects for editing as a sequence..

[video=vimeo;61440552]https://vimeo.com/61440552[/video]
The Factory on Vimeo

 

[Scott™]

Wish I had skills

 

[Andy_con]

how are people getting on?

im interested in the electronics parts and the coding