Camera Axe 3.0 User Guide

By: Maurice Ribble

4/2/2010 Version 3.0.03

The Camera Axe hardware and firmware are open source under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Overview

The Camera Axe is a tool for photographers to trigger cameras or flashes based signals from various sensors. There are two ports for sensors such as a microphone, a motion detector, or light sensor and there are two ports for camera/flash devices. The Camera Axe is useful for catching phenomena that happen too quickly for human reflexes, like photographing a popping balloon or a milk droplet splash. Other uses can be to catch things photographers don't want to wait around for like birds flying to a bird feeder or surveillance of people walking down a hallway. The possibilities are endless. The hardware and firmware for this device are all open source meaning that it's possible to adapt this platform for specialized uses.

Hardware

1) Menu Button – Cycles through the different menus.

2) Set Button – Activates the picture taking mode. The picture mode depends on which menu you press this button from. For example if you press it from the projectile menu you will enter picture taking mode for the projectile sensor.

3) Up Button – Change currently selected value.

4) Left Button – Either move to a different sub-menu or move the cursor left on the number being edited.

5) Right Button – Either move to a different sub-menu or move the cursor right on the number being edited.

6) Down Button – Change currently selected value.

7) Sensor1 3.5 mm Jack – Plug in sensors like a microphone here.

8) Sensor2 3.5 mm Jack – Plug in sensors like a microphone here.

9) Camera/Flash1 3.5 mm Jack – Plug in a camera or a flash here.

10) Camera/Flash2 3.5 mm Jack – Plug in a camera or a flash here.

11) On/Off Button – Turn the device on or off.

Device Reset, LCD Brightness Controls, and English/Metric Units

Hold the [Menu] + [Set] + [Right] buttons when you power on the device to reset all the settings to default. You will enter a special control menu where the [Up] and [Down] buttons will control the brightness of the LCD. The [Left] and [Right] buttons control which units you want to use with the projectile sensor (inches or centimeters). You can press any other key to accept the current settings.

Menus

Use the following menu and sub-menu descriptions to setup the Camera Axe to fit your use. Once you have everything set up, press the set button to activate this setup. Pressing set during the Camera/Flash menus or the Sensor menus will take you to one mode. Pressing set during the Projectile menu will take you to a special projectile mode. Pressing set during the Valve menu will take you to a special valve mode. Pressing set during the Timelapse menu will take you to a special timelapse mode.

Camera/Flash1 – This menu sets the different options for the Camera or Flash connected to the Camera/Flash1 port. Select different sub-menus with the left/right buttons and use the up/down buttons to change your selection within those sub-menus.

• Type: – The type sub-menu selects the type of device plugged into the Camera/Flash1 port.

  • Flash – Select this if an external flash unit is plugged into this port.

  • Fast_Cam – Select this if a camera is plugged into this port. In fast mode the camera's shutter button is effectively pressed half way down at all times. This helps the camera trigger the shutter more quickly, but it causes the camera's batteries to drain more quickly. For even faster shutter reactions try using the mirror lockup option on your camera if it supports it.

  • LowPow_Cam – Select this if a camera is plugged into this port. In low power mode the camera shutter button is not activated until the a trigger event is sensed. This saves saves power in the camera, but it will not react to a trigger event as quickly as the fast camera mode.

• Trig by: – The trigger by sub-menu selects the sensor that will trigger the device plugged into the Camera/Flash port.

  • Sensor1 – Select this if the camera/flash plugged into this port should be triggered by the sensor plugged into the Sensor1 port.

  • Sensor2 – Select this if the camera/flash plugged into this port should be triggered by the sensor plugged into the Sensor2 port.

  • None – Select this if there is no device plugged into this port.

• Delay (ms): – The delay in milliseconds sub-menu sets the number of millisecond delay between an activated trigger and a triggering of this device. Example usage: you are capturing a popping balloon with the microphone trigger. You notice with this set to 0, the flash goes off before the rubber skin of the balloon has moved. You set the delay to 20 ms which gives a more exciting photograph.

  • ### – This three digit number indicates the number of milliseconds between when a sensor is triggered and when the camera/flash is activated.

• Cycle (sec): – The cycle in seconds sub-menu sets the number of seconds between when this camera/flash is triggered and the next time it can be triggered. In most cases you want to set this to 1 second or greater since 0 seconds may prevent any activation of the cameras/flashes). Example usage: you are using a microphone to capture a popping balloon. You know after the picture there will be noise as you setup between shots so you set the timer to 10 seconds to give you some time to do the setup between pictures without accidentally triggering the flash extra times.

  • ### – This three digit number indicates the seconds between when the camera/flash trigger and when the next trigger can happen.

Camera/Flash2

[Menu is identical to the Camera/Flash1 menu.]

Sensor1– This menu sets the different options for the sensors connected to the Sensor1 port. Select different sub-menus with the left/right buttons and use the up/down buttons to change your selection in those sub-menus.

• Trigger on: – The trigger on sub-menu selects whether the senor plugged into this port will trigger the camera/flash using this sensor on a low or a high signal. Example usage: you have a microphone plugged into this port. You know from the Value sub-menu (see next sub-menu) that the microphone sensor has a lower value when it is quiet and a higher value when there is noise. Since you want to capture a popping balloon you set this to trigger on high.

  • High – Select this if the device should activate as this sensor goes from a low value to a high value.

  • Low – Select this if the device should activate as this sensor goes from a high value to a low value.

• Value: – The value sub-menu sets the trigger value for this sensor. When you wait for 1 second, a 3-digit-number appears in the upper right corner of the screen. This number indicates the current sensor value. Use this value to help set a sensible number for the trigger value. It is important to set the trigger on sub-menu to low or high before finalizing the value used here since this affects the value displayed in the upper right. Example usage: you have microphone plugged into this port. When things are quiet you get a value of 550 and when you pop a balloon the value jumps to 950. The trigger on sub-menu is already set to high and you set the value to 900 which only gets activated by a loud noise.

  • ### – This three digit number indicates the threshold value for the sensor that triggers the device plugged into this port.

• Pow: – The power sub-menu controls when to disable a sensor port. Example usage: you have a light sensor plugged into the Sensor1 port and a laser plugged into the Sensor2 port. You already have the flash1 device setup to use Sensor1 and Sensor1 is setup to trigger on low (signal goes low when the laser beam is broken). Now on sensor2 you want to set the power sub-menu to turn off on sensor1 activation. This is done so the laser beam does not show up in the photograph.

  • On – The sensor's power never goes off.

  • Off_Sensor1 – This turns the sensor connected to this port off when Sensor1 is triggered. The power stays off until the cycle time for the device using this sensor has elapsed.

  • Off_Sensor2 – This turns the sensor connected to this port off when Sensor2 is triggered. The power stays off until the cycle time for the device using this sensor has elapsed.

Sensor2

[Menu is identical to the Sensor1 menu.]

Projectile

• ### - The 3 numbers are used to set 0 to 999 inches or centimeters. English or Metric units are selected by forcing a device reset by pressing [Menu]+[Set]+[Right] while turning on the power (details mentioned above). This mode is for use with a specialized projectile sensor which is two two high speed sensors spaced exactly two inches apart. This mode and sensor are used to determine the velocity of the projectile. Then a delay is calculated for the flash trigger based on the user entered distance. This mode is only for use with external flashes since a camera's shutter has too much lag and is too slow to capture high speed projectiles like bullets.

Valve

This is for taking water droplet pictures. You should plug in the camera to Camera/Flash 1. Set the shutter speed to a few second and make sure the room is dark. If you don't have a camera cable you can trigger the camera manually. Plug a flash into Camera/Flash2.

• Drop1 Size – The size of the first drop. The number represents the number of ms the valve is open. A value of 50 usually makes a good drop. A value of 000 will give no drop. A value of 999 is more of a stream than a drop.

• Drop2 Delay – The delay in ms between the end of the first drop and the start of the second drop.

• Drop2 Size – Similar to Drop1 Size, but for the second drop.

• Flash Delay – The delay in ms between the end of the second drop and the triggering of the flash.

Timelapse

• ###:##:## - The first 3 numbers are hours. The next 2 numbers are minutes. The last 2 numbers are seconds. The time will count down to 0 and when it reaches this it will take a picture.

Below is quick list of the cables, sensors and accessories that we have been designed for use with the Camera Axe. Go to the “Buy Here” links below for more information, pictures, and example use cases.

Camera/Flash Cables

Canon Camera Trigger Cable (C3) Buy Here

This cable, which plugs into either of the Camera/Flash ports on the Camera Axe, triggers Cannon cameras that have the "C3" plug. This cable can control the focus and shutter on the camera.

Here is a list of cameras this cable will work with:

• EOS Canon 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D

• EOS Canon 7D

• EOS Canon 5D (including Mark II)

• EOS Canon 1D, 1Ds (including Mark II, Mark III, and Mark IV)

• EOS Canon D30, D60

• Other Canon Cameras with C3 Plug

Nikon Camera Trigger Cable (N1) Buy Here

This cable, which plugs into either of the Camera/Flash ports on the Camera Axe, triggers Nikon cameras that have the "N1" plug (has 10 pins). This cable can control the focus and shutter on the camera.

Here is a list of cameras this cable will work with:

• Nikon D200, D300, D700

• Nikon D1, D2, D3

• Other Nikon Cameras with the N1 Plug

Canon Camera Trigger Cable (C1) Buy Here

This cable, which plugs into either of the Camera/Flash ports on the Camera Axe, triggers Cannon cameras that have the "C1" plug. This cable can control the focus and shutter on the camera.

Here is a list of cameras this cable will work with:

• EOS Canon 300D, 350D, 400D, 450D, 1000D

• Canon Rebel XT, XTi, Xsi

• Other Canon Cameras with C1 Plug

Flash Hotshoe Buy Here

This flash hotshoe, which plugs into either of the Camera/Flash ports on the Camera Axe, lets you attach a flash to the Camera Axe for high speed photography.

Sensors

Projectile Sensor Buy Here

This is our favorite sensor and really does seem magical in that you can precisely position a bullet (or other fast moving objects) anywhere in your photograph just by measuring from the sensor to where you want the projectile to appear in the photo and then entering that distance into the Camera Axe. It uses both the sensor ports on the Camera Axe and is controlled in the special projectile sensor menu above.

Valve Sensor Buy Here

This sensor is designed to help take pictures of droplets. You can time a second drop to hit the first which creates some really amazing photos.

Microphone Sensor Buy Here

This microphone sensor, which plugs into either of the Sensor ports on the Camera Axe, detects moderate to loud sounds. It easily detects sounds such as guns, popping balloons, breaking glass, and snapping fingers. It will detect talking into the microphone, but it won't detect a voice from across the room.

Light Sensor Buy Here

This light sensor, which plugs into either of the Sensor ports on the Camera Axe, detects the light level. It is quite sensitive and works great at detecting lightning or other events that change the light level. When detecting lighting we suggest holding this sensor to the viewfinder of your camera with a rubber band or some tape.

Laser Buy Here

This laser, which plugs into either of the Sensor ports on the Camera Axe, isn't really a sensor. It creates a laser beam of light that works with the light sensor to create a laser trigger. All you do is hold the light sensor in place with a clamp and then aim this laser at it until it strikes the light sensor and clamp the laser into place. When something breaks the laser beam, a change in light levels is detected and the Camera Axe takes a picture. This technique has a wide variety of uses from detecting your dog walking down the hallway to taking pictures of a popping balloon. Any stand alone pen laser will work as a substitute for this device. The only advantage this device has is that you can have the Camera Axe turn off the laser as it's taking a picture so the red dot never ends up in your photographs.

Motion Sensor Buy Here

This motion sensor, which plugs into either of the Sensor ports on the Camera Axe, detects movement from hand sized objects and larger. Great for detecting pet tricks, bird feeder pictures or any other objects in motion.

Photogate Sensor Buy Here

This photogate sensor, which plugs into either of the Sensor ports on the Camera Axe, detects when something passes between the gate. Great for detecting well aimed bullets, water droplets, or anything that can pass through the 0.4 inch gap. This functions very similar to the light sensor and the laser, but this plugs into a single sensor port and is easier to set up for small objects.

Other accessories

Programming Cable Buy Here

This cable loads new firmware onto Camera Axe. To use this cable you need to remove four Philips screws on the back of Camera Axe and then just plug it into the device. This code is open source and you're free to modify it in anyway you want. Perhaps there is some functionally you want to add.

Wall Power Adapter Buy Here

Plug this into a 120 VAC 60 Hz plug and the other end into the Camera Axe where you normally use a battery. No longer are you limited by the life of a 9V battery.

3.5mm Extension Cable Buy Here

This is a 3.5mm extension cable. Very useful when you want to extend the range of your camera/flash cable or sensor cable on the Camera Axe by 6ft.

3.5mm Splitter Cable Buy Here

This 3.5mm splitter cable is used to control multiple cameras or flashes from a single port on the Camera Axe. All the flashes/cameras plugged into a single port will get triggered at the same time. This is extremely useful if you have two or more flashes to help soften the shadows that normally occur from a single flash. Another use is using two of the these cables, two lasers, and two light sensors to build a cross laser sensor to capture insects in flight.