The Camera trigger that was an initial idea from one of our members has many applications and we went into allot of effort to make all the available features work as they should and be as intuitive as possible. Read this description to find out more about these features and to see the device in action.
The Camera Trigger is an excellent Gizmo for anyone who is interested in making preplanned photos that are triggered by sensors or time. Below we shall describe how the software part of the Gizmo operates and explain each menu with all it's features. Have in mind that although the menus may look the same in some cases, they are not. There are many functions running in the background and don't show on the User Interface (UI).
In the Main Menu you can select which of the available features you would like to use to make your photos. Currently there are 6 functional menus to choose from and they are:
Delay Menu
In this menu you can adjust delays in Milliseconds for cameras and flash units which connect to the available ports on the Camera Trigger gizmo. Please read the Triggering mechanism for these delays before changing them to understand what each delay does and where its place is in the triggering sequence.
Light Menu
This menu uses the "Light" input of the gizmo and has specifically designed circuitry for the sensor. You can use this port for other sensors as well, such as a IR Interrupter.
Digital Menu
In this menu you can use sensors such as an ON/OFF switch or other triggering mechanisms that can produce a LOW -> HIGH transition. Currently we use this menu for the Motion Sensor available in our shop but other sensors can be easily connected.
Time-laps Menu
This menu uses time as the triggering mechanism. You can configure the gizmo to make pictures every N seconds, minutes & hours or to simply make a picture after N seconds, minutes & hours have passed.
Sound Menu
By connecting a microphone to the Camera Trigger you can use sound for triggering your setup. The gizmo has internal amplification for the microphone and is very sensitive to any sounds or background noise.
Digital-Analog Menu
Some sensors are analog but some are digital. This menu is designed to read digital signals such as HIGH-LOW, PWM, i2C, Serial and others for identifying a value from the sensor and enabling the triggering event. The same menu (port) can be used for reading analog sensors as well since the port used on the Micro-controller can read both Digital and Analog signals.
Scenario Menu
Currently the Scenario Menu is still a concept and hasn't been developed. The idea is to have a series of events take place in order to make a photo or to make photos following a series of sensor inputs. By default this menu is disabled and inaccessible.
Selecting and entering the appropriate menu is done by navigating with the LEFT and RIGHT buttons on the device, entering a menu is done by pressing the OK button.
Navigation
The navigation through any menu is done the same way. Under each parameter that can be changed there is a "Selection" line which shows on what parameter you currently are. In order to change a parameter you simply press the OK button and that parameter becomes highlighted and ready to be altered. Multiple selection parameters such as the amount of Cameras and Flash units can be changed by pressing the OK button as many times as required to achieve what you need. The parameter will change to a "Highlighted" state, indicating the current selection.
In order to activate the menu in which you are and enable the triggering mechanism you need to select the "Status" selection as shown on the image above and change it to "Active". Once the status of the menu is Active, every time the parameters are reached the triggering mechanism shall be activated. For instance if your Minimum value is 20 and you Maximum value is 40 then whenever the "Actual" value is within those limits the triggering mechanism shall be initiated making constant shots followed by a predefined delay.
The Delays menu was designed for adjusting individual delays between the camera and flash triggering. There are specific sequences in which the Camera Focus, Camera Shutter and the Flash are being triggered and between each one there is a delay. You have the ability to control those delays to achieve the best result. In order to understand how the triggering mechanism works and what are the sequences and timings for each trigger event please see the Triggering Mechanism section of this description (on the next page).
In order to enter this menu (since it is not shown on the screen) you need to press the LEFT and RIGHT buttons together, press one and then the other or the other way around. It really doesn't matter. As long as you are on the Main menu and both these buttons are pressed, you shall enter the Delays menu.
Delays
There are 5 delays that can be configured and they are: C1 (Camera1 Delay), C2 (Camera2 Delay), F2 (Flash2 Delay), F3 (Flash3 Delay), Fc (Focus Delay). The Focus delay is global and shall be applied to all the camera triggering sequences accordingly. Please note that there is no Flash1 delay since Flash1 is always fired first and doesn't need it.
All values in this menu are in Milliseconds, you should also have in mind that there is a 1ms delay before each triggering event due to a safety precaution so that if all delays are 0 then the signal for triggering individual devices is still present.
Back
Back does what it is named after, it takes you back to the Main Menu for selecting a different menu. You can go back by navigating to this selection and pressing the OK button.
The Light menu was specifically designed for Analog signal triggering and contains parameters for Minimum and Maximum values to be entered in order to achieve the optimum shot. Below is a complete list of available options in this menu.
In order to understand how the triggering mechanism works and what are the sequences and timings for each trigger event please see the Triggering Mechanism section of this description.
Min & Max Values
These are the values within which the "Actual Value" must be in order for the triggering mechanism to be activated. Once the Actual value is within these parameters a continues triggering event shall take place and will continue to be activated until ether the value is no longer within the Min and Max criteria or the Status selection has been deactivated.
Flash Select
On the gizmo there are 3 available Flash ports and up to 3 Flash units can be connected simultaneously to achieve the required effect. By navigating to the Flash Select parameter you can choose the number of flash units to be operational by pressing the OK button as many times as required.
Have in mind that if you are using only 1 Flash unit then it is not recommended to select 2 or 3 Flash units since the triggering sequence is different for each situation and the timings are optimized in a different way.
Camera Select
You can connect up to 2 cameras at the same time to the Camera Trigger and nave them being triggered based on the parameters you choose. The selection of this parameter is done the same way as the Flash selection. Have in mind that if you are using only 1 Camera then it is not recommended to select 2 units since the triggering sequence is different for each situation and the timings are optimized in a different way.
Status
This parameter is what makes the device enter into triggering mode and out of it. If you select "Active" then whenever the parameters of your Actual value are breached, a triggering event shall occur. You can set this parameter as "Inactive" if you lie to simply experiment with different settings and monitor the Actual value.
Back
Back does what it is named after, it takes you back to the Main Menu for selecting a different menu. You can go back by navigating to this selection and pressing the OK button.
Unlike the Sound and Light menus, this menu triggers an event only if the value of the "Digital" port on the gizmo is pulled HIGH (1) and by default as "Inactive" is LOW (0). For this reason there are no parameters for Minimum or Maximum values and you can only select how many Cameras and Flash units to use.
Another major difference of this menu from the rest is that it is configured to activate the triggering event from a Remote Control available in our shop as an optional accessory for the gizmo and is shown on the image below.
Flash Select
On the gizmo there are 3 available Flash ports and up to 3 Flash units can be connected simultaneously to achieve the required effect. By navigating to the Flash Select parameter you can choose the number of flash units to be operational by pressing the OK button as many times as required.
Have in mind that if you are using only 1 Flash unit then it is not recommended to select 2 or 3 Flash units since the triggering sequence is different for each situation and the timings are optimized in a different way.
Camera Select
You can connect up to 2 cameras at the same time to the Camera Trigger and nave them being triggered based on the parameters you choose. The selection of this parameter is done the same way as the Flash selection. Have in mind that if you are using only 1 Camera then it is not recommended to select 2 units since the triggering sequence is different for each situation and the timings are optimized in a different way.
Status
This parameter is what makes the device enter into triggering mode and out of it. If you select "Active" then whenever the parameters of your Actual value are breached, a triggering event shall occur. You can set this parameter as "Inactive" if you lie to simply experiment with different settings and monitor the Actual value.
Remote Control
In order to be able to use the Remote Control you need to set up the Camera and Flash parameters as required and NOT select or activate the status selection. For instance you can select the "Back" button and not press it. If you ARE on the Status selection then the Remote functions will not work simply because you might want to be able to use a sensor to activate the triggering mechanism instead of the remote. If you are NOT on the Status selection, you can activate the triggering mechanism by pressing the Left button of the remote. Also while pressing the remote button you shall notice the Status selection change from "Inactive" to "Active".
Back
Back does what it is named after, it takes you back to the Main Menu for selecting a different menu. You can go back by navigating to this selection and pressing the OK button.
Time-laps was designed to provide a flexible solution for anyone who wishes to make photos with timed criteria. For instance you can make photos of a blooming flower each 2 minutes or 1 hour or you can make a photo after the time has run out. There are many application in which time-laps can be used and it is up to each user to decide what those applications are.
Every - When
This option determines what type of functionality would you like. If you select "Every" then every second, minute hour depending on your criteria a shot shall be taken and will continue on doing so until you deactivate the status selection.
The "When" option on the other hand uses a countdown from the parameters you enter and after the countdown is complete a trigger event is made. The trigger event shall continue on being active until you set the Status option back to "Inactive".
Time Setup - Preview
In this option you set the Hours, Minutes and seconds for you shot. By navigating Left or right you can select which parameter you need to change and by pressing the OK button on that selection you can set the option accordingly. Press the OK button once again to set the option. The same selection shall preview the countdown once the Status has been set to "Active" and at the end of the operation will be set to 0 or to the time in which the operation was stopped.
Flash Select
On the gizmo there are 3 available Flash ports and up to 3 Flash units can be connected simultaneously to achieve the required effect. By navigating to the Flash Select parameter you can choose the number of flash units to be operational by pressing the OK button as many times as required.
Have in mind that if you are using only 1 Flash unit then it is not recommended to select 2 or 3 Flash units since the triggering sequence is different for each situation and the timings are optimized in a different way.
Camera Select
You can connect up to 2 cameras at the same time to the Camera Trigger and nave them being triggered based on the parameters you choose. The selection of this parameter is done the same way as the Flash selection. Have in mind that if you are using only 1 Camera then it is not recommended to select 2 units since the triggering sequence is different for each situation and the timings are optimized in a different way.
Status
This parameter is what makes the device enter into triggering mode and out of it. If you select "Active" then whenever the parameters of your Actual value are breached, a triggering event shall occur. You can set this parameter as "Inactive" if you lie to simply experiment with different settings and monitor the Actual value.
Back
Back does what it is named after, it takes you back to the Main Menu for selecting a different menu. You can go back by navigating to this selection and pressing the OK button.
The Sound menu was designed for Analog signal triggering and contains parameters for Minimum and Maximum values to be entered in order to achieve the optimum shot. Currently the Sound menu uses the first out of the two MIC inputs. Both Microphone ports have amplification circuits and are very sensitive to background sound. Make sure you test the Actual values of the sound menu in the environment that you shall be taking photos before activating the menu and setting the parameters. Below is a complete list of available options in this menu.
In order to understand how the triggering mechanism works and what are the sequences and timings for each trigger event please see the Triggering Mechanism section of this description.
Min & Max Values
These are the values within which the "Actual Value" must be in order for the triggering mechanism to be activated. Once the Actual value is within these parameters a continues triggering event shall take place and will continue to be activated until ether the value is no longer within the Min and Max criteria or the Status selection has been deactivated.
Flash Select
On the gizmo there are 3 available Flash ports and up to 3 Flash units can be connected simultaneously to achieve the required effect. By navigating to the Flash Select parameter you can choose the number of flash units to be operational by pressing the OK button as many times as required.
Have in mind that if you are using only 1 Flash unit then it is not recommended to select 2 or 3 Flash units since the triggering sequence is different for each situation and the timings are optimized in a different way.
Camera Select
You can connect up to 2 cameras at the same time to the Camera Trigger and nave them being triggered based on the parameters you choose. The selection of this parameter is done the same way as the Flash selection. Have in mind that if you are using only 1 Camera then it is not recommended to select 2 units since the triggering sequence is different for each situation and the timings are optimized in a different way.
Status
This parameter is what makes the device enter into triggering mode and out of it. If you select "Active" then whenever the parameters of your Actual value are breached, a triggering event shall occur. You can set this parameter as "Inactive" if you lie to simply experiment with different settings and monitor the Actual value.
Back
Back does what it is named after, it takes you back to the Main Menu for selecting a different menu. You can go back by navigating to this selection and pressing the OK button.
The Digital - Analog has been created in order to help reading sensors other than the ones available in our shop or signals that can generate a value greater than 1 through protocols such as SPI, I2C, Serial, PWM or others. The menu contains parameters for Minimum and Maximum values to be entered in order to achieve the optimum shot. The same port can be used for reading analog signals as well since the port used for this input has both Digital and Analog capabilities. Currently this menu is set to read the Light Frequency sensor in our shop which uses PWM digital protocol for sending data. Below is a complete list of available options in this menu.
In order to understand how the triggering mechanism works and what are the sequences and timings for each trigger event please see the Triggering Mechanism section of this description.
Min & Max Values
These are the values within which the "Actual Value" must be in order for the triggering mechanism to be activated. Once the Actual value is within these parameters a continues triggering event shall take place and will continue to be activated until ether the value is no longer within the Min and Max criteria or the Status selection has been deactivated.
Flash Select
On the gizmo there are 3 available Flash ports and up to 3 Flash units can be connected simultaneously to achieve the required effect. By navigating to the Flash Select parameter you can choose the number of flash units to be operational by pressing the OK button as many times as required.
Have in mind that if you are using only 1 Flash unit then it is not recommended to select 2 or 3 Flash units since the triggering sequence is different for each situation and the timings are optimized in a different way.
Camera Select
You can connect up to 2 cameras at the same time to the Camera Trigger and nave them being triggered based on the parameters you choose. The selection of this parameter is done the same way as the Flash selection. Have in mind that if you are using only 1 Camera then it is not recommended to select 2 units since the triggering sequence is different for each situation and the timings are optimized in a different way.
Status
This parameter is what makes the device enter into triggering mode and out of it. If you select "Active" then whenever the parameters of your Actual value are breached, a triggering event shall occur. You can set this parameter as "Inactive" if you lie to simply experiment with different settings and monitor the Actual value.
Back
Back does what it is named after, it takes you back to the Main Menu for selecting a different menu. You can go back by navigating to this selection and pressing the OK button.
Below you can see a general preview of navigation through the different menus available on the device as well as the Light sensor being connected and tested.
Our apologies for not being able to completely see what is going on inside the menus, we wanted to show the sensor connected to the device and the pressing of the buttons, all that couldn't fit on a high res video. You can see the menu better in the video below.
Parameter Saving & Auto Adjusting
The Camera Trigger gizmo contains an external EEPPROM integrated circuit. This allows the unit to store all the icons and parameters externally, leaving more space for the actual program to run and keeping all the parameters safe. Each time you change a parameter in any menu that parameter is automatically saved as soon as you press the BACK button. Have in mind that if you do NOT press the back button and power off the device then the parameters shall not change and the ones previously defined will appear the next time you power on the device. Another feature we included in the software is to automatically adjust the Minimum and Maximum values based on the Actual value. For instance if your Actual value is 2000 then it would be really annoying to scroll to that value and if it would change you would need to do it all over again. So whenever you select a value to change it will automatically jump to the highest point of the Actual value, letting you tweak the rest of it for the best performance. This is especially helpful when you change the environment in which you are making the pictures and if you were triggering the device on a sunny day with the light sensor then when you enter a dark room the value shall be significantly lower and you would need to readjust.
There is another adjustment included in firmware versions 1.1 and above. Sometimes the values from sensors might have a pretty big difference when using the device in different environments, except for the feature of auto-adjustment we also integrated a small function which clears the values. For instance your previously defined Minimum value was 3 and now you need it to be 234. When you start increasing the value it will automatically jump to the current value of the sensor and stay there for you to decrease as you wish. The same principle goes for the Maximum value. If you had a value 18000 before and now need it to be 180 then by decreasing this value it will automatically drop to the sensor value and you can increase it from there. These are small enhancements but often may help save time and for us it is a simple line of code where for someone else it could mean a world when in a tight schedule.
Triggering Mechanism v1.0-TR1
There is a specific sequence that we have designed for multiple camera and Flash triggering. Below is the initial sequence that is available on the Firmware v1.0-TR1
The Delays for each Camera & Flash unit are:
- Camera1 Focus = 100ms
- Camera2 Focus = 100ms
- Flash1 = 1ms
- Flash2 = 1ms
- Flash3 = 1ms
- Shot Period = 5ms
These values can change after feedback from users.
Triggering Sequence for 1 Camera & 1 Flash Unit
Enable Camera1 Focus
- Delay (MS) Camera1 Focus
Enable Camera1 Shutter
- Delay (MS) Flash1
Enable Flash1
- Delay (MS) Shot Period
Disable Camera1 Focus
Disable Camera1 Shutter
Disable Flash1
Triggering Sequence for 1 Camera & 2 Flash Units
Enable Camera1 Focus
- Delay (MS) Camera1 Focus
Enable Camera1 Shutter
- Delay (MS) Flash1
Enable Flash1
- Delay (MS) Flash2
Disable Flash1
Enable Flash2
- Delay (MS) Shot Period
Disable Camera1 Focus
Disable Camera1 Shutter
Disable Flash2
Triggering Sequence for 1 Camera & 3 Flash Units
Enable Camera1 Focus
- Delay (MS) Camera1 Focus
Enable Camera1 Shutter
- Delay (MS) Flash1
Enable Flash1
- Delay (MS) Flash2
Disable Flash1
Enable Flash2
- Delay (MS) Flash3
Disable Flash2
Enable Flash3
- Delay (MS) Shot Period
Disable Camera1 Focus
Disable Camera1 Shutter
Disable Flash3
Triggering Sequence for 2 Cameras & 1 Flash Unit
Enable Camera1 Focus
Enable Camera2 Focus
- Delay (MS) Camera1 Focus
Enable Camera1 Shutter
- Delay (MS) Camera2 Focus
Enable Camera2 Shutter
- Delay (MS) Flash1
Enable Flash1
- Delay (MS) Shot Period
Disable Camera1 Focus
Disable Camera2 Focus
Disable Camera1 Shutter
Disable Camera2 Shutter
Disable Flash1
Triggering Sequence for 2 Cameras & 2 Flash Units
Enable Camera1 Focus
Enable Camera2 Focus
- Delay (MS) Camera1 Focus
Enable Camera1 Shutter
- Delay (MS) Camera2 Focus
Enable Camera2 Shutter
- Delay (MS) Flash1
Enable Flash1
- Delay (MS) Flash2
Disable Flash1
Enable Flash2
- Delay (MS) Shot Period
Disable Camera1 Focus
Disable Camera2 Focus
Disable Camera1 Shutter
Disable Camera2 Shutter
Disable Flash2
Triggering Sequence for 2 Cameras & 3 Flash Units
Enable Camera1 Focus
Enable Camera2 Focus
- Delay (MS) Camera1 Focus
Enable Camera1 Shutter
- Delay (MS) Camera2 Focus
Enable Camera2 Shutter
- Delay (MS) Flash1
Enable Flash1
- Delay (MS) Flash2
Disable Flash1
Enable Flash2
- Delay (MS) Flash3
Disable Flash2
Enable Flash3
- Delay (MS) Shot Period
Disable Camera1 Focus
Disable Camera2 Focus
Disable Camera1 Shutter
Disable Camera2 Shutter
Disable Flash3
Triggering Mechanism v1.1-TR2
After the initial development of the firmware v1.0 we had requests to include a menu for customizing the delays between each triggering event. In versions 1.1-TR2 and above the triggering sequence is completely different since now that the delays are customizable there were some values that are not necessary anymore and we redesigned the way that the triggering sequence works. Before adjusting the delays please read the sequences used so that you know what delay you are changing and what is it's purpose in the sequence.
The Delays for each Camera & Flash unit are:
- Camera1 Delay - (Marked as C1 in the menu)
- Camera2 Delay - (Marked as C2 in the menu)
- Flash2 Delay - (Marked as F2 in the menu)
- Flash3 Delay - (Marked as F3 in the menu)
- Focus Delay - (Marked as Fc in the menu)
These values are customizable and can be changed within the "Delays Menu"
Cameras are triggered in the following manner:
Enable Camera Focus
- Focus Delay (MS)
Enable Camera Shutter
- Delay 1ms (for the signal to go through)
Disable Camera Focus
Disable Camera Shutter
Flash signals are triggered as described below:
Enable Flash
- Delay 1ms (for the signal to go through)
Disable Flash
Triggering Sequence for 1 Camera & 1 Flash Unit
Trigger Flash1
- Camera1 Delay (Marked as C1)
Trigger Camera1
Triggering Sequence for 1 Camera & 2 Flash Units
Trigger Flash1
- Camera1 Delay (Marked as C1)
Trigger Camera1
- Flash2 Delay (Marked as F2)
Trigger Flash2
Triggering Sequence for 1 Camera & 3 Flash Units
Trigger Flash1
- Camera1 Delay (Marked as C1)
Trigger Camera1
- Flash2 Delay (Marked as F2)
Trigger Flash2
- Flash3 Delay (Marked as F3)
Trigger Flash3
Triggering Sequence for 2 Cameras & 1 Flash Unit
Trigger Flash1
- Camera1 Delay (Marked as C1)
Trigger Camera1
- Camera2 Delay (Marked as C2)
Trigger Camera2
Triggering Sequence for 2 Cameras & 2 Flash Units
Trigger Flash1
- Camera1 Delay (Marked as C1)
Trigger Camera1
- Flash2 Delay (Marked as F2)
Trigger Flash2
- Camera2 Delay (Marked as C2)
Trigger Camera2
Triggering Sequence for 2 Cameras & 3 Flash Units
Trigger Flash1
- Camera1 Delay (Marked as C1)
Trigger Camera1
- Flash2 Delay (Marked as F2)
Trigger Flash2
- Camera2 Delay (Marked as C2)
Trigger Camera2
- Flash3 Delay (Marked as F3)
Trigger Flash3
Note:Have in mind that there is no Flash1 delay since it always fires first in all the sequences.
