gus
Posts: 388
Location: United Kingdom
Registered: 19 Jun 2007
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camera remote controls
Posted: 17 Feb 2008 at 14:35 GMT
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More camera related than pano related, but remote controls are a major advantage when photographing panos, so I thought its worth a mention.
I own a D70s, my first remote was the ML-3 infrared, it didnt take long before I smashed it on the ground! The D70s receiver is located at the front of the camera, and it requires special skills to point the remote to the front of the camera when stood behind it.... 
I then got a corded remote on ebay (less than £5), which is far better. However, I found in small spaces, (I do a lot of limos), the chord gets in the way when trying to turn the bracket, and when I move my body from shot to shot.
I've now purchased (not received yet) a wireless remote which I think will do the trick. It was only £13 including postage, and it claims to have a 40m range.
Search 200199557428 at www.ebay.co.uk
I've seen some photographers use a little mirror at the front of the receiver to bounce the signal from behind. Havent tried it yet, but I suspect the incidence angle will be shallow, so you'd have to be right behind the camera. And I dont like the idea of sticking a piece of mirror to my camera, it looks unprofessional...
How do other members use their cameras remotely?
gus
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Tim Eastman
Posts: 70
Location:
Registered: 15 Nov 2006
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Re: camera remote controls
Posted: 17 Feb 2008 at 15:40 GMT
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Gus:
I was surprised recently when I tried pointing my ML-3 at the back of my D80 and it worked fine. I wished I had tried this hundreds of shots ago, as I had gone through the usual contortions trying to aim it at the front sensor!
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 789
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: camera remote controls
Posted: 17 Feb 2008 at 15:45 GMT
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Gus
I use the Canon wired shutter release.
What I've gotten in the habit of is hooking the wire around and under the Mandrotto level I always have on the hot shoe. It's almost like its designed to hook the remote on.
It does help that the cord is only 2 ft long
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
Doug
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ebig
Posts: 159
Location: Haiku, Maui, Hawaii, United States
Registered: 21 May 2007
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Re: camera remote controls
Posted: 17 Feb 2008 at 20:29 GMT
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The IR sensor on the camera seems to get saturated by bright light outdoors, reducing it's effectiveness. Indoors is much less of an issue.
For the D40(x), taping a shiny plastic card (acts as a mirror) over the sensor provides both shading and reflectivity for the IR signal, extending the range. Should be the same for other IR sensors.
Ebay lists some 20m IR remotes that work and are supposedly 4x more powerful than the Nikon ML-L3. I use a couple and they are more powerful, but IMO 20m is a fantasy, as is 5m for the ML-L3 outdoors.
Regards,
Ed
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Henri Smeets
Posts: 63
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Registered: 28 Nov 2006
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Re: camera remote controls
Posted: 17 Feb 2008 at 20:46 GMT
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I use a Phottix RF remote, no line-of-site needed, works great and is very cheap! Search eBay on Phottix!
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Mark Schuster
Posts: 732
Location: Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom
Registered: 25 Jan 2006
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Re: camera remote controls
Posted: 17 Feb 2008 at 20:59 GMT
updated: 17 Feb 2008 at 21:00 GMT
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I use a Canon IR remote release on my 300D and like Gus with his D70 have to point it virtually at the lens to make it work. Not much use for panoramas unless you want to be in every projection, however my remote isn't as useless as it at first seems. Set a 2 second delay, point at the detector next to the lens and depart taking your shadow with you. Sort of 'light the blue touch paper and retire'. Problem solved!
And the 2 second delay makes little difference to the time it takes to complete 360 degrees because shooting in RAW needs quite a bit of time to transfer to the memory card which the 2 second delay tends to absorbs.
And I've got a back-up remote, cost less than £6, including postage, form Hong Kong. It's more powerful and works with Nikon as well as Canon.
Nonetheless, I'd rather have a wired release as this would give better control of the exact moment of exposure. £12 on Ebay? Not bad. Better still, wireless, but that gets expensive, relatively.
Mark
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michael medina
Posts: 297
Location: portland, oregon, United States
Registered: 27 Jan 2008
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Re: camera remote controls
Posted: 18 Feb 2008 at 23:50 GMT
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there used to be a product (maybe there still is) that would fit on your hot shoe and have a bendable wire with a clip on the end that could hold different filters, i'm thinking about finding one and trying it to bounce the d70 ir remote back to the sensor.
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gus
Posts: 388
Location: United Kingdom
Registered: 19 Jun 2007
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Re: camera remote controls
Posted: 19 Feb 2008 at 8:02 GMT
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Im guessing you plan on using the clip to hold a little mirror or something?
I read on another website that using a piece of old Cd (neatly cut off course) instead of a mirror, works much better as the surface of the CD offers a wide dispersion of return signal.
But again, I feel guilty decorating my expensive (for me anyway!) camera with a DIY contraption. Especially if you're using it in front of clients. Ebay has loads of bargains on wireless remotes that need no line of sight. You can fire the shutter from behind a couch!
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michael medina
Posts: 297
Location: portland, oregon, United States
Registered: 27 Jan 2008
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Re: camera remote controls
Posted: 19 Feb 2008 at 9:46 GMT
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iirc, ir bounces of any hard surface, but i'll probably make my own version anyway and play around with different materials.
i only have a d70 so i don't think that i can plug anything into it
next high paying client buys me a d300 though
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Pierre Gielen
Posts: 23
Location: Netherlands
Registered: 23 Jan 2008
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Re: camera remote controls
Posted: 19 Feb 2008 at 16:26 GMT
updated: 19 Feb 2008 at 16:28 GMT
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aiwetir said: there used to be a product (maybe there still is) that would fit on your hot shoe and have a bendable wire with a clip on the end
Yes, it's called a flare buster (www.flarebuster.com). I recently bought one from the distributor in the Czech Republic (which was cheaper than buying it in France).
BTW I my infrared remote control will work from the back of my D70s when in a room with light walls and ceiling, but not when outside, so I am also using a 5 meters long wire remote control now.
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G U R L
Posts: 101
Location: Grenoble, France
Registered: 16 Dec 2005
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Re: lens hood
Posted: 1 Mar 2008 at 10:39 GMT
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A very tiny piece of adhesive tape on the lens hood works very well for my camera IR trigger.
The tape is metallic but a white tape should work. Inconspicuous...
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