Summary of The Santa Cam! An Arduino PIR Motion-Activated Camera System
The Santa Cam uses an Arduino and a DSLR to trigger the camera remotely when motion or an event occurs, letting you capture who takes your milk and cookies. The project adapts a TRS remote shutter jack so the Arduino can short shutter or focus pins to ground, using a rectifier diode for protection. It can also double as a party photo booth.
Parts used in the Santa Cam:
- Arduino Uno
- DSLR camera with remote shutter jack
- 2.5mm TRS cable
- Rectifier diode
- Milk and cookies
The Santa Cam is sure to catch who is stealing your milk and cookies this holiday season! You can even use it for a photo booth this New Year’s Eve!
BOM:
- Arduino Uno
- DSLR camera with remote shutter jack
- 2.5mm TRS cable
- Rectifier diode
- Milk and cookies
Why?
You see, when I was little, my dad used to set up a video camera in the corner of the living room on Christmas Eve night, right near the milk and cookies. The next morning, after obnoxiously tearing through my presents, we would sit down and scroll through the footage to see if we caught anything. Lo and behold, Saint Nick walked right past the camera—but no shot of his face!
Since my childhood, I have tried staying up time and time again to catch him, myself (he always comes right after I fall asleep)! This year, I figured I would beat the man at his own game! With just a few components and my handy-dandy DSLR, I found a great All About Circuits article and built the infamous “Santa Cam.” I found my nearest spare Debra-head and strapped on the components and used her as a scarecrow (act natural, nothing to see here)!
How?
First, let’s understand how my camera works. Yours may be different, so double check your manual before moving forward. My Canon EOS Rebel T3i has a 2.5mm TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) remote shutter jack. A common auxiliary TRS cable, like the one you plug your phone into to play music in your car, is a 3.5mm TRS cable. I had an extra one of those lying around but the connector was too big for my camera, so I bought a 3.5mm female–to–2.5mm male adapter.
In a typical setup like mine, you can control the focus or shutter separately by shorting either of the corresponding leads to ground. On my cable, the tip (T) controls the shutter, the ring (R) controls the focus, and the sleeve (S) is ground. By shorting the tip or ring to the sleeve, we can activate one of the two functions.
Read More: PIR Motion-Activated Camera System
- What does the Santa Cam project use to trigger the camera?
The project uses an Arduino to short the camera remote shutter jack pins to ground to trigger focus or shutter. - What type of cable fits the DSLR remote shutter jack in this project?
The author uses a 2.5mm TRS cable for the camera remote shutter jack and adapted a common 3.5mm cable with a 3.5mm female to 2.5mm male adapter. - Which TRS connector pin controls the shutter on the described camera?
On the author's cable, the tip (T) controls the shutter. - Which TRS connector pin controls focus on the described camera?
On the author's cable, the ring (R) controls the focus. - What is the sleeve (S) used for on the TRS remote shutter jack?
The sleeve serves as ground to be shorted to tip or ring to activate shutter or focus. - Why was a rectifier diode included in the parts list?
The rectifier diode is included for protection when interfacing the Arduino with the camera remote circuit. - Can the Santa Cam be used for other events besides catching Santa?
Yes, the author mentions it can be used as a photo booth for New Year's Eve. - Did the author need to modify the 3.5mm cable to fit the camera?
Yes, the author used a 3.5mm female to 2.5mm male adapter because the 3.5mm connector was too large for the camera.
