Remote releases for housings...

Hi All - I am planning a couple of shoots in the near future, both of which I would like to use a remote release. Firstly I'm going to try mounting my D2X Nexus and a couple of small strobes on the front of a surfboard (and will let you know if I ever see them again;-)) and have a long remote cable so that the surfer can release the shutter. Alternatively, although I suspect this will be a difficult and more expensive option, I am considering an electronic/radio gadget that will do the same but will be triggered my myself sitting on a jetski close by. The second project will be underwater and at depth but essentially the same thing - I want to be able to trigger the shutter from a distance using a cable release.

I suspect I will be able to rig up something for the second project - Blue Peter style with lots of string and duct tape around the shutter release - but the first will require something a lot more rugged. Has anyone had any experience of playing around with the third plug on a Nexus housing body and fitting a socket and some sort of remote release? Has anyone had any experience of doing this with ANY housing camera!? Any help would be much appreciated!

Matt Oldfield

www.scubazoo.com

Matt,

You can set the D2X to shoot a series of up to 999 images at regular intervals. Maybe this would be easier.

Just get the surfer or jetskiier to press the shutter once just before they set off - and then delete the images that don't show the action you want.

Alternatively I use a bike brake cable as a long remote release.

Alex

p.s. If I was planning to attach a camera to either of those I would consider something cheaper than a D2X.

Thanks Alex - Yessssss, fills me with fear the thought of my D2X on the front of a surf board!!!!:-) I though of setting it up to fire a time lapse but I would still like to try and work out a way of fitting a cable - at least so I can be sure the camera is shooting just when I want it to be... Brake cable is a good idea indeed, will give that a try!

BTW, I heard you might be heading to Sabah in the near future? If so, drop me a line be great to meet up!

Matt

Unfortunately I'm flying direct to Tawau. If I was in KK at all I would have definietly emailed to organise popping in to say hi.

I'm moving about quite a bit during my stay - I'll be on Mabul, on Kapalai and on the Seaventures rig at various times. By mainly I plan to be underwater. I am coming next week, and staying for two.

I'd definitely play with the time lapse - it can work really well. When I rigged up my pole-cam (which I never used in anger) I would trigger a time lapse sequence using the remoter (bike cable) release.

Alex

Off the top of my hat, there is a web site somewhere with the wiring (triggering) schematic of the 10 pin socket, you only need two, skip the auto focus actuater wire, get an EO water proof bulkhead connector, solder two pin of the right size to the wire of the EO and cut them to proper lenght, for the external remote, get a lenght of cable from the same source (EO) and attach any kind of switching device and waterproof it with plastic bag and duct tape if need be. in the end I tend to agree with Alex, get something lighter, like a D70s or a D50 in an Ikelite, Fantasea or something like that, the weight of these is less likely to shear off the housing from the board, plus the fact the housing is transparent might just let you use the infrared remote available for those if you have direct line of sight to the infrared sensor (Darn, Ike I can't believe i'm promoting the virtue of your housing )

What kind of surfboard are we talking about? I guess a longboard, or a "gun" because a D2X on a nexus is going to cause a lot of unbalance on any other type of surfboard as rocket point type smaller than 7 ft... besides that is going to be a lot difficult to the surfer to manouver the board. Best pics of a front surfboard front camera I ever seen is on pipelines, and generally lots of wipeouts occur when you go inside a pipeline, so the housing can take a beat... Another thing is surfboards are extremelly light, and that is what keeping them from hit the rock (or sand) bottom unless lip of the wave fall on it, but with all that weight on front it´s going down...

Just something to consider...

Guys - Many thanks for the input. I am not that technically minded but the 10pin cable wiring does sound like it could be within my abilities. I suppose its down to whether I trust myself fitting a bulkhead and relying on it. I just received an email from Junko at Nexus and they recommend the MC100 remote cable for the RS - I didn't know it even existed! It will work straight through one of the synch sockets on the housing but Junko said that as an alternative, they can also fit it through one of the plugged accessory ports. I will let you know.

As for the surfboard, I'm just the shooter on this, my colleague is the surfer. However I suspect the only way to do this will be on a big board. The idea at the moment is to cut/mould a foam 'seat' that the housing, minus its grips, will sit in - the idea is that it makes the housing a little more streamlined and if it does get pulled off, at least it might float. Ideally, I'd like to make two seats, one for portrait and one for landscape orientation. And I'd love to use a 10.5mm with a big dome but feel I am asking for trouble. As for the strobes, well I think I might be asking for too much here. However, the breaks we are planning on using all face the east and those dawn, off-shore breeze shots are all going to be heavily back-lit. A little fill flash would be perfect but I'm going to have to think about safety first I reckon. Thanks again for all though. If the shoot goes ahead and I pull some shots off I'll post them.

Matt

www.scubazoo.com

Matt... just get inside the wave on scuba....forget the board....

But watch out.. waves can hurt!!! i blame a certain Eric Cheng for the current bruise on my head due to a strobe whilst gettin tumbled....

Mike - If you had a bruise on your head, it would have been TOTALLY obvious. I did't see anything. hahaha. Nice shot, though. I am going back there when I come back to Yap.

Matt - I used to have a remote setup wired through my Sea & Sea to a D60. You can just wire 2 pins through a bulkhead to the remote interface of your camera and use a switch. Waterproofing it all will be harder. Seacam and some others are selling remote kits now, which all are very expensive, but you may be able to rig one on up yourself if you're savvy. I don't have any experience working with waterproofed cords and connectors, so I had someone do it for me.

As a future project, I'd like to house a Canon remote that has a built in intervalometer and other fun features. It requires 3 pins, but shouldn't be very difficult because the Seacam I use already has a remote bulkhead wired to the camera.

Eric, wrong strobe to the head.. This was not the one where YOU! smacked me in bald head with YOUR strobe..!!!

This one from smacking my own bald head with my own strobe....after you left...

I was looking into rigging up a better system for a pole-cam than using a long cord or bike cable. Keep in mind that this is all for an Ike housing and a Canon 350D.

I think that I'll try to rig up something similar to the USB connectivity shown on http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/adding-usb-...ur-u-w-housing/, but instead of connecting the USB cord, I would splice in the Canon Remote Switch RS-60E3. You would then need to splice onto an Ike synch cord to plug into the housing bulkhead. But the nice part is that Ike sells 15 ft. synch cord extensions, so you just add in an extension or two to get the length you need. I've attached a drawing of what it would look like.

Sooo, instead of taking this further off topic i was actually thinkin about it...

I know the D70 has an optional cable release you can plug into the camera, and am assuming the D2X does as well...should be easy to splice it to whatever length you need.

Does the Nexus housing have synch cord sockets that are removable?? If so then should be a really easy solution. Purchase another synch socket and bore it out with a drill. THen you can pass the remote cable through it. With the synch socket off the housing...(very important.. )

you can then fill up the rest of the socket with a marine adhesive silicone like 5200 or somethin along those lines... then just wait for that to dry overnight and screw it into the housing..

Also, easy to waterproof the splice on the cable. Using a... wait for it... FILM canister...!!! Just cut a hole in bottom of film canister and fit over the cable then push to where you have the splice.. you can then fill that canister with 5200..... or if that will be too big and ugly.. use a smaller canister looking thing... you could then use a light coating of silicone over the switch on the other end to waterproof it and retain control over the button...

Cheap and easy solution!

Just don't get the 5200 in your hair.. pain to get out...

Just don't get the 5200 in your hair.. pain to get out...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How would you know?????

BTW, sorry to hear about your D70. And even sorrier to hear about the "new" Continental sked that's causing us to not be able to do Yap next month. Looks like Palau-only for us. Oh, well. Next time. Was looking forward to diving/shootingharassing/drifting with you again.

- Ken

Ken... why you think i am bald?! Livin on boats that need maintainance for too long!! haha

Yea, sorry to hear you not comin out... next time!