DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

How to create a mechanical shutter release for your digital point & shoot camera

Nov 19, 2019 by John Aldred 3 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Most cameras these days offer some kind of built-in WiFI or Bluetooth control that allows you to fire your camera from an app on your smartphone. But not all of them do. The Ricoh GRII is one of those cameras that actually does offer some remote control via an app or USB remote, but sometimes you still want that tactile feel of pushing a shutter button, and the immediate response it gives.

One GRII owner, Steloherd, has created his own method of firing the camera’s shutter via a traditional mechanical shutter release cable. It attaches via the camera’s hot shoe, and then the cable just screws into the top to push down the regular shutter button.

Steloherd says he made the mechanical cable release bracket because he wasn’t very comfortable with the Ricoh CA-3 remote shutter release, which connects through the GRII’s USB port. He says the cable isn’t very flexible and little movements of the cable can shift the camera when he sets it down on a flat surface without a tripod. He also does not use smartphones.

The lever is made from three main parts. There’s the foot which slides into the camera’s hot shoe, an arm to mount the release cable, and a lever which the cable pushes down to fire the shutter (although he says it’s not essential, it’s merely to protect it from scratches). These three components are held together by a single screw going into the hot shoe mount.


It’s a neat idea, and I’ve seen a few others do similar over the years to add an external shutter release to cameras. Typically, though, it’s to add an external shutter release ones that don’t have a USB or smartphone option, often to be able to shoot timelapse. In those cases, instead of the mechanical shutter release cable, a servo motor or linear actuator and an Arduino was used to push down a lever onto the camera’s shutter button.

You can check out Steloherd’s complete build instructions on Instructables.

[via Hackaday / Images: Steloherd, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Canon patent shows a shutter-like mechanical barrier to protect your mirrorless sensor Default ThumbnailCamera Shutter Release Cable Extension Kit Default ThumbnailPreventing Time-Lapse Flicker Caused By Mechanical Inconsistencies Zhiyun announce new Crane Plus 3-axis gimbal and tease mechanical follow focus unit

Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: DIY, instructables, Remote Trigger, shutter release button, Steloherd

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« How to build the YouTube dream studio of the future
Instagram tries to fight stalker app that lets users access private accounts »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Sony teases upcoming ZV-E1 full-frame vlogging camera coming on March 29
  • The Xencelabs Pen Display 24 is silent, glare-free retouching tablet
  • Fall in love with astrophotography with these 10 space objects
  • Hipstamatic app relaunches as a social network, but only for iOS
  • Instagram now has ads even in search results. Sigh

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy