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motorized Panoramic head

imme

Apr 14, 2010
2
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Apr 14, 2010
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Hi ,

I am a photographer and I do Panoramic photography. I use a panoramic head that takes images in different rows. Than I stitch all these images together to make a full 360 x 180 panorama.

I want to use stepper motors and micrcontrollers with my panoramic head to automate this process. I am not an expert on this. I need you people help in building it.

Project Details:

2 stepper motors. One for x axis movements and one for y-axis rotation.
microcontroller should take parameter inputs from user.
Parameters are

1. Total degrees/steps to be rotated by x-axis stepper motor.

2. The above total degrees defined will be completed in steps. Input for number of steps to move in one movement. For example if i have a 1.8 degree stepper and I want to define it should move 1.8 in one go or 3.6 or so so on in one movement.

3.After every above single movement it should delay and wait for camera to take image, write it on card etc. This input will be given in seconds.Than starts movements again and repeating till motor completes its x-axis movements defined in first parameter.

4. When x-axis motor completes its total degree/steps defined. Than y-axis motor rotates according to parameter defined. Yaxis movement is simply achieved by changing motor direction so no complication here.

5.When y-axis does its movement than x-axis motor starts repeating its row activity again.

6.Total number of y-axis movements defined by parameter. This parameter will be used to terminate this whole process too.

A microcontroller with small LCD taking parameters at the time of start. Is there anyone who wants to do it?
 

55pilot

Feb 23, 2010
434
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Feb 23, 2010
Messages
434
Everything you want to do is doable but not easy. To get something that will work accurately and reliably will take quite a bit of effort including the mechanical engineering part. If your goal is to save money, you are likely better off buying something even if it costs several thousand dollars. If you goal is to learn electronics, you have chosen a really challenging project to start learning on.

Edited to add: This is not just a programming project. It ought to be moved.

---55p
 
Last edited:

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
Moderator
Jan 21, 2010
25,510
Joined
Jan 21, 2010
Messages
25,510
What sort of camera are you using? How heavy is it? Is the centre of mass coincident with all the axies of rotation?

Are there any other potential issues (like wind loading on a large lens hood for example).

These issues will determine the power required to move the camera reliably.
 

imme

Apr 14, 2010
2
Joined
Apr 14, 2010
Messages
2
I am going to use Canon 400D with 70-300 and 18-55 lens.

55 pilot & Steve. Dont worry about its mechanical parts. Mechanical parts, gears, gear ratio, center of mass or cog will be done by me.

I am going to make a 4-5 inch sturdy Aluminum casted Base. It will handle all the weight and cog issues easily. A nikon DSLR with 80-200 mm lens can be used with this base. Making a sturdy base resolves all these issues. Panoramic head will be attached to base with a bearing so that a normal stepper motor can rotate panoramic head easily. Gearing system will be matching movements as per stepper motor steps.

So friends I need code and circuitry done by someone. I know it will be very difficult for me to do. Because first I have to learn a whole new world and than start trying to make it. It would be nice if anyone can help me with code and circuit.
 

55pilot

Feb 23, 2010
434
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Feb 23, 2010
Messages
434
How well this thing will work will depend first and foremost upon the mechanical design and the integration of the mechanical design with the motors and encoder. The outcome will will depend on the electronics and software to a much lesser extent.

This is not something I would be interested in getting involved with commercially, but others may be be interested or know someone who may be.

Now for a much more important question: By the time you are done with all of this, you would have spent far more money than you would if you had bought one. You also run the risk of not knowing how well it will work. Is nothing like this commercially available?

---55p
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
Moderator
Jan 21, 2010
25,510
Joined
Jan 21, 2010
Messages
25,510
You're biting off quite a bit for a first project.

I recommend you start with a simpler design where the circuit controls rotation of the camera about the Z axis (rotation left and right) and you manually handle the up and down movement. Also start with a fixed amount of rotation. I presume the circuit also needs to trigger the shutter.

You're probably best looking at a picaxe because it's simple to program.

The basic program is:

for N images
rotate camera
wait (to allow vibration to stop)
take image

initially with hard coded values for the number of images and the amount of rotation.

Initially only bother about moving the camera in one direction to simplify controlling the stepper motor. Here is some useful information.
 

Tesla

May 10, 2010
168
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May 10, 2010
Messages
168
A couple of things come to mind ...

A couple of large metal geared R/C Servo motors might work (depending on the weight and how it's suspended). They are good at finding their positions (built-in positioning encoders) and you will find motor controllers to match them.

If it's hanging you might be able to off-load some of the weight.

Look at it like a robotics project. There are many different micro-controllers that would work. Brushless motors (and matching controllers) will work best. Positioning encoders would have to external I think. Take a look at the Microsoft Robotics Studio (there's a free version) for programming and control.

If this is an one-off project, and are looking for a short-cut on the hardware (with some hacking), a motorized gimbal assembly for a telescope might work. They are likely very accurate and might even have PC software that's easy to interface to. There might also be manual to auto conversion kits that could be adapted.

A less accurate gimbal assembly that might work is from surveillance cameras.

Actually, I just searched ... isn't this it:
http://www.newmarksystems.com/gimbal-gm12e.html

http://www.newmarksystems.com/motion-controller-nscm.html
 
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