Problem: tethered live view with shutter release cable

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fofx
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2020 10:11 pm

Problem: tethered live view with shutter release cable

Post by fofx »

Here are my needs:
  • Tethered - direct transfer of photos to my PC without needing a separate step to transfer from the memory card.
  • Live View - Using silent live view on my Nikon D850 to avoid shutter vibrations and save on shutter count.
  • Shutter release cable - Both the WeMacro and MJKZZ software require the use of a shutter release cable.
With the WeMacro, I have been happily using Helicon Remote to do Live View shooting (all over USB with no shutter release cable). However after moving on to the MJKZZ SNS, I don't have that same luxury anymore as it isn't supported in Helicon Remote. The shutter release cable signal does not successfully trigger the shutter while Live View is turned on from Lightroom tethered capture or Helicon Remote (or any other software I've tried including digiCamControl).

I'm currently working on a workaround solution. I found open source software to sniff USB signals called BusDog. From there I can view the data being transferred in real time and see the unique data that is being sent to the MJKZZ USB controller at the time of shutter actuation. My plan is to modify BusDog to append the logs to a file as they come in and then have a Powershell script run in parallel that watches that file and calls AutoHotKey to trigger a click on a specific part of my screen in order to click on the shutter button on the Lightroom tethered capture bar. It's a convoluted solution, but I think it will actually work.

Thoughts? Has anyone else encountered this problem?

Pau
Site Admin
Posts: 6053
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:57 am
Location: Valencia, Spain

Re: Problem: tethered live view with shutter release cable

Post by Pau »

fofx wrote:
Thu Nov 24, 2022 10:31 am
I'm currently working on a workaround solution. I found open source software to sniff USB signals called BusDog. From there I can view the data being transferred in real time and see the unique data that is being sent to the MJKZZ USB controller at the time of shutter actuation. My plan is to modify BusDog to append the logs to a file as they come in and then have a Powershell script run in parallel that watches that file and calls AutoHotKey to trigger a click on a specific part of my screen in order to click on the shutter button on the Lightroom tethered capture bar. It's a convoluted solution, but I think it will actually work.

Thoughts? Has anyone else encountered this problem?
The approach of the last Wemacro software 5 version does more or less the same and it works pretty well* with my Canon EOS, so if if Lightroom (or the Nikon camera capture software) does the rest, it might work

*it doesn't fire the fist frame or the first frame after moving the mouse, not a big inconvenience once you know it
Pau

fofx
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2020 10:11 pm

Re: Problem: tethered live view with shutter release cable

Post by fofx »

Pau wrote:
Thu Nov 24, 2022 11:19 am
The approach of the last Wemacro software 5 version does more or less the same and it works pretty well* with my Canon EOS, so if if Lightroom (or the Nikon camera capture software) does the rest, it might work

*it doesn't fire the fist frame or the first frame after moving the mouse, not a big inconvenience once you know it
Thank you - this is awesome. I didn't know there was a new version of Wemacro. This is exactly what I'm looking for in the MJKZZ software as well. I'll email Peter at MJKZZ and see what he thinks about incorporating that into Focus Stacking Studio.

mightimatti
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2022 9:03 am
Location: Rome, Italy

Re: Problem: tethered live view with shutter release cable

Post by mightimatti »

Hi,

I wanted to chip in, that there are a lot of microcontrollers (I have used Arduino Leonardo in the past) that have the capability to act as a USB mouse or Keyboard.
You could just wire the trigger to one of the digital inputs of the arduino and trigger the Lightroom hotkey for shutter release every time the signal occurs.
Going that route would probably allow you to come up with a solution that would work with any other computer you might use in the future.

fofx
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2020 10:11 pm

Re: Problem: tethered live view with shutter release cable

Post by fofx »

mightimatti wrote:
Fri Nov 25, 2022 10:18 am
Hi,

I wanted to chip in, that there are a lot of microcontrollers (I have used Arduino Leonardo in the past) that have the capability to act as a USB mouse or Keyboard.
You could just wire the trigger to one of the digital inputs of the arduino and trigger the Lightroom hotkey for shutter release every time the signal occurs.
Going that route would probably allow you to come up with a solution that would work with any other computer you might use in the future.
This actually crossed my mind but I decided to go through with the usb traffic sniffing, so I could avoid adding any extra hardware to the mix.

pierre
Posts: 288
Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2010 12:37 pm
Location: France, Var, Toulon

Re: Problem: tethered live view with shutter release cable

Post by pierre »

used same trick with help of the small AutoClickers for Olympus control & stackshot.
Now using wemacro 5
Regards

Pierre

fofx
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2020 10:11 pm

Re: Problem: tethered live view with shutter release cable

Post by fofx »

pierre wrote:
Sat Nov 26, 2022 7:34 am
used same trick with help of the small AutoClickers for Olympus control & stackshot.
Now using wemacro 5
Nice, could you explain how you used it? Did you just set a timed interval for AutoClickers or did you do something fancy to read the signal to trigger the shutter?

fofx
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2020 10:11 pm

Re: Problem: tethered live view with shutter release cable

Post by fofx »

fofx wrote:
Fri Nov 25, 2022 8:50 pm
mightimatti wrote:
Fri Nov 25, 2022 10:18 am
Hi,

I wanted to chip in, that there are a lot of microcontrollers (I have used Arduino Leonardo in the past) that have the capability to act as a USB mouse or Keyboard.
You could just wire the trigger to one of the digital inputs of the arduino and trigger the Lightroom hotkey for shutter release every time the signal occurs.
Going that route would probably allow you to come up with a solution that would work with any other computer you might use in the future.
This actually crossed my mind but I decided to go through with the usb traffic sniffing, so I could avoid adding any extra hardware to the mix.
I actually ended up going this route after all. I'm using a teensyduino 2.0++ I had laying around. It was pretty easy to wire up and get working with a simple Arduino sketch. Now that I have added this extra hardware into the mix, I will be adding a vibration or accelerometer sensor so I can automate pausing the stack when the vibrations pass a certain threshold. I'll post more on that later if I get it working well.

mightimatti
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2022 9:03 am
Location: Rome, Italy

Re: Problem: tethered live view with shutter release cable

Post by mightimatti »

Good call!
I think it's the most natural way of solving the problem, because though it adds a little complexity on the hardware side, it is conceptually much more simple(and versatile).
I've been meaning to test using a vibration sensor ever since I saw that modern Phase One cameras have a Seismometer built in.

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