Camera Slider User Interface

Projects General Guidance
1

Hey All!

I am going to be building a camera slider for both time lapses and video production. I am going to have three separate stepper motors moving the camera in three ways:

  • Rotating the camera in the x axis (panning).
  • Rotating the camera in the y axis (tilting).
  • Sliding the camera horizontally in the x axis.

For time lapses the motors will need to move a specified distance, stop, wait for the camera to take a photo (triggered by an infrared light), and then continue moving. This whole process will then repeat.

The amount the camera moves is determined by the user. They decide:

  • The time length of the final video
  • The degree of movement in the final video (measured in radians and millimeters)
  • Frames per second in the final video - Options of 30 and 60fps.
  • Shutter speed of the camera (only needed for time lapses)

From these, the program will need to calculate:

  • Amount of photos that need to be taken
  • Degree of movement between photos

I want the user to be able to adjust the variables themselves whilst away from a computer. I think this is achievable using an LCD screen, a shield and an arduino Due. However I have very limited experience with programming. Could anyone please give me the location of a tutorial or somewhere I could get information specific to what I am trying to code.

Thank you very much in advance :slight_smile:

2

I think there are two main approaches you could take.

The simple approach is to use simple potentiometer and rotary switch inputs for all your parameters and just label them so the user can tell which position corresponds to what value.

The complex solution is to have a digital display to show the parameters and buttons / sliders / rotary controls (whatever you want) as input devices. This implies a much more complex input mechanism, possibly involving presenting a menu system to let the user select the parameter of interest and then adjust it and save the adjusted value. If you decide to take this approach then there are shields available which combine LCD displays with a small number of pushbuttons.