Help identifying a cable connector

Other Hardware Device Hacking
1

Hello, all...

I'm working on a trigger system for a Nikon D5200 DSLR camera. I ordered a YONGNUO LS-O2/N3 cable specifically for the Nikon connection end of the cable, but after thinking a bit on a design, I can use the entire cable without modification if I can find the other end's connector. I can't seem to find what appears to be the right connection after spending about an hour browsing through the entire line of connectors on Mouser.com. I've also looked unsuccessfully for specs on the connector ends of the cable, as well. So.... does anyone have any idea what the name or a mfgr's part number is for the connector shown in the following photos?

1024×768 132 KB

1024×768 125 KB
\

Thanks in advance!

2

It's an proprietary connector - you won't find it any parts catalogue.

// Per.

3

Lol... that's just my luck!

Oh well, time to whip out the wire cutters and to hell with aesthetics! :slight_smile:

Thanks for the info!

4

It looks like the RM-CB1 cable used on older Olympus cameras (E-1, E-3, E-5). That's the O2 part in the model number (O1 is for the newer Olympus mirrorless/DSLR cameras). The N3 is for a Nikon D5000 or D90. So it looks like that cable would convert between an Olympus and a Nikon shutter release. Here is a page that gives the numbering: YONGNUO LS-02 shutter cable for RF-602 and YN-126 (O1) | yongnuo.eachshot.com

Here is a page that gives the pinouts for various shutter release cables: www.doc-diy.net :: camera remote release pinout list

If you don't want to cut the cable, you can find removable shutter release cables for specific cameras that have a standard 3.5mm or 2.5mm phono plug on one end, and your camera specific bit on the other end. I think this is the one for your camera: http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/cactus-v5-shutter-cable-sc-n4-for-nikon-d7000-d5100-d3200-d90.html

On the shutter release cables I have for my Olympus cameras, the part closest to the cable is ground, the middle part is focus (if you connect focus to ground, the camera should do the focus action), and the tip is fire (on some cameras, you need to connect both focus and fire to ground, on others you only have to connect ground and fire).

5

Nice! Now I just need to find an older Olympus O2 male connector! Thank you!

My thought after the original design change was, if I could find a suitable male-end connector, I could use my original design concept and adjust the pin-outs via a dip switch to use the same Arduino circuit to be able to drive the focus and shutter release on different cameras without having to change software. I have a Nikon D5200, Nikon D60, and a Canon EOS 6D, and my son has my old Canon EOS T3, so being able to just change a cable and use the same Arduino device design would be optimal. My goal is to build something like a Photoduino, with an Android mobile app (via bluetooth) to set trigger timing, adjust which sensors to make active, etc. The case for the device would just have a cable connector (the Olympus O2 connection), a dip switch to control pinouts for the camera (or even controlled by the S/W), an on/off switch, and a USB connector to charge an internal IMR battery So, basically a nice compact device with minimal controls/connections but flexible enough to use with multiple camera mfgrs via an interchangeable cable.

6

I don't recall there was ever a cable with the male version of the RM-CB1 cable. The male version is on the camera itself or on the FP-1 flash grip (with the RG-1 cable having two female ends, to connect the FP-1 to the camera).

I must admit to not understanding what you are wanting with the male version of the cable.

If you want the Arduino to drive multiple cameras, on the Arduino side, you connect up two opto-couplers (or similar relay transistors, etc.), one for focus and one for shooting. You connect the opto-couplers to a female phono 2.5mm connectors. Into that connector, you plug the camera specific cable.

The company triggertrap.com sells a smart phone (Apple and Android) based camera trigger that uses a dongle to connect from the phone, and into the dongle you plug the camera specific 2.5mm phono cables. Some of the Cactus shutter releases also use a similar scheme. Triggertrap started out selling a camera trigger based on an AVR chip similar to the Arduino, both in a full kit and an Uno shield. The AVR based triggers are sold out, but they are coming out with a replacement for the Arduino based trigger in a bit. In their store, they sell the various 2.5mm connector cables: http://shop.triggertrap.com/collections/all. You can pick up cables for the Cactus triggers at photo stores like gadget infinity: http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/wired-shutter-release/ (scroll down to find the cactus v5 cables).

Pocket wizard uses a similar setup, but I think they use 3.5mm cables, and do not have a separate connection for focus, just wiring both focus and shoot together (I don't own a PW, but this is from looking at pictures of the PW cables).

The triggertrap in fact was my entry to Arduino, as the original kick starter version was about a year late. So while I was waiting for the triggertrap to eventually ship, I bought my Uno. I built a telegraph shutter release that I use occasionally on my steampunk camera.

Here is a picture of the shutter release as it existed in August 2012:

900×623 102 KB

Here is a simple fritzing diagram I did to show the connections:

986×777 73.8 KB

If you are curious here is the code that I have used in the past (this was dumped in May 23rd, 2013): http://www.the-meissners.org/arduino/ShutterRelease-2013-05-23.zip. You will also need this library: http://www.the-meissners.org/arduino/MrmButton-2013-05-23.zip.

7

Michael,

Thank you, genuinely, for the abundant information. I likely wasn't concise enough with my original idea and/or question. I was merely looking at the connector on the cable I have and trying to find a connector that matches it so I didn't have to cut the cable. I mean no ill intent with this, but I know there are loads of other cables out there that WILL work; I was just trying to locate a connector that would work with the cable I have.

I'm basically trying to re-invent a wheel, proverbially, that dozens of others have already invented, but, on my own with a few different bells and whistles.

8

Yep. Note, in the 10 or so years I've used Olympus cameras with the RM-CB1 shutter release, I don't recall ever seeing a male version of the cable. Maybe it exists, maybe not. Until your post, I wasn't aware that somebody produced cables that did the conversion, as I didn't think there was just much market for it (particularly with the Olympus RM-CB1 cables).

So you either need to cut the cable, or buy another one for your Nikon. Fortunately with the Cactus V5 and Triggertrap having interchangeable cables, those replacement cables are fairly cheap. Another possibility is buying a clone shutter release for a few dollars and cutting it up.

BTW, I have broken 3 RM-CB1 cables because the #%!^% cable is mis-designed IMHO (the little locking ring will sheer if there is any strain on the cable, and in one case the pins in the male side of things got pushed into the camera, making it hard to make a connection).

9

Hmmm... even better to know that the connectors break easily. Looks like it's time to abandon this $3 cable and look for something more universal, like the phono plug everyone else seems to use.

Thanks again, for all the info!

10

The Olympus RM-CB1 cable, which was designed some 15 years ago, has the little locking ring and thin pins that can be a problem. The only current camera that uses this is the E-5, and it uses it because its predecessors (E-3, E-1, and further back E-10/E-20) used it. The E-5 was introduced in 2010, and is likely the end of the line for the pure DSLRs (and hence RM-CB1). Already, Olympus has discontinued one accessory cable that was compatible with the RM-CB1. I've been noticing that fewer compatible RM-CB1 devices are available. Starting with the E-400, Olympus used 3 pins in its combination cable for the shutter release. That cable (RM-UC1) is designed like a USB cable, and it just pulls out.

From the pictures, it looks like the Nikon 10 pin cable may have similar issues.

In terms of Olympus DSLR and mirrorless cameras, 3 models did not support the wired shutter release (E-500, E-330, and E-PL1). The DSLRs support the even older infrared release (RM-1), but the E-PL1 was the only camera that had no way of being fired from an arduino, except by having a servo press the shutter button (there are a few hacks of how to do that). In terms of the point and shoot cameras, some of them take the combined cable that the mirrorless and consumer grade DSLRs took, but most of the P&S's don't support the shutter release function (like my TG-2).

11

Interesting. I know that the modern Nikon cameras support several different shutter release mechanisms, including direct Bluetooth via the WU-1a module. I'm trying to create a device that uses the wired shutter release primarily for speed (bluetooth is just too slow for high-speed photography).