I've recently delved into the world of electronics/Arduino by using an UNO and a Triggertrap shield to create a laser-trip for my camera. This is then set up to capture images when the laser is broken. Fine.
My next idea was to have images that were being taken by the camera sent to me in an email (or to a webserver). I'm unsure of how this can be done, if it can be done at all. With my limited knowledge, I'm guessing there would need to be some way of getting the image from the camera to another device which can then connect to a 3G network in order to send the data on? Something similar to this - http://www.cooking-hacks.com/index.php/documentation/video-tutorials#video_10
My cameras are positioned outside, away from power supply/WiFi networks, albeit not for prolonged periods of time (8 hours).
Am I asking the impossible or am I being naive to the possibilities out there?
The Arduino is able to send an email (only a small text message) with an Ethernet shield.
But it can't get the image out of the camera.
The Raspberry Pi is like a mini-PC and should be able to do this.
There are Arduino-compatible 3G modems that include a camera and can be commanded (by the Arduino) to take a picture and send it. The picture itself never passes through the Arduino. You’d be limited on picture quality but it would be cheap and easy to do.
There are wireless transmitters which have the same form factor as an SD card and which send the picture over a wireless link instead of writing it to local storage. I don’t know if any of these support 3G, but you could have a look.
As already stated you could use an ethernet or 3g shield to send the email, and you could also find a USB host shield to read data from the camera. Most cameras use DCIM, which funcationally works like a thumb drive... on a computer. There is a possibility that you will have to completely program drivers from scratch for the arduino, and then there is still the obstacle that the arduino does not have enough physical memory to hold the entire high-resolution photo all at one time to be able to email it to you. This honestly would be easier to pull off with a Raspberry Pi, or depending on where you're setting this rig up, an old laptop with automatic cloud backup.
Thanks for the replies. It looks like I'm going to have to use a Raspberry Pi.
As mentioned, I can't really change the camera. It's just figuring out a way of transferring image data from a high-end Canon camera to a device that can connect to a 3G network.
"There are Arduino-compatible 3G modems that include a camera and can be commanded (by the Arduino) to take a picture and send it. The picture itself never passes through the Arduino. You'd be limited on picture quality but it would be cheap and easy to do."
Has anybody done this and have more information? Or just pointing me toward where to find more information would be much appreciated. This is exactly what I am trying to do!
I have a Raspberry Pi but am looking for an Arduino solution.
