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PTP 2.0 library function turns on Bulb mode on Nikon DSLR camera via USB

Bulb mode activation code screenshot

Bulb mode activation code screenshot


Last week my friend Hans and I spent some time in my lab exploring which features of his Nikon D300 are available via PTP protocol. Hans is working on extended range HDR-capable intervalometer and he needed to find out a way to switch his camera into bulb mode using Arduino board and USB Host shield. After we finished I realized that while bulb mode is not tricky to activate, it is not obvious either and no hints exist in the code and examples showing how to do this. This short article is intended to fill the void.

In PTP, shooting parameters, such as shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc. are changed by setting certain device property. For each parameter there exists a list of allowed values of this property, each property value corresponding to a parameter value. For some parameters, property and parameter value lists are dynamic. For example, starting and ending aperture values are different for different lenses; additionally, the aperture step can be changed in camera settings. Stepping can also be changed for shutter speed and exposure compensation and this can also happen during PTP session if a photographer decides to switch modes – in this case a property may become unavailable, like shutter speed in aperture priority mode. Therefore, before changing a property value for one of these parameters it is necessary to somehow retrieve a list of available property values.

The property value list retrieval mechanism is slightly different for different cameras. On Canon DSLRs, a special event is generated by the camera and sent back to PTP host at the beginning of the session and also each time camera mode was changed, lens were swapped and so on. The application needs to track those events and constantly maintain current value list for each property. On Nikon DSLR, it is possible to simply get value list for a property any time it is needed. To save memory, the list is not stored but simply requested from the camera each time a property needs changing. It is combined with actual property change in two templates – StepUp and StepDown. If you need to increase, for example, shutter speed – call StepUp. If you need to decrease it, call StepDown.

If you “step up” shutter speed on Nikon DSLR manually, the last 2 values will be 30 seconds and bulb. If you step up shutter speed using StepUp method using Nkremote sketch it will stop at 30 seconds. This happens because bulb mode is not included in the list of available property values for shutter speed but simply defined as 0xffffffff. As a result, StepUp doesn’t know that another value is available. It is still possible, however, to set the property directly and I will show you how to do it.

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Arduino-based controller for Canon EOS cameras

Arduino Camera Controller

Arduino Camera Controller

Today, I’m writing about two more pieces of digital camera control firmware that have being posted to PTP gihHub repository. Alex Gluschenko, the author of PTP library for Arduino, developed two sketches, one called EOSRemote and the other EOSCamController to demonstrate PTP library capabilities. The code allows requesting camera settings, such as shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc., change them, as well as take shots. It supports Canon EOS cameras and was tested on EOS 400D, 450D, and 7D; other cameras with similar command set ( see my collection of PTP device info dumps ) may work as well.

This is how the code works: when connection is established, camera sends back an initial packet with all its current settings along with a list of all possible values for each setting. Possible values depend on a camera model as well as lens that are mounted. For example, some cameras may have exposure compensation range from -2 to +2, others from -5 to +5; some lens have max.aperture 1.4, others – 3.5, an so on. The list of values received from the camera is placed in built-in EEPROM of Arduino microcontroller. After that, values are used in setting (called “property” in PTP lingo) change commands sent to the camera. When camera mode, such as Av, Tv, or lens is changed, camera sends initial packet again. The Arduino code tracks changes and updates the list stored in EEPROM.

Hardware requirements for both controllers are pretty standard. The EOSRemote sketch uses Arduino serial port facility for I/O, and the only hardware necessary is Arduino Duemilanove, Uno, or compatible clone, as well as USB Host Shield. User interface is designed with simple terminal emulator program in mind. It can be used with a PC connected to Arduino directly or over some distance utilizing a pair of serial to RF converters, such as ever-popular Xbee. The following screenshot shows top-level menu with camera connected and recognized.

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