Shutter Release Cable for Canon Cameras

Some weird coincidence got me into buying a Canon DSLR years ago. The EOS-350D, aka Digital Rebel XT, was top notch at that time... I still love it today.
Today, I am happily choosing Canon cameras for CHDK, Magic Lantern and BaclyardEOS, but this an entirely different story.

Luck had it, that Canon made it very easy to build a remote shutter release cable. The internet is full of decent descriptions. Yet again, I would like to share my solution with you.

First of all, the materials I used where all in my possession, nothing needed to be bought. Actually, all the stuff was lying about since years, unused, and you will see why in the next few lines.

When you search the internet for shutter release cables, you will come across many square of rectangular boxes, which not only look DIY, but also look not following latest ergonomics standards.
About 20 years ago, I bought an analogue joystick for my PC. I really never got into gaming ever, the thing just went into a box and was moved about only when I changed cities.

The same can be said about a pair of headphones, that once came with a first generation digital camera having an MP3 player. What where people thinking?! An MP3 player in a camera?! The player was crap, the camera, for the time, was OK. The developers of this great design had a brain-wave, why not preventing people from using their decent headphones (having a 3.5mm TRS jack)? Hence, the developers added a 2.5mm TRS jack to that particular MP3-player-camera-gadget, just what I needed for the Canon cameras.

And here we have it, 2 useless gadgets can be put together into 1 useful accessory.

the parts, taken apart, and the complex schematics diagram

I used a of perforated PCB to create a stable transition between the flimsy headphone cable and the very sturdy joystick cabling. A knot reduces the length of the latter.
It might be somewhat obvious, I used the blue cables for focus and the white ones for exposure.
In order to prevent the flimsy cable from being pulled off the PCB (not shown), another know secures the external cable to one of the posts of the joystick.

Although I took a picture of the 'not yet closed but functioning' device, I wont post it here, due to the potentially offending shape of said object.

Concluding, a remote shutter release which feels like being built to be held in a fist (actually the joystick is) is a great addition to my bag.
Needless to say that this device works great with either of the two cameras, the EOS-350D and the PowerShot G15.

Driving the G15 to the Limits

Today I gave the Canon Powershot G15 a session. First during daylight, later after sundown.
Of course, I tested the HDR capabilities, i.e. handheld bracketed frames. Additionally, I took photos with bokeh and also tried the built-in HDR function. The composition of those photographs are not good, I admit, however, composition was not the point of the tests I was doing.

Bokeh
Lets have a look at the bokeh first. The following image is recorded in RAW (of course), scaled down and exported to a 100% quality JPG.

Canon G15, f/1.8, s/400 @ ISO80, EV-1

HDR
What about HDR then? Well, here comes a test. The following photos will show the same scene, shot whilst the camera was solidly stable on the handrail of a pedestrian bridge.

the scene, single shot f/1.8, s/1000 @ ISO 80, EV-2

The built-in HDR function takes 3 frames (no user control), chews on them and spits out some photo. This is the result:

Built-in HDR, f/2.8, s/100(?) @ ISO80 (according to the camera)

And here is that same scene, shot in exposure bracketed mode, actually, the "single shot" is the middle image of this HDR.

no tricks here, 3 frames, -4 (s/2000 ??), -2 (s/1000) and 0 (s/250) EV, f/1.8, ISO80

To me the result is pretty obvious, the built-in HDR function solves some problems, but lags behind traditional HDR methods. In favor of the built-in HDR it is to be noted that the 3 frames are taken in a shorter time in comparison to the exposure bracketing mode.
I have the impression that the exposure compensation dial has no influence in the built-in HDR mode at all.

Handheld HDR
Now we are talking handheld exposure bracketed frames combined using HDR techniques. The problem with the camera is that it takes those 3 shots with about 1fps, giving the photographer a lot of time to ever so slightly move that camera. Using the optical viewfinder helps to reduce such a drift, also the position of your arms are more stable that way.
I skip showing the middle image here.

middle frame data: f/4.0, s/320 @ ISO80, EV-0.3

Pretty decent performance, thanks to the available HDR software.

Extremes
Later that day, I decided to pay a visit to the harbor of Scheveningen. At the time I got there, daylight was completely gone, stars were showing in the sky.
So it was time to try the extreme, a handheld set of bracketed photos under extreme light conditions.
Have a look:

middle frame

final HDR

There we go, dark sky and super bright deck-lights shining directly into the camera. I am sure there are better ways to treat the frames, however, it is clear that this how far this camera can go, not a bit further...

Conclusion
The Canon G15 does a good job. Despite the bracketed mode being a bit slow, it is possible to use this camera for handheld HDR photography purposes. However, the built-in HDR mode should be avoided, in particular since there a no anti-ghosting provisions.

The bokeh of the lens is not too bad.

DSLR replacement?

Earlier, I mentioned that the particular DSLR I personally own, is not the most convenient camera to haul about on a daily basis. Never the less, I really like the experience of my Canon EOS-350D.
Looking for a decent small form factor replacement, I came across the Canon PowerShot G15. Not a bad replacement at all!

However, there are problems...

1. Bulb exposure, i.e. full manual, is not available on the G15.
2. RAW is somewhat different from the old RAW format and not supported by the open source software I am using.
3. There is no IR-remote sensor, hence my RC-5 is rendered useless.
4. The filesystem of the camera is not compatible with anything.

Those points are actually ranked to the importance they have to me.

1) Full manual control, for night shots, would be a very nice thing to have!

2) There are (free) converters for strange raw formats, however, one leaves the "free software" world using those. It would be nice to have some free software tools available for converting the new raw formats to more common standards.

3) Remote control units are really useful. Although there is not IR receiver in the G15, a wired remote control can be hooked up to this particular camera. With free designs available on the internet, this should not pose a major obstacle.

4) Of course one can use the camera as "card reader"... but still, it would be nice to be able to just put the memory card into a reader and go from there.

Other than that, the G15 can be used for bracketing, even using the timer... just like the EOS-350D. However, the camera is too slow, in this mode, to be useful in handheld HDR photography. Carry a tripod and the G15 will do an OK job under not too dark conditions. Mind you, the shutter is limited to 15s, which is OK for most applications other than night photography.


Likes:
The G15 offers some really interesting features.
- First of all, the exposure compensation selector, which is very convenient during a regular session.
- The optical view finder. Classic and still very useful! I love it!
- The front and rear programmable dials, which provide excellent control for various parameters.

Dis-Likes:
- the funny filesystem
- slow bracketing speed

Verdict:
Up to now, I personally really the like camera, in particular because of its handling. I intend to use this camera for "general purposes", e.g. for portraits w/ some speedlights. For less demanding jobs, this camera seems to offer all the feature you might desire. 
However, this is neither an EOS-350D, not it is an LX7. The G15 certainly has its place in my photography life, however, it seems to be a compromise in all aspects.
Hence, if you would like to cover all aspects of photography, admitting certain compromises, the G15 may just be your camera.