Any interest in a modern timer release for LF lens?

[richardman]

I did do some research on solenoid though and found a couple possibilities...

[Bill Burk]

But don't solenoids draw an incredible amount of current?

Also check patents for existing claims. I think PocketWizard wasn't allowed to trigger the camera from a flash position because of some claim.

[Jac@stafford.net]

But don't solenoids draw an incredible amount of current ? .

Not necessarily. Drill down into this thread to find out why.

[Jac@stafford.net]

See post #30, Bill.

[Carsten Wolff]

I tried a few things and ended up using a geared (Faulhaber, 485:1) micro motor (on a copal 1) a while ago; works well, (draws no current at all once in position) and is 100% reliable, i.e. strong enough for any shutter. I still preset the speed on the shutter, but can leave it on B or T even with the battery disconnected. Similarly, a decent servo from a R/C model would also work well. Connecting this to a timer, esp. for times over 1s is of course trivial.

[rbultman]

I tried a few things and ended up using a geared (Faulhaber, 485:1) micro motor (on a copal 1) a while ago; works well, (draws no current at all once in position) and is 100% reliable, i.e. strong enough for any shutter. I still preset the speed on the shutter, but can leave it on B or T even with the battery disconnected. Similarly, a decent servo from a R/C model would also work well. Connecting this to a timer, esp. for times over 1s is of course trivial.

Do you have any pictures or other information you could share regarding your solution? Any idea what the actuation time (open to close or close to open) is?

[Bill Burk]

That's once activated a latching relay takes little/no energy... To pull a mechanical shutter release can take many ounces of pressure, this is the kind of current I think would drain a battery-dependent system quickly. I would think a servo motor could be geared to require only as much energy available in a button cell, and could activate many times on a single AA size battery.

[Tin Can]

I tried using robot servos from here to actuate a Packard shutter. You can find my results in DIY. Speed of servo is critical in that application.

[cyrus]

Hi, any update on this project?

[richardman]

None, too busy trying to make a living :-/ Sorry.