The SLIDER PROJECT- Specifications
Have you already seen my latest time lapse project? I hope I created something you like, because it is the result of much blood, sweat and tears and the most sophisticated video until now. It is not difficult to consequence of these last words that I want to create more and first of all better timelapse videos. One step in this direction will be a camera slider - driven by a stepper motor and controlled by a microcontroller. This movement will give the video the 3 dimensional depth.
The main focus of this article is on the preliminary considerations to develop a slider concept which will fit to my needs. To get the big picture I classified these needs which will automatically influence each other. But with a clear summary it is possible to find the design which is the best for me.
Usability is one big point. The slider should be light enough to be carried next to my other equipment. The same applies to the space the slider needs while carrying. It doesn't has to fit in my f-stop Tilopa BC. But if the slider is attached to the backpacks outside it shouldn't impend hiking. There is an idea in my head of a slider which is half as big as the length of movement is. But at this moment it is only a fancy thought. If I'm sure it is possible to be putted into practice I will give you further information. The slider should move horizontal but also vertical. At least a gradient of 45° should be possible. To implement this point not only the maximum provided power by the motor is important. I also want to avoid a crash if there is a voltage loss. That means the slider should stay in position if there is a problem with the motor or the power supply. There is one other thing I want to implement: While the camera slides it should also pan. Of course the panning has to be adjustable. To reduce electric devices the slider design needs some kind of linkage to pan.
Functionality is the other big point. I don't want to create a makeshift product. That's why I will design the whole slider before it's built. This concerns the mechanic and the electric side of this project equally. The control unit should be separated from the slider. Otherwise adjustments while the slider moves could affect the picture because of shacking. The controlling of the slider will control the following values:
the exposure time (min : sec : ms)
the interval (min : sec)
the slide time (h : min)
A display shows the set parameters and while the shooting the remaining photos and time.
I created a draft in Photoshop how the display interface of the control unit could look like.
Practicability and the costs of the parts will limit the design of the slider. To reduce costs I plan to build most of the parts myself. The fact that I don't own much advanced tools (luckily I have a small milling machine for scale modeling) my construction will fit to the machinery.
The next steps will be determining the exact functional principle of the slider and getting used to microcontroller coding. When coding is done I can go deeper into the mechanic detail design.
In the next articles about this project I will give you a more exact look to the several parts of the slider. Unitll then I hope you stay interested and I can implement all of my ideas.