Motorised tripod head

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ohara

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Hi all, I'm in need of a motorised tripod head or something of the sort. Preferably the cheapest one money can buy, although it needs to be able to move REALLY slowly as I'm going to use it for a time lapse over several days. I'll most likely shoot it with a small HD camcorder as opposed to with a DSLR so it doesn't need to be able to support masses of weight (the camcorder is really light).

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks
 
What about something used for astronomical telescopes, these may be ajustable?
 
swanseamale47 said:
What about something used for astronomical telescopes, these may be ajustable?
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The Goto systems in astronomical mounts are primarily designed to track celestial object, so I don't think they will track terrestrial landmarks by themselves. Plus, they are quite expensive.
 
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the remote is a bit short at 190cm
 
Ceejay said:
Not sure if this is what you need :

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130344505486&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I have three of these, used mainly with 1D series SLRS so maybe a bit over the top for you. Because I mainly use them outside or in old empty buildings I dismantle them and weatherproof them with silicone sealant.

C
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That looks great, but by the description it doesn't look like it will do full 360 degrees. Ideally I would like something which can keep rotating indefinitely.
 
Yes, I believe your right it rotates 180 degrees. Must admit have never needed more than that. Gyrob is right the lead is 1.9 meters, usually when I have them in bits I just replace the lead with a 50 meter one, I suppose it depends on what you need.
Cannot remember last time I had one open what determined panning limt !

C
 
The length of the lead doesn't really bother me too much, I'll literally be starting the time lapse off and leaving it for about 70 hours. Do you have any idea about the slowest it can rotate through 180 degrees?
 
Must admit I didn't realise that was how you wished to use it.
It is controlled by push buttons on the remote.
I suppose a variable timer could be linked into the wires to control a continuous speed. But that would be beyond me, if you have an electonics pal, maybe he could help.
I use mine for different positions of birds perching so it would be one perch or another, if that makes sense.

C
 
Timer won't be a problem, if worst comes to worst I'll just tape the remote button down :lol:
 
What are you photographing????


I would have thought, that you could take apart the remote, and use a 555 timer circuit with a transistor, to simulate pressing the button. This would allow you to timer the pressing of the button. The 555 circuit can be timed using a variable resistor/capacitor so the steps could be as long or as short as you want
 
How do you plan on getting the camcorder to run for 70 hours? Most turn themselves off after a short while.
I'm wondering as you want it to rotate very slowly 360" over 70 hours you'll need something with very low gearing could something be made with mecano?
 
The camcorder has a time lapse mode and I will be using the AC adapter (obviously). I don't want it to rotate 360 degrees through 70 hours, it can keep turning, it just needs to be able to go all the way round and keep going, just really slowly.

My primary reason for using the camcorder over the DSLR is the fact that I don't want to ruin the shutter on my camera, a 70 hour time lapse can potentially be over 15,000 images depending on what frequency I set it at. Also I do not have to have the camcorder plugged into a computer over that time.
 
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The lead is 4 metres long, even if it rotates through 900 degrees surely it won't wrap up enough to cause any problems? I can cross that bridge when I come to it, for now I'm looking for suggestions for a cheap motorised head and not someone to pick any holes in my plan.
 
Can you tell us what your plan is?
How many rotations for example? 900 degrees is not a lot in three days. However, it could be enough to snag the electrical cable going into the camcorder, and pull it off centre. (it isn't the length of the cable, it is the friction between the cable, and the width of the central bearing/pole which is going to be the problem)

Without knowing what it is you are actually trying to do, we cannot really give full advice and alternatives.

For example, have you considered a lazy susan, with a 12V 2RPM motor geared at 20:1?
Lazy susan ~£10
2RPM motor ~£4
Gears ~£6+£3
Screws ~£1
 
It will most likely be done in doors at a private event with objects/people fully surrounding the camera. Getting power/etc to the camera will not be a problem, there will be no obstructions. The part of the power lead between the inverter (or whatever it is) and the bit which goes into the camera is over a metre long and really thin, it would easily be able to wrap around the tripod a few times without any problems.

I guess if it could do around 1440 degrees (4 full rotations) in 60-70 hours then it would be fine.
 
Erm yeah :| the Gigapan is quite a bit beyond my budget and slightly overkill for my application.
 
I suppose, you could go in once a day, and pull the loop of cable over the top of the tripod, that would reduce the problem of the cable getting tight. (you did say it was time lapse, so I guess you would have perhaps a 5 second period of ?dark?)

I suspect, that your best bet is to buy one of the ?cheap? camcorder ones from ebay, and use a triggering mechanism to perform the movement 'signal' on the remote control. Anything which is specifically made to move this slow, is probably going to cost a bit.
 
Wrap the lead around the tripod in the opposite direction to start with. This will then unwrap itself before wrapping the other way. Should double the amount of rotations you'll have.
 
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