The popularity of Arduino and similar boards allows for a great number of manufacturers to offer a lot of expansion boards and similar elements that allow for communication, expansion and extendability.Īfter some research, we settled on the Moteino. For more on Arduino, and what it is, please see here. And there is no lack of microcontroller boards made for programming once the likes of Arduino came to light.
We want something that is small, something that is portable and has minor power requirements, and at the same time allows for great expandability.
Although working perfectly good, this will not do as it has a limited range, needs one remote per camera, and lacks automation of any kind. The head and its variants come with a wired remote control, which allows for 8-way control, as well as very rudimentary speed control based on a resistor slider. įor more information on the Bescor MP-101, please see here.įor the patent application on the Bescor MP-101 and its variants, please see here and here. This should be sufficient to load the head with a typical DSLR, a lens and supporting elements. It is a low cost, sturdy built, DC motor based pan/tilt head which can handle loads of up to 6 pounds. We chose the vastly popular Bescor MP-101, which, along with its variants seems to rule the consumer market based on its availability and cost. (*) There are a number of cameras with built in PTZ capabilities – those are mostly IP cameras used in security. We decided on the latter – building one would be too much.
But the two approaches may be (1) building a pan/tilt platform, or (2) purchasing a pre-made one. Obviously you need a pan/tilt platform which will accept a camera of that size. Backgroundįor the purposes of this discussion, there are two basic approaches to making a camera(*) pan and tilt. And it is that simple, but only to someone who knows what they are doing. Should be simple, wouldn’t you think? Push a joystick and make the camera follow its movements. …and you run and you run to catch up with the sun,