Remote control camera via Raspberry Pie or similar

[magnus]

Hi

I would like to use a sony full frame camera to take photos triggered by a motion sensor for extended periods of time.

The system im making would require the camera to be plugged in power, accept a motion sensor, and most importantly, I would like to be able to change the image setting (aperture, ISO, shutter speed etc) via the Raspberry Pie. Im going to setup the system pretty remote, and want to be able to change settings, download pictures etc without visiting the site.

Do you know if this is possible with some of the full frame Sony cameras? 

Thanks!

[Chrissie]

I can fully relate to why one would want to make his own solution, although there may already be one or more  solutions commercially available.

That said, what you intend to achieve sounds pretty much like "tethered" shooting, for which there exist several solutions, or maybe combinations thereof.

For Sony FF cameras, there is the Capture One Pro software which supports wire-bound tethered shooting, including aperture, ISO, shutter speed control, live view and image data transfer from the camera to the remote computer. I do not know, if a motion sensor can be applied to the camera "on top", as the USB connector of the camera will already be occupied by the tethering cable.

If you want to go for wireless tethering, take a look at Camfi Pro, which also supports aperture, ISO, shutter speed control, live view and image data transfer from the camera to the remote computer. Note, that no focus control whatsoever is supported by Camfi Pro for Sony. (This is not obvious from their advertising, which I only found out the expensive way). The Camfi Pro device is connected to the USB port of the camera, and I have no idea if and how a motion sensor could be added on top, if you intend to try that.

[magnus]

Hi. 
Thanks for your good input.

The system will have to run well without me present, so the core function will be to be able to take photos with an activation signal. The adjustment will only be something I do once in a while.

Someone has made a simple system that shows this function:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2O082hDafs

As you can see, they plug the USB cable into the raspberry pie (which also has a motion sensor), which activates the trigger. However, the raspberry is a linux based computer, so this limits the use of professional applications as these typically run on mac or windows.

The Capture One Pro looks very good, though...

Do I only need to connect the one USB cable (both charging and camera control)?

 

[Chrissie]

If you want to implement the camera control yourself, you may be able to get crucial information from Sony's Camera Remote API.

As for the USB connector of the a9, it looks like you can either use this for power supply, or remote PC control. Note this seems to be an exclusive OR.