Project: eee PC Remote Capture -Part 3

Well, I am making some progress on the eee PC remote capture project. (See Part 1 and Part 2 here) I succeeded in configuring the eee PC with eeebuntu.

Screenshot of eeebuntu

The eee PC doesn't have a CD drive from which to run the Linux installation disk (iso). So, I had to copy the iso to a bootable USB flash drive and run the installation from there. I was afraid this was going to be a hassle requiring me to find, download,and run Linux based formatting and partitioning software, but it as it turned out is was super easy.

I downloaded the iso from eeebuntu.org . They have 3 versions available for download. Standard, Netbook, and Base. I chose Netbook and it was about a 900 meg download. Liliputing has an excellent guide to creating an eeebuntu iso on a USB flash drive and a link to UNetbootin at sourceforge, which is a general iso creation utility . UNetbootin truly did all the work. Just click the buttons as outlined by the Liliputin guide and UNetbootin does the rest.

Screenshot of UNetbootin

The whole process after downloading the iso from eeebuntu.org took about a half an hour including updating gphoto2 and related programs that I hope to be using for the remote capture. Unfortunately my experience with gphoto2 has not been as smooth. I will outline some of my difficulties next time, and hopefully by then i will have solutions to the problems I am experiencing.

As always, wish me luck.

Project: Remote Capture (Part 2)

As I noted yesterday, I am working on a project setting up remote capture for my Canon 20D on my Asus eee PC using Linux freeware. Based on initial research, I will be jumping through quite a few hoops to get this project up and running.

However, for those of you with a lap top computer running Windows or Apple OS X, there are a few easier options.

Note that Canon includes a remote capture utility in the EOS Utility software with their DSLRs and Powershot models. The software is available here as well.

I have heard mixed reviews on the Canon software, so I guess I will have to try it for myself on my wife's laptop or from my desk top to assess how it performs vs. my Linux solution.

Nikon publishes Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 software that apparently works well with Nikon cameras but they do not provide it with the camera and it must be purchased separately. It is available from Amazon for about $160. Appears to be both Windows and Apple compatible.

Another commercial option (PC only) is DSLR Remote Pro by Breeze Systems - $95.00, works with Windows Vista or XP, works with all Canon DSLRs including such oldies as the D30, D60 and the original Digital Rebel (300D), and there are versions for Nikon 300D, Nikon D90 plus preliminary support for Nikon D700 and Nikon D3, and another for Canon Powershot cameras. This product has good reviews and there is a free 15 day free trial available for download.

Project: eee PC Remote Capture

Remote Capture is the process of using a computer or other device to control your camera. My main camera is a Canon 20D, and it came with bundled software, known oddly enough as Remote Capture, that can control the 20D (as well as many other Canon cameras) from a PC.

Unfortunately, I do not have a lap top running windows that I can use to run the software. I do have an eee pc though. Have you heard of the eee pc? It is a small netbook made by Asus that was released in 2007. It is like a small laptop computer, with small (7 inch) lcd screen and a full, but small, qwerty keyboard. The fact that it is small would make it a great remote capture device and also while the screen is small, it absolutely dwarfs the screen on the 20D. I am hoping that the eee pc can be configured to display each photo as they are shot and also scroll through the images on the camera.

The eee pc runs a scaled down version of Linux made especially for the eee pc. Canon's remote capture program won't work on it so I am looking for other solutions.

There are Linux programs available that should do the trick - specifically gphoto2 with gtkam front end. The only problem was that I couldn't get them to run on my eee pc using the current operating system.

My current idea is to install eeebuntu Linux (this is a special version of the popular Linux distro Ubuntu made especially for the eee pc). I am leaning toward eeebuntu because I run the full ubuntu distro on my desktop pc and I like it. Ubuntu tends to be easier to install programs on then the default eee pc Xandros Linux, and I understand that gphoto2 and gtkam will work with Ubuntu.

So over the next few weeks I will try to find some time to complete this project and then put it to use capturing some photos!.

Wish me luck!