DSLR + Nintendo DS = Awesome

By Mark Evans on February 23, 2009

If you own a DSLR and a Nintendo DS, and just love getting creative with your pictures, like HDR, then this gadget is definitely for you. Steve over at Panocamera.com has come up with a pretty powerful cable/software combination that will give your DSLR additional features that you’ll wonder how you ever did without them.

A Canon 5d on its own can muster a 3 stop bracket, and a Canon 1D III can shoot a handy 9 stop bracket, however, when coupled with a DS running Steve’s software, either of these cameras can suddenly do any number of bracketed shots you want and given the DS’s inherent portability and startup time of next to nothing, you suddenly have a cracking go-anywhere HDR setup.

But thats not all. The software can also be used as an Intervalometer, can take automated Bulb exposures over the 30s limit imposed by most laptop programs, and even utilises the DS’ microphone for audio-triggered exposures. Simply superb.

Cameras this software/cable currently works with are: Canon 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 5D, and 5D Mark II. Heres a quote regarding other models from Steve’s auto responder:

We’ve tested the controllers with Nikon 10-pin models (d100,200,300,700,3,3x) It seems Nikon’s firmware limits shots controlled by the remote port to a minimum of 1/4 second. Photographers have told us that this is way too long to be much fun. (Although there are workarounds using filters to darken the shots, things like moving clouds are problematic.)
We’ve also tested the device with a Rebel and Rebel XT from Canon, and those cameras were quite unreliable, owing to their relatively slow processors. We haven’t been able to locate an XS or XSi to test, so we still don’t know if it can be used with the later Rebel versions.

For those not in the US, Canon Rebel = 300d, Rebel XT = 350d, XS = 1000d, and XSi= 450d.

Head over to Panocamera.com for more information.