Hi, I just received a new Nikon D5100 camera and wondered how SGP handled the shutter control. I see the camera is listed in the drop down menu under equipment, but no further settings. Does SGP support “RTS” signal in COM port based shutter control? My understanding is that this camera cannot have its shutter controlled beyond 30s via the USB port.
Thanks in advance,
Pete
Pete,
Currently we only support the DSUSB (The Shoestring Astronomy Store - Shutter Control Products) for exposures over 30 seconds.
Thanks,
Jared
Thanks Jared, much appreciated. Would the DSUSB-IR work also? Sounds like it uses the same protocol as the wired model.
Pete
Yea, the device is the same. Just a different mechanism for actuating the shutter.
I couldn’t get DSUSB2 to work with SGP. Is it not supported ? Or am I doing something wrong ?
I tried it with BackyardNikon and APT and both of them happily triggered the camera.
I have it working on my setup - i did not do anything special. does your version have an LED on it?
SGP works with the DSUSB. The DSUSB2 is generally used when you have 2 cameras connected, both of which need a shutter control. What you might try (no idea if this will work) is going to C:\Program Files (x86)\Sequence Generator and renaming the ShoestringDSUSB2_DLL.dll to ShoestringDSUSB_DLL.dll.
Jared
Yes, It has a LED on it.
A friend of mine lent me this unit and it turned out to be a DSUSB2. I will give your suggestion a try Jared, thank you.
Jared this didn’t work. In some other capture software you need to specify how you want to control the shutter like the following:
Is there a similar drop down menu in SGP that I might be overlooking. I looked everywhere but failed to see. Is SGP automatically recognizing the DSUSB unit ?
Couple other troubleshooting steps to try - make sure you have the dial set to “M” for manual at the top of the camera. Also, make sure to remove the memory card as well.
Did you install the nikon SDK? SGP connects to the camera correct? Are you using “Auto” or selecting your model from the setting dialong?
Does the SGP actuate the shutter for exposures under 30 seconds? The LED on the DSUB should be green during shorter exposures, when you expose longer than 30 the LED will illuminate red. (OIr this is the behavior on my unit)
Hello Mike,
Thanks. SGP connects to the camera. I tried both the auto and manual 5100 options to connect. Dial is set to M and the memory card is removed. SGP actuates the shutter for exposures of 30 seconds and below. DSUSB2 is not recognized by SGP at all so I’m getting the warning that exposures above 30 seconds will not be triggered. I have not installed Nikon SDK though, should I ? The other 2 capture software (BYN and APT) are happily connecting to the camera and recognizing the DSUSB2 unit. Also Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 is connecting without any problems and even controlling all the lens parameters including the manual focus function which is great.
Below is a screen capture of an actual image I captured with SGP earlier today
As I mentioned we do not currently support the DSUSB2. Changes will have to be made to support it since renaming the dll apparently did not work.
Jared
I’m a happy camper now! My friend sent his DSUSB unit and SGP triggers the cam like a charm!
Clear skies!
