Zoom - Remote control [Archive] - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking

jaydskate

01-30-2006, 09:23 PM

Hi guys,

I managed to build an okay zoom remote control myself (you can check out the picture lower) but last week, while I rented an extra DVX100 for a multi-cam shoot, I got to try the 521P from manfrotto.I must admit that I didn't care much for my little DIY remote anymore. Mine is not spring loaded so it doesn't return to it's orginal position after. Has anyone achieved to build a unit that does that?

I'm also interested in rocker button zoom controler. Has someone built one yet?

Thanks in advance

that's my remote...

http://pages.infinit.net/thecat/remote_zoom.jpg

Nerdninja

01-31-2006, 08:40 PM

I know it's not DIY, but I got a Libec zoom controller from B&H at Christmas for around $100 that works with the Panny interface or the Sony LANC interface (there's a switch on the side for either).

By the time you get all of the parts together for a spring-loaded DIY controller it might not be too much more to just get the Libec.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=361366&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

Naanan

02-01-2006, 06:31 PM

What end is that you are using. I built a controller and mistakenly used 1/8" phono plug per some instructions somewhere but it won't go in the jack in the back of the camera.

The way I built mine (tested only with a multimeter mind you) was to have two pots, one that goes from 0 to 10k and then one that goes from 10k to 20k then there are two momentary switches to "engage" the pots and cause it to zoom or wide. There is of course also a momentary switch to activate the record.

I need to know what kind of end is supposed to be on this thing though.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks

GenJerDan

02-02-2006, 07:51 AM

It *should* be a regular 1/8" TRS (stereo) plug.

Naanan

02-02-2006, 09:16 AM

Actually I have done some looking around and I believe it to be a 3/32" trs plug.

jaydskate

02-02-2006, 05:25 PM

Naann you're right, It's a 2'5mm stereo jack.

Thanks Nerdninja, I'll look into it but I know that it's cheaper in parts to build a unit and I wanted to try myself. Thanks for the help but if I succeed into building one unit, I'll post it here.

Jayson

Karl151k

02-02-2006, 08:50 PM

My Libec zoom controler (the cheap-o $100 version) is great. I bought it for use with my shoulder mount and it's served me well.

jaydskate

02-02-2006, 10:58 PM

"My Libec zoom controler (the cheap-o $100 version) is great. I bought it for use with my shoulder mount and it's served me well".

It looks good but the cheapest one I found is 170$ US That's almost 200$ Canadian then I have two buy 2 of them since I have a DVC-30 and a DVX100. I'll try to Shop around for a Libec or a Manfrotto 521p...How about the varzoom one? Has anyone tried it?

GenJerDan

02-03-2006, 07:53 AM

Naann you're right, It's a 2'5mm stereo jack.

Well....crap/ Guess I won't be building mine this weekend. :grin:

TJIsACoolGuy

02-03-2006, 12:30 PM

rocketscience

02-03-2006, 03:04 PM

I built one a couple years ago.. off the original DVX controller design. Spring loaded. Works great. Have 2 for both DVX's.

click (http://koodies.home.comcast.net/remotezoom.htm)

Karl151k

02-03-2006, 06:04 PM

I built a spring loaded one that returns to the original position about 5 months ago...

Wow, it took 5 months to return to it's original position?! ;)

matt s.

02-03-2006, 09:33 PM

Thanks rocketscience for those plans!

aerosolcheese

02-04-2006, 03:57 PM

I have the varizoom rocker, not slider, and it works great. I think that if I were to take it apart, I would find the same parts as the DIY's, just engineered to work better.

AbracadabraFilms

02-04-2006, 06:31 PM

I have a source for a slide pot instead of a rotating type if you are interested.

matt s.

02-05-2006, 01:21 AM

what about rocker pots? i cant seem to find single units for sale on the web.seem all to be for industrial quantity purchase.

jaydskate

02-06-2006, 07:44 PM

what about rocker pots? i cant seem to find single units for sale on the web.seem all to be for industrial quantity purchase.
Hi again, trust me, I've been looking arund for about six month to find a rocker-pot but the only one that I found is a 10k one and trust me, they don't come cheap (roughly 90$ US). The problem is "how do you modify a 10 k pot to become a 20k one.

I have a bunch of 50k slider-pot but how do you get them to 20k without blocking them physically to 20k?

Naanan

02-07-2006, 12:11 PM

Do some research into RC circuts, it is going to require you to put resistors in parallel before or after the pot to bring the resistance to what you need. I would diagram it all for you here right now but I was laidoff from my tech job and now I have a test in intermediate accounting to study for, change of carrer and all you know.

Search on

RC Circuts, Resistor Capacitor circuts, Simple RC Circuts, OHMs Law, Parallel Resistance, etc etc.

Happy hunting,

jaydskate

02-07-2006, 07:59 PM

235 Studios

02-08-2006, 08:11 AM

jaydskate

02-09-2006, 11:18 PM

I've buit this same DIY project and it has worked great. Jarred's instructioins (Listed elsewhere on the site) were easy to follow.

My question is this- does anyone who what the different frequencies are for the various zoom speeds? What I would like to do is to built a unit that has 6 buttons instead of a rocker switch. Then I would bush a button to zoom in/out and always get the same speed.
Well from what I know, you would need a multimeter to verify which position gets your speed. I have a cheap 3,99$ multimeter so its not really precise but roughly I checked and it gave me this 0k-3k-6k 10k(neutral) 16k-19k-20k. Like I said it's a meter with a needle so not the digital one... hope it helps

john reilly

02-13-2006, 10:42 PM

Hey Guys, I built a spring loaded one that returns to the original position about 5 months ago... I'll try to post pictures for you guys later... It was built for very cheap and works very well in my own humble opinion.
Hi.....my first time to read postings here--great stuff you are doing; my dumb question of the day is: for my family consumer Canon Optura Xi, which has NO LANC input, is there any possibility of purchasing a remote zoom controller, like a wireless one, or one powered by the USB port ?.....the remote control by CANON has a really weak zoom control: 2 tiny buttons, stuck in one speed only.....

Sorry to sound like a rookie, but I am one!

Thanks for any insights!!

jaydskate

02-14-2006, 08:34 PM

Hi.....my first time to read postings here--great stuff you are doing; my dumb question of the day is: for my family consumer Canon Optura Xi, which has NO LANC input, is there any possibility of purchasing a remote zoom controller, like a wireless one, or one powered by the USB port ?.....the remote control by CANON has a really weak zoom control: 2 tiny buttons, stuck in one speed only.....

Sorry to sound like a rookie, but I am one!

Thanks for any insights!!

Hi johnny,

BTW there's no dumb question cause if it was so, I'd be the dumbest. Anyway, there's no way that I know of to control the zoom of the camera thru the USB port. It's purpose is to transfert pics and to use it as a web cam. I started a search for you and got no results. LANC and remote controller functions are only available for higher-end prosumer products and most of sony's camcorders (LANC) of course since they all have a LANC plug.

sorry I didn't have any good news for you...

Jayson

jaydskate

02-14-2006, 08:46 PM

Help guys, I have been following RocketScience's tutorial but I've hit a wall. That handyman spring Is not available in canada or in the Montreal area at least . I've been to every single Home Depot with 100km and couldn't find the infamous "handyman spring". You guys should have seen the face of all the stock clerks when I asked for it. They were clueless and so was I. So I bought different size coil springs and experimented and got little or no results. Have a clue. I won't give up but my wife as seen a bunch of coil fly across the living room for the last few days. Need some enlightment

Jayson

john reilly

02-15-2006, 11:10 PM

Hey,

Thanks for the info on remote zoom controllers--is there any product out there for use with a Canon Optura xi video cam which has NO LANC input. Yes, it came with a remote control, but the zoom buttons are flimsy, and stuck at one speed...

Thanks!

JDR

john reilly

02-17-2006, 12:36 AM

Jayson,

I'm amazed I got a reply from you...figured my question would be a laugher for anybody to seriously respond--I really appreciate your attempt to research....unless somebody comes out with a better wireless unit than the one that comes with our non-LANC cameras, I guess I have to go SONY, i.e., the new consumer HD unit which is down from $2000 at Christmastime to around $1500 now....except we just forked out around $1200 for the Canon Optura xi I mentioned previously...

Why don't you invent a wireless high-performance rocker-switcing, multi-speed unit compatible with with ALL the non-SONY brands.....you'd be my hero....but then, you already are for bothering to help me out....GREAT to hear from you!!

P.S. My wife was cracking up as you addressed me as: "Johnny"...too funny!

See Ya,

Johnny

jaydskate

02-17-2006, 06:39 AM

[quote=john reilly]

P.S. My wife was cracking up as you addressed me as: "Johnny"...too funny!

HI John,

sorry about that "Johnny thing",

My best friend's name is John as well and we've been calling him Johnny for the last decade so I guess it's a force of habit.

As for the rocker-switch controller , I just accomplished that last night. I tested the unit and it works great. Unfortunately I made a little mistake planning the size of the trimmer so I'll need to make another unit with different trimmers. As soon as I get my camera back from my wife today, I'll take pics and post them on the forum.

I like the idea of a wireless remote. I'm planning to build one eventually.

Unfortunately, the problem we face with most non-LANC or remote port camera is that the speed of the zoom. It would be impossible to have variable speed. Luckily, one of my friends is a Panasonic\JVC repairman and he backed up what I'm saying. And the reason is quite simple. Canon, SOny, JVC and friends will want you to spit out the extra cash to get a model that will have the features you're looking for.

I'm sure you didn't think about that feature before buying your camera, I know I didn't. It's only when I started on professional shoots for long consecutive hours that I realized I needed a remote control.

best of luck...

Jayson

john reilly

02-17-2006, 11:30 PM

Jayson,

Thanks for your comments....I'll be looking for your upcoming wireless zoom remote control invention!!

I appreciate chatting with you...

All The Best,

Reilly

bloodyjack

02-22-2006, 12:03 PM

ok I wana make one of these and after a lot of searching can not find the original link. can anyone point me to it

jaydskate

02-23-2006, 08:40 PM

ok I wana make one of these and after a lot of searching can not find the original link. can anyone point me to it

http://koodies.home.comcast.net/remotezoom.htm

there you go Bloodyjack. Let us know if you were more sucessfull than me...

rocketscience

02-23-2006, 11:32 PM

wow this thread still going..

I'm glad others are getting use out of the tutorial. I put a lot of work into making it .. work.. so I consider it time not wasted if other people are doing it.

For the spring, in the picture, there's a part number. I'd call hardware stores and ask around.

I also searched like crazy before making this.. could not find rocker pots, or sliding pots in the right range (tho my brother is an EE and could tell me what resistors to use, I didnt want to crowd the project box). You had to buy them in quanitities of 10,000. I wasnt planning on making that many.

I even considered buying the actual rocker switch on top of the DVX from a panasonic repair shop.. my guess is that would have made it a tad bit more expensive.

The values of the pot for the zoom settings are actually a range. i.e., a previous post said neutral is 10k. I think it's actually 8k-12k?? If I remember.. this was a couple yrs ago.

YES, I've been using this controller for 2 years now.. had to adjust 1 a little after 1.5 years, but easily done with needlenose pliers. Oh.. another tip, put just a little bit of lube ('Gunk' teflon? with a toothpick?) wherever the spring touches anything. otherwise you might get creaking noises.

It's a shame you can't find the spring.. I myself tried about 5 or 6 before finding this one. It works the best I have to say. Ace Hardware? Menards? Tru Value? Drive across the border?

rocketscience

02-23-2006, 11:52 PM

handy man springs:

http://www.aaascreen.com/primeline/PLCatalog-SP.pdf

http://www.primeline.net/catalog/sp.pdf

contact info included i believe.

you want SP-9709.

While building this probably cost $20 (not including failures), that libec looks like a good deal. If I had found that when I was looking for one, I might have gotten one. But now, I am happy with what I have. A good conversation starter as well!

jaydskate

02-27-2006, 06:18 PM

handy man springs:

http://www.aaascreen.com/primeline/PLCatalog-SP.pdf

http://www.primeline.net/catalog/sp.pdf

Thanks Rocket science,

I finally found the spring ( In Burlington) and got decents results with it. The coil I was using was too strong so it was impossible to shape it around the pot.

But now I'm working on something else. I built a rocker switch and I'm really pleased with the look. I just need to change the value of the potentimeter and with decents results I'll post it here....

thanks again for your contribution

bloodyjack

02-27-2006, 06:50 PM

http://koodies.home.comcast.net/remotezoom.htm

there you go Bloodyjack. Let us know if you were more sucessfull than me...
this link only shows the mechanical construction and no schemaic or wiring infomation? Were do I find that?

jaydskate

02-27-2006, 10:58 PM

this link only shows the mechanical construction and no schemaic or wiring infomation? Were do I find that?

Do a search on this post for remote control zoom And you'll get it. If not...
http://www.dvxuser.com/articles/remote/ it's not schematic but it expalins the wiring..

have fun!

cinealma

03-18-2006, 02:17 AM

Has anybody built a unit to control focus/iris for the DVX100b?

Jag

tlorenzo

03-18-2006, 03:51 AM

Has anybody built a unit to control focus/iris for the DVX100b?

Jag

There's not a DIY product on the market yet, but Varizoom makes one that has both zoon, iris and focus control. It's quite nice, although it is a bit hard to hit an exact focus mark with the small knobs.

Tony

gheemedia

12-25-2008, 10:54 AM

Is anyone selling these DIY Zoom Controls for Panasonic DVX100? I am willing to buy two!

6welchs

10-02-2010, 12:19 PM

Hey guys i need some help. I got a 25 ohm Rheostat and a 3/32 plug, and a pushbutton for recording. When i wire it up, my dvx100 b will not zoom in at all. If i manually zoom and then connect, it will pull the zoom out to 0 regardless of how i adjust the rheostat. Any thoughts? I also just tried it on my DVC 30 and it does the same thing. What am I missing here?

MasterKeitaro

10-30-2010, 10:31 PM

I just made the original controller tonight. I added an inline toggle switch and an indicator light before the momentary button to prevent me accidentally recording when I don't want to :P

Testing it on Monday. Hopefully it works. *Crosses my fingers*

RileyRobertson

11-01-2010, 06:09 PM

Keitaro, got any pictures?

MasterKeitaro

11-02-2010, 12:21 AM

Just tested it today and unfortunately it looks like I got a faulty pot :/

Once I swap it out and make sure it works I'll take some pictures and post them.

Also, I found that the LED indicator light was very dim running on only the power from the camera, and it tended to blink on and off when the momentary switch was pressed, which I didn't really like. I solved the problem by hard wiring in a c size battery inline with the toggle switch. Now it glows brightly and constantly when the switch is in the one position. :)