How do you make a
Canon 5D Mark II camera better? By enhancing it with a
Raspberry Pi computer according to
David Hunt. The Limerick based photography enthusiast had the idea to embed a computer into a DSLR for a few years, but was put off by the cost of small single board computers. The release of the Raspberry Pi gave him the opportunity to bring his idea to fruition. We
recently raved about the €35 computer to give you an idea of its capabilities and possibilities.
Hunt started his endeavour using an old, broken battery grip and made a few modifications so that the Raspberry Pi would fit. As Hunt outlines, the possibilities are endless. With this setup he can transmit pictures to a PC while shooting using a Wifi dongle in the USB port, back up images on a memory card, remote control the camera using a PC, convert images on the fly, add a small LCD display or wake up a sleeping camera.
The project is ongoing, but it is off to a good start. Hunt has gotten the prototype working and images can be pulled from the camera and transmitted via Wifi or Ethernet. His most recent update shows how he has written a script, which will download new images to his iPad as they are taken. Handily he has also recorded a video to show the process in action.
The project so far has cost him approximately €95, excluding the cost of the camera itself naturally. So far it seems to be money and time well spent, especially if he can make the possibilities that he has outlined a reality. You can stay tuned to Hunt’s progress and see how he went about creating the piece by visiting
his blog.