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Photo booth for the party [Canon camera + Arduino]

JestemInzynieremPL  39 17412 Cool? (+31)
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TL;DR

  • A DIY wedding photo booth pairs a Canon camera, a monitor, and an Arduino PRO Mini, but omits a printer to keep the build simple and cheap.
  • The camera feeds video through miniHDMI to the monitor, while Arduino buttons trigger the shutter through optocouplers and a 2.5mm micro-jack, with transistors driving 12V signal lamps.
  • The control system uses 12V DC power, Arduino PRO Mini 5V logic, and parts including 6 x 12V signal lamps, 2 backlit buttons, 2 optocouplers, and 8 NPN transistors.
  • It reportedly ran at over a dozen events for 8-10 hours of uninterrupted work, showing photos on the monitor after each shot.
  • The build was cheaper than renting a booth for 2-3 hours, though some parts of the wooden enclosure could still be improved.
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Several days before my wedding I came up with an idea to rent a photo booth for a wedding party. When I saw what the rental prices are, I quickly decided that I would do my own, because the cost of building it was close to the cost of renting a photo booth for 2-3 hours. By the way, I recorded some material for my YT channel ( JestemInzynieremPL).

My photo booth design consisted of a digital camera, monitor and Arduino board, without a printer. Printed photos in the ubiquitous times of socialmedia are rather outdated, because everyone prefers a photo for a fejsika rather than a small printout. What's more, from the designer's point of view a photo booth, omitting a printer is a very good idea, because it greatly simplifies its construction. And it reduces its price. And the cost of operation.

Most cameras have a miniHDMI output, which can be used to send the image directly to the monitor. In older monitors, there is not always an HDMI socket, then you must use adapters for DVI or D-SUB jacks. I did the photo booth at cost, so I have a used monitor and I am using the miniHDMi - D-SUB adapter. After connecting the camera, the image from the display appears on the monitor. The device must have a power supply with an adapter pretending to be a battery so that it can work for several hours or more.

I set the camera so that after taking each picture it would display the picture for a certain time. Ot all the magic of the photo booth. All I had to do was make an Arduino circuit based layout that triggered the shutter of the camera after pressing the 'take a picture' button.


The camera's photo control system is based on the Arduino PRO Mini in the 5V version. I also used the construction of the device: 6 pcs. 12V signal lamps, 2 large buttons with backlight, one tact-switch button, LED, ON-OFF round switch, DC 12V socket, resistors with 200 Ohm and 10KOhm resistance, 2 optocouplers, 8 NPN transistors, prototype board, female goldpin strips and male, 2.5mm micro-jack, 4 nylon spacers and plastic housing.


The scheme of the photo booth control system is very simple. The explanation may start with the fact that the whole is powered by 12V DC. There is a good option, because all elements of the system can be supplied with the same voltage.

As I mentioned before, the fotobudka is controlled by the Arduino PRO Mini board with 5V logic. All peripherals are connected to it. The power supply to the PCB is fed to the RAW pin, GND ground. Two big front buttons and one small one, placed on the controller's casing, give the possibility of triggering the shutter from the inside of the photo booth connected to pins A0, A1, A2. From the pin D2 to the pin D9, the signaling and high key backlight are connected. Pins D10 and D11 are connected to the camera.

Of course, the camera is not connected directly to the Arduino, because both devices have different operating voltage & # 8211; 3,3V camera, and Arduino 5V. Additionally, it is worth taking care of the camera's safety and electronically separating the Arduino camera system using an optocoupler. With this solution, for a zloty I have such protection that I can connect up to 1000V and nothing should happen with the camera.

The control system is connected to the camera via the cable inlet. This is a 2.5mm micro-jack. Proper shorting of the pins of the camera's socket allows you to imitate pressing the shutter release button.

These are now signal lamps. I admit that I do not know exactly what is in them, but I bet that some LED and resistor. The most important is that they are powered by 12V electricity, i.e. they can not be directly connected to Arduino. And here transistors come in with help.

The entire assembly of electronics, explanation of the scheme, operation algorithm and sketch of the control program can be seen in the following video:




I started the construction of the photo booth body by cutting the plywood. I can give you advice so that you do not let her alone in the DIY store. Most large DIY stores have such great, great saws on which they cut the plates to the nearest millimeter. I was very pleased, all the boards were cut evenly and precisely.


I will immediately admit that I do not have much in common with woodwork, so it's possible that I made mistakes that seem blatant to those involved in this profession. If so, I would like to read your comments and comments.

Below is a video on which I am describing the construction of the body and showing the work of the photo booth:




At the end, a small summary: fotobudka is doing very well, she has already worked over a dozen events after 8-10 hours of uninterrupted work. I am very pleased with it, although there are a few things that I would change and improve in the construction of the next one. Maybe you have any questions or tips? I'm happy to discuss, but not in the style of Arduino? A real engineer does not tick it.

I bet that entering a link to the site with photo gallery taken by the photo booth will be treated as a prohibited advertisement? If not, I would like to praise :-)

Attachments:
  • Fotobudka - program sterujący.txt (4.44 KB) You must be logged in to download this attachment.

About Author
JestemInzynieremPL
JestemInzynieremPL wrote 50 posts with rating 113 . Been with us since 2017 year.

Comments

erian 15 Aug 2018 17:42

What model of Canon do you use? [Read more]

JestemInzynieremPL 15 Aug 2018 17:53

Canon 700D [Read more]

IS 15 Aug 2018 21:24

I admire my friend that a couple of days before my wedding had time and permission from (then future) wife to fight this construction :) [Read more]

JestemInzynieremPL 15 Aug 2018 21:28

The second time I would not have taken up in such a short time, because the last work on the photo booth ended the day before the wedding :-D [Read more]

artwa 16 Aug 2018 08:49

Respect for taking up the challenge a few days before the wedding. I'm asking a few questions: - softboxes shine all the time? What is the source of light in them? - is this added lighting enough to... [Read more]

JestemInzynieremPL 16 Aug 2018 09:04

Yes, softboxes have a candle all the time. There are 5500K solid light bulbs in the lamps. I'm thinking about adding a flash, because it happens that "dynamic" pictures are sometimes disturbed. Yes,... [Read more]

ziko234 16 Aug 2018 11:14

Hello, great idea! Do you have the sizes of plywood you wrote down that you ordered in the shop for cutting? [Read more]

JestemInzynieremPL 16 Aug 2018 11:20

Thanks! The body was made of 18 mm thick plywood, I used panels with the following dimensions: 2 items - 868 x 500 mm 2 items - 850 x 500 mm 4 items - 850 x 350 mm 2 items - 500 x 368 mm 2 items -... [Read more]

Jawi_P 16 Aug 2018 11:22

Revelation! Especially for creativity and the deadline for implementation :) In the end something different than the amplifier, power supply or Tesla coil;) [Read more]

ladamaniac 16 Aug 2018 15:26

If manual sharpening, light permanently, writing on the card, why the arduino? [Read more]

ziko234 16 Aug 2018 15:42

In total, it's enough to set the self-timer on the camera, the button from the trigger and the monitor: D [Read more]

artwa 16 Aug 2018 16:08

Arduino probably basically serves only to light up the lights, which count down the time to take off (and replace the self-timer). It looks like shooting a cannon to a sparrow, but in my opinion it is... [Read more]

JestemInzynieremPL 16 Aug 2018 17:02

to your questions, Artwa replied roughly: Using Arduino to trigger the shutter of the camera gives you much more control over the whole. I can freely set the time and number of photos taken "at... [Read more]

ladamaniac 16 Aug 2018 21:05

This paste into the first post, without it, just a few meters of two-wire cable, monostable button and a dedicated plug for the camera, with me just 2.5mm Jack. Before this type of events, quite interesting... [Read more]

JestemInzynieremPL 16 Aug 2018 21:25

From the experience I have gained, it is necessary to use as few cables as necessary to operate the photo booth. Drunk people can do a good shit :-D And that's btw. I do not know why such an aversion... [Read more]

Zbychm 16 Aug 2018 21:27

BRAVO!  Congratulations on the occasion of the wedding and the idea! Maybe other colleagues were having fun in this idea? I have a few ideas and I will try to present them in a few weeks.      gre... [Read more]

krzbor 18 Aug 2018 17:10

I agree with you exactly. Why use 2 integrated circuits, if one processor can be used? And instead of an independent processor - PRO Mini, which was created just to use it in ready-made solutions. The... [Read more]

krru 19 Aug 2018 09:52

What type of camera did you use? Some of the Canons had the ability to control the USB - you could both release the shutter and set some exposure parameters. Of course, you can also transfer photos, and... [Read more]

Jawi_P 19 Aug 2018 21:30

# 3 [Read more]

FAQ

TL;DR: Built in under a week, this DIY Canon-Arduino photo booth has logged 100 + operating hours and “Arduino gives you much more control” [Elektroda, JestemInzynieremPL, post #17387671] It costs about the same as a 2–3-hour rental [Elektroda, JestemInzynieremPL, post #17385700] Why it matters: shows how low-cost electronics can replace commercial rigs without sacrificing fun or reliability.

Quick Facts

• Supply voltage: 12 V DC rails power lamps, buttons and electronics [Elektroda, 17385700] • Controller: Arduino Pro Mini 5 V with opto-isolated shutter lines [Elektroda, post #17385700] • Camera: Canon 700D, 2.5 mm remote jack, mini-HDMI video out [Elektroda, 17386073] • Enclosure: 18 mm plywood; largest panel 868 × 500 mm [Elektroda, post #17387033] • Runtime record: 8–10 h per event × 12 events ≈ 100 h [Elektroda, 17385700]

What Canon model and connectors are used?

The build uses a Canon 700D DSLR. Video feeds via mini-HDMI, while a 2.5 mm remote-release jack lets Arduino trigger the shutter [Elektroda, JestemInzynieremPL, #17386073; #17385700].

Why not just use the camera’s self-timer?

Arduino lets you set any delay, burst count and LED countdown, giving a richer user experience than a fixed 10-second timer. “I can freely set the time and number of photos taken” [Elektroda, 17387671]

How do you safely interface 5 V Arduino pins with the 3.3 V camera?

Two optocouplers sit between pins D10/D11 and the 2.5 mm jack. They provide up to 1 kV isolation and eliminate ground loops [Elektroda, 17385700]

What lighting gives reliable exposure?

Two softboxes run constantly with 5 500 K continuous bulbs. Manual exposure and manual focus keep results consistent despite venue lights [Elektroda, 17386841]

What are the enclosure dimensions?

Cut from 18 mm plywood: 2 × (868 × 500 mm), 2 × (850 × 500 mm), 4 × (850 × 350 mm), 2 × (500 × 368 mm), 2 × (464 × 100 mm) [Elektroda, 17387033]

How long can the booth run continuously?

It has already worked “over a dozen events” at 8–10 h each, so 100 h+ without overheating or rebooting [Elektroda, 17385700]

Does it print photos?

No printer is installed to keep costs and supervision low. Photos stay on the SD card and are handed to the organiser after the event [Elektroda, 17386841]

How can I mirror the live preview for guests?

Use a small PC or Raspberry Pi with dual-monitor software to flip the HDMI feed horizontally before it reaches the display [rafiti3 suggestion, Elektroda, #18556264].

What are typical failure points?

Edge cases include drunk guests yanking power cables, paper jams in add-on printers, and gadgets scattered around the booth [Elektroda, st4chuu, post #17398788] Secure wiring and limit loose props.

Can I add a wireless or floor-trigger button?

Yes. Replace the current pushbutton with an RF remote receiver or a pressure mat wired to the same Arduino input—no code change required [Elektroda, keychi, post #18512132]

How do I wire the shutter circuit?

  1. Connect Arduino D10 and D11 to LED-side of two optocouplers.
  2. Wire optocoupler transistor side across the camera’s 2.5 mm jack focus and shutter pins.
  3. Upload a sketch that pulls D10 low for focus, then D11 low for 200 ms to fire [Elektroda, 17385700]
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