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10-17-2010, 09:14 PM   #1
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An Accessory to Hold the Shutter Down?

I want to take startrail pictures like this with my new K-x:

I took this with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ10. I used a velcro strap to hold the shutter down so it took about 100 30-second pictures in a row, which I later combined using a program called startrails.

I can't use a velcro strap on the K-x because the shutter button is curved down too much. I've seen somewhere on these forums a picture of an accessory that mounts to the hot shoe and holds down the shutter button. I'm not sure if that guy bought it or made it himself. If he bought it, I'm not sure what it would be called to search for it. If I were to make my own, is there any danger of a short circuit if I inserted some metal piece into the hot shoe?

I was looking forward to being able to use bulb mode to take star trail pictures but I discovered it's not as easy as I thought at least in a suburban environment. The pictures overexpose too easily. So I have to find a way to hold the shutter button down for a bunch of 30 second pictures like I did with my other camera. At least with my K-x, there won't be gaps in the star trails caused by dark frame subtraction.

Kevin

10-17-2010, 09:30 PM   #2
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You really do not have to go to that extreme - its all built into the camera for you. However, you are going to need to do some reading in the manual.
  • First - A tripod
  • Second - An IR shutter release - Pentax Remote Control F
  • Third - You can set the camera to 1) keep the shutter open while you continuously press the remote control F button or 2) keep the shutter open between the first press (to open the shutter) and the second press (to close the shutter). That way you will not have to sit there pushing the button for 5 minutes....

Amazon.com: Pentax Remote Control F for Pentax Digital Cameras: Camera & Photo

The Kx does not have an external shutter release connector for a wired button unit, so you need to use the IR remote feature. You want to use the external shutter release so that you will not need to touch the camera - thereby shaking it and blurring the image. There is also a 2 second mirror up, where by you hit the shutter, the mirror lifts and then waits for about 2 seconds and then takes the picture. On the Kx you may not be able to do the mirror up delay with the IR remote (they may be on the same menu and you may only be able to select one item at a time. You need to do some experimenting. See pages 134 and 135 of your manual.

http://www.pentaximaging.com/images/temp/63399407595779261272600manual_k-x_en_official.pdf



Last edited by interested_observer; 10-17-2010 at 09:39 PM.
10-17-2010, 09:39 PM   #3
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I already have a tripod and an ir remote. What I want I want to do is put the camera in continuous exposure mode and set the shutter speed to 30 seconds and have the camera keep taking pictures until the battery dies. That's what I did with my old camera. It would not be convenient to press the button on the remote every 30 seconds for a couple hours.
10-17-2010, 09:44 PM   #4
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This might be what you're looking for: creating a programmable remote shutter release for Pentax Kx scanar

I found this in another thread some months ago, haven't gotten around to doing it myself though.

Jay

10-17-2010, 09:50 PM   #5
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Try page 136 in the manual. There usually is another function on the camera and I am not finding it. With a wired remote, you can pick up the type that you can set for xxx number of shots every yyyy seconds over a zzzz duration. However, there is not much to choose from in terms of IR support. I did find one earlier this year/late last year. Let me look to see where I put it....

10-17-2010, 09:54 PM   #6
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Take a look at post #11 through the end of .... (I know it says K7, but it reverts to the IR only on the Kx)

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/83788-k7-interval-...ges-limit.html

10-18-2010, 12:03 PM   #7
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Intervalometer is what you need. I believe you can get them separately.

10-18-2010, 03:17 PM   #8
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I would think the simplest solution would be an old fashioned cable release. You can lock them to hold the shutter down.
10-18-2010, 03:53 PM   #9
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I know an intervalometer would be best for what I want to do. But I just wanted something simple and I didn't want to spend the money for one. So today I made something that will hold the shutter down. I know it looks weird, but it works (hopefully).

It's made of an old gift card cut into pieces, a hair clip, a paper clip, and some random plastic thing I found.

The hair clip allows me to pop it up while I slide it into the hot shoe, and while I set up the picture.

Then when I want to take continuous pictures I pop the clip down and it holds the shutter down. I still need to test it to see if it can hold the shutter down for a couple hours like I want it to.
10-18-2010, 06:47 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by SpecialK Quote
Intervalometer is what you need. I believe you can get them separately.
That is the term I was trying to remember...

Also, here is another post on another potential solution.

I think that there would be both advantages and disadvantages to a mechanical solution. The advantage would be the ability to use the menu option for the 2 second mirror up. The disadvantage is the inability to automatically replete the process for multiple iterations back to back.

10-22-2010, 08:32 PM   #11
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The Results

There was finally a mostly clear night here so I tried out my contraption with my camera. I took 368 pictures at 18mm, f3.5, 30 seconds, iso 400. So that covered 3 hours and 16 minutes. The batteries were not fully charged to begin with, and it was still taking pictures when I stopped it! I was amazed by how many stars it captured even though it was a full moon and there's some light pollution. Unfortunately, because I took the picture early in the night, it also captured at least 50 plane trails. I could remove these but it would take forever. Anyway, here's the picture:

Resizing the picture caused it to look a little weird.
10-22-2010, 09:03 PM   #12
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I believe it's called a finger, most humans have ten. Arnold Shoenberg once wrote a piano concerto and was told that it would require a pianist with 12 fingers to perform, a comment to which he replied: "I can wait"

10-23-2010, 09:47 AM   #13
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Kevin, looks like you hit a winner! Sometimes simple and free is the best solution (plus a little bit of "yankee" ingenuity)!!

I'm *assuming* you used stacker SW on the images - what program did you use?
10-23-2010, 10:17 AM   #14
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I used a simple free program called Startrails to stack the images.
10-23-2010, 01:33 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by krp Quote
I used a simple free program called Startrails to stack the images.
Thanks Kevin - I've downloaded it and will give it a try.
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