Camera trigger

[figure1a]

I have minimal electronics experience and I need to build a custom camera trigger. I will have 48 cameras that I need to trigger. The cameras will trigger when they sense 5V DC. I also need each camera to trigger in succession 1/24th of a second apart (timing can be approximate but needs to be consistent between each camera). Can I build this with simple transisters, resisters, etc.?

 

[squishy36]

The answer is almost certainly yes. You need to know what the camera input requirements are: how long does the 5 volt signal need to be on and how much current will it draw? Once those are known, it wouldn't be too hard to design something. However, 48 cameras means a lot of wiring, so you'll also want to think about what hardware you'll use to connect things. Also, requirements change, so the design should be flexible enough to add more capabilities or change the behavior.

If it was me, I'd do the work with some PIC processors, as the chips would be perhaps a couple of dollars apiece and I could cascade more chips to add more cameras. Plus, you'll get good timing in software and, most importantly, you'll easily be able to change the timing when things don't work quite as expected. This approach is one of the fastest ways to get up and running. Alas, there's a bit of a learning curve to getting started with these things. You can spend roughly $50 and get a learning kit and tools that will teach you all that you need to know how to do this, but it will take some effort on your part to learn it. An advantage is that then you have these skills in your pocket for the next project that comes along.