June 01, 2012

Using sound, light and an Arduino to trigger a camera flash

 Maurice Ribble has created and described an Arduino-based system that uses sounds and light to trigger the flash of an SLR camera. His purpose for doing this was to shoot still images during interesting points of motion. For example, a still during the a liquid being splashed:

Although such a task would initally seem to be complicated, the implementation is quite simple. A small laser pointer shines a beam which is detected by a photoresistor, and can trigger the flash when the beam has broken. Furthermore, Maruice also uses a small microphone to detect noise which is then interpreted by the Arduino and triggers the flash. 

This project is a great example of how anyone can use an Arduino or compatible board to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. For those looking to recreate this project we offer a range of Arduino-compatible boards such as the Eleven, and also our MIC sound input module for the sound triggering. You can review the design and Arduino sketch at the product website here

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