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This appeared last year on the blog Dining Hall. That site has since closed down.

We have a little basket which houses all of our remotes. Yes, we have five of them. One each for the TV, DVD Player, CD Player, Amp, and a VCR that has been packed away and out of commission for more than a year! Even if we went for an Universal Remote, we’d not get rid of the other remotes, so why add one more to the pile? (What if the Universal malfunctions?).

Since we stopped watching TV 22 30 months ago (although we watch an occassional movie), our reliance on TV remotes has gone down considerably. Blogging has surreptitiously slipped in to fill the time freed up. So it was ironic that the subject of remotes was brought to the fore due to blogging. We take a lot of pictures with long exposure times and the 10 second blink-blink of the self-timer seems interminable at times. The problem is aggravated when the subject matter is predisposed to melting. The number of times we shuttled between the freezer and this particular shoot is not funny.

I resolved to remedy the situation, thumbed through the camera manual, and found the remote accessory model (RC-1 for Canon EOS 300D). A few clicks brought about a list of merchants who were more than happy to take my greenbacks in exchange for some infrared waves. I was just about to trigger the remote purchase when I chanced upon this and this. Apparently there was a hallowed counter culture of digital camera hacking that I was blissfully unaware of, until that moment.

Essentially these links were claiming that I could use my remotes that were languishing in the basket to operate my camera. No additional equipment required and I could be up and running in 15 minutes. How could I resist? Kill two birds with one stone. After all, the best merchant, in addition to lightening my pocket, could not promise to get the RC-1 to me in less than a week.

So, did it work? What did I do?

The short answer is Yes. The steps are real easy:

1) Read your remote manual and figure out how to program the remote.

2) Find out the code that triggers the camera (I found out that 132 works for Canon EOS 300D).

3) Program the code into the remote TV or VCR or Power button. The combination of remotes and cameras is infinite (figuratively speaking), so you might have to do a bit of research to see the best combination with your choice of existing remotes.

4) Set the camera in remote mode and press the button chosen in step (3). The shutter should release.

If you cannot find the code for your camera posted on the web then follow through the procedure outlined in the first link. This process could be a bit tedious and make the venture not worth the time. But if you want to give your nerdy alter ego a bit more sunshine, now is the time. Go for it!

I cannot leave you without the drawbacks. My remote works strictly in the line of sight with the IR sensor on the camera and has a range between 2-3 ft even with fresh batteries. Some folks claim better performance with their remotes. Good for them. What I figured out after trying this solution (for free - may I add) is that I don’t particularly care for a remote while shooting food photos unless absolutely necessary. The 10 second wait doesn’t bother me any more. Afterall, we spend a much longer time preparing the food and setting the shoot. With the RC-1 from Canon not boasting much better specs than the hack, a purchase seems remote.

-Jai

Happy Birthday - A Luta Continua by Cynthia @ Forgive Me My Nonsense …

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SPEAK YOUR MIND

4 Comments so far

1. Lakshmi on July 21, 2008 9:08 am

   Talk about too many remotes - I recently came across an event to show off fridge magnets, I don’t have even one magnet - I can however partcipate in a show off your remotes.

2. Dee on July 21, 2008 12:13 pm

   whoa , this is new to me, I was unaware of this completely, thanks for the info Jai… this is really worth something!!

3. arundathi on July 21, 2008 10:16 pm

   that was really cool - thanks, Jai.

4. Bharti on July 23, 2008 8:41 pm

   Hmmm…good to know.