Other brands of cameras (not Powershot or Coolpix)

[Pingpong]

Hi! I'm looking to buy a bunch of cheap software controllable cameras for an art project that I'm paying out of my own pocket. I'm posting to this forum because you guys seem to be the most knowledgable, even if this is not a book scanning project.

Are there any alternatives to the Canon Powershot models, or the Nikon Coolpix series?

I need 15-30 cameras of at around 10 megapixels each, and want to be able to collect the images automatically to the computer for scripted processing. On the other hand, I don't need to trigger the cameras more than say once every 10 minutes. I'm quite skilled with computers and I'm not afraid of a bit of programming or installing new firmwares etc.

After intense googling, the only options seems to be getting a bunch of Canon Powershots and installing CHDK, or a bunch of suitable Nikon Coolpixes (Coolpixen?). Are there any alternatives?

Trolling eBay for used cameras is not really an option because shipping would quickly run more expensive than the cameras. It would be much better if I could find a larger lot from a camera clearance at Fry's or something like that. That is why I'm looking to broaden my search with other makes.

(Btw, Canon sells refurbished models on their site, but they won't ship outside of the US. I also looked at the Raspberry Pi camera, but it seems to have pretty low fidelity more comparable to a better webcam).

[markvdb]

CHDK is the only cheap option. Really.

Remote triggering out of the box is not going to happen on any cheap camera. The CHDK developers amazingly hacked their way around it. You won't find anything cheaper than that.

[daniel_reetz]

Mark is right, but it depends on whether or not you need the images to be synced or to fire at an exact moment. If so, CHDK. If not, you can wire the shutter button of any camera up to a remote switch. But it's a lot of work and the timing is not guaranteed.

[markvdb]

Mark is right, but it depends on whether or not you need the images to be synced or to fire at an exact moment. If so, CHDK. If not, you can wire the shutter button of any camera up to a remote switch. But it's a lot of work and the timing is not guaranteed.

You're absolutely right about the remote switch, Daniel.

But seeing the original poster wants to pull the images into the computer automatically.... And I'm not even talking about setting the camera reliably. These are all things CHDK can do, and a remote switch can't...

[Pingpong]

Ok, but if you look at http://www.gphoto.org/doc/remote/ there are not only CHDK cameras listed, but also some Nikon Coolpixen and a few others.

Some cameras seem to allow software control of at least a few features via PTP, or perhaps I misunderstand how that works?

The reason I'm posting to this forum is that it is obvious that the list at gphoto has not been regularly updated in years (lots of 2MP cameras listed). So I figured there could still be a few cheaper options out there. Something like the odd Olympus that turns out to be a rebranded Powershot, or some odd-ball Chinese brand that is powered by ARM Linux, or something. The kind of stuff that is impossible to google, but tends to be known at the right forum.

[markvdb]

I can only politely restate the advice that I already gave you.

Seeing that this is not about book scanners at all, your question is rather off topic here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in private. You should easily be able to find an email address to contact me...

[dtic]

I know you wrote that you wanted 10 mpx but if you anyway would be prepared to accept lower resolution then raspi model A + raspi camera board (5 mpx) could be an option.

[markvdb]

I also looked at the Raspberry Pi camera, but it seems to have pretty low fidelity more comparable to a better webcam).

So not a solution...