Canon A490 (A495) based scanner

Everything camera related. Includes triggers, batteries, power supplies, flatbeds and sheet-feeding scanners, too.

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svr
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Joined: 10 Jan 2016, 18:47
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Country: Serbia
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Canon A490 (A495) based scanner

Post by svr »

I'm starting with my book scanner build. Bought this two cameras from ebay, and now I'm stuck.
Didn't realize that every camera model has it's own.
Idea was to build trigger for both cameras, get pictures from both directly to PC while during scanning I can look what I'm scanning on PC monitor.
I was reading posts and longer I read less is clear to me what to do with canon cameras I have.

What I believe is clear, is that I need after scanning to transfer scanned documents, (left,right camera via USB cable to pc) it's not possible to connect these canons to transfer doc during scanning?
It's impossible to connect them to PC, to see on PC monitor what I'm doing?

I'm also not clear with software that I need to use?
I tried Scan Tailor, and when I thought I finished book, I realised that my new scanned book is in "ScanTailor" file and I can't save as PDF??
duerig
Posts: 388
Joined: 01 Jun 2014, 17:04
Number of books owned: 1000
Country: United States of America

Re: Canon A490 (A495) based scanner

Post by duerig »

It looks like your cameras are supported by CHDK:

http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

So I would recommend that you start by installing CHDK on them. This is software which runs on the camera itself that will let you remotely capture and save the images.

Then, on your PC, you can run TwoCamControl:

http://diybookscanner.org/forum/viewtop ... =20&t=3082

That interfaces with CHDK to actually control the capture process. Once you have finished running TwoCamControl, you have a folder full of images. Turning these images into an e-book is called 'post-processing' and there are a ton of options.

Scan Tailor handles a lot of common tasks. It takes the raw JPEG files and helps you rotate, crop, deskew, and more. When Scan Tailor is finished, you should notice an 'out' subdirectory with a bunch of TIFF images. These are the resulting Scan Tailor images after you have done those things. The one thing that Scan Tailor does not do is bind all the images together into a PDF or other format.

In order to get a PDF, there are a number of free and paid options. Adobe itself sells Acrobat to do this. There is a free program called IrfanView which lets you pull a bunch of images into one PDF file. There are a lot of other free programs for various platforms.

Best of luck in your scanning. There are a ton of options here. You just need to keep an eye out for the ones that work best for you personally.

-D
svr
Posts: 4
Joined: 10 Jan 2016, 18:47
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Country: Serbia
Location: Serbia

Re: Canon A490 (A495) based scanner

Post by svr »

Thanks for your help.
I forgot to tell that I have installed CHDK on both cameras.
I plan to build CHDK USB Remote Shutter for cameras.
Is it posible to use camera USB for USB Remote shutter and for sending scanned (picture) page to PC at the same time?
If posiblle how, any tutorial on the net?

Also I want to connect cameras to DC power rather than batteries.
Where to find, or do you know the name of that canon DC jack?
duerig
Posts: 388
Joined: 01 Jun 2014, 17:04
Number of books owned: 1000
Country: United States of America

Re: Canon A490 (A495) based scanner

Post by duerig »

I don't think the USB power toggle remote will send the photos to a PC. To make that work, you will want to scan a book using the USB remote, then unplug it. Plug your cameras into a computer and copy off the files using PTP. Rename them using IrfanView so that they are interleaved (one camera will have all odd numbers, other camera will have all even numbers). This is one reason why I use a computer or Raspberry Pi to control the cameras when I scan. It ends up being a simpler workflow than the USB power toggle remote capture.

You definitely want to get a plugin power rather than batteries. You can go to Amazon and search for your camera and 'AC adapter'. The official Canon adapters are way too expensive for my taste, and I have had a lot of luck using 3rd party adapters. There has also been some discussion on making your own power adapter as a DIY project, but I've never tried that.

-D
svr
Posts: 4
Joined: 10 Jan 2016, 18:47
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Country: Serbia
Location: Serbia

Re: Canon A490 (A495) based scanner

Post by svr »

Raspberry Pi is way to go then.
I'll first make a simple scanner, with changing usb cables.
Any idea about DC jack for these cameras?
I found that someone used connector (2.3mm x .7mm) at Radio Shack, and it worked?
jera2
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Number of books owned: 1200
Country: Canada

Re: Canon A490 (A495) based scanner

Post by jera2 »

I bought two power adapters for my powershow A490 and A495. That was a few years ago. The part number on them is:
CA-PS200
CA-PS800
Yes, both appear on the adapter.

Output is 3.15V DC.

Never had a problem with them.
svr
Posts: 4
Joined: 10 Jan 2016, 18:47
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Country: Serbia
Location: Serbia

Re: Canon A490 (A495) based scanner

Post by svr »

I'm thinking of using cheaper DC adapters, and that to change jack.
Found that 2.4 x 0.75 mm can be used and I bought 2 jacks.
Now I have doubt will 3.3V adapter work well, and should I buy one 5A DC adapter and use it for both cameras or to buy one adapter for each camera?
I come across HP camera DC adapter TADP-8NB A and I was told that this adapter works with number of Canon cameras as well?
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