"Hacking" the remote control

 

Below is how the remote control for these cameras (Nikon D80 and D700) works. I have no idea how common this design is, so you'll have to open yours to see how it works. There are three metal plates which can be bended by pressing the button.

Situation I: The control is at rest and none of the metal plates make contact with each other.

Situation II: The button is pressed down halfway and the first two contacts touch each other; the camera measures the exposure and focuses.

Situation III: The button is pressed down completely and all three plates make contact with each other; the camera takes the picture.

Situation IV: This is what my "hacked" remote control looks like. I soldered wires to all three plates and the connections will be activated electronically by using relays (see below).

 

The homemade sensor (II)

 

After my first homemade sensor broke down, I switched to the Snapshot Sniper sensor for my wildlife camera trap (see more about that here). However, for this simple feeder camera trap I decided to go back to the original design with some slight modifications.

 

The completed electronic circuit

 

This camera trap was placed in a very simple plastic box, with an old UV filter as the "window", which worked very well. There is a large rock on top of it to stabilize it.