Dictator project (real buttons and controls)

The Dictator is still in the planning stages of development and will be based around a small LCD screen (only for showing the status parameters and navigating through menus of the camera, not live video ) and a microcontroller like an Arduino or Teensy++ 2.0 board that connects to the camera or viewfinder-computer via USB.

I decided to use a S65 LCD as it is overwhelmingly cheap (10-15$), widely available as cellphone replacement part, offers great resolution for its size (also backlight) and is easy to interface with a microcontroller as it uses a pretty simple serial command interface.

To add additional digital input/output pins on the Arduino/Teensy++ DICTATOR will use I2C I/O expansion ICs like the MCP23017. This will also allow easy future expansion or addition of new buttons/controllers.

Dictator features pushbuttons and switches as well as 2 rotary encoders (with push-button function) that can be used to control a wide range of camera parameters like shutter, gain, fps, gamma curves etc.

To keep everything as flexible as possible the buttons next to the LCD have dynamic functionality as their commands are displayed next to them on the LCD. Other buttons have a printed label which can easily be replaced individually.

It is also planned to have an optional wire to the battery pack to monitor remaining capacity.

The Dictator is connected to the camera using an USB cable. A wireless USB or bluetooth adapter can turn the Dictator into a wireless camera remote control.

Additional General Purpose Inputs/Outputs (GPIO) pins are available inside the enclosure and can be routed to additional connectors or devices on demand.

Concept: Version 0.3

Concept: Version 0.5

Notes

The method how to send commands to the camera via USB is described: here