Bluetooth motorized panoramic tripod head

The device shown in the youtube video on the other page was never intended to be the final product, as it was quite clunky to use in practice (required a whole backpack of bits and bobs, plus lots of setup time). Over the time since that video, I've gotten the device to a point where the only accessories it needs to function is a DSLR and a smartphone. All the electronics required to function (primarily an Arduino Nano, HC-05 bluetooth module, and two stepper drivers based on the EasyDriver schematic) are on a custom PCB:


This means I can now roll up to any location with this gadget and a charged battery, and all I need to do is put it on a tripod, mount the camera, and start setting up the shot. All the controls are on a custom Android app which I have been chipping away at for over a year.


I used this most recently to take my largest panorama yet, a 20 gigapixel shot from Mount Muscoco. The 1600 photos needed for this one took around 20 minutes of acquisition time or something like that. Unfortunately, because I took all the photos wide open (quite unusual for me), the vignetting was quite bad and I wasn't able to fix it all. Additionally, the sharpness is a lot worse than this lens is capable of, both due to softness from the teleconverter and depth of field issues. Looking forward to hike back up there next time I'm in Colorado and have a proper do-over.