How to force a point/shoot to take a photo every day for 365 days?

I need creative minds combined with tech brains for this question! My parents are renting a beach house for 1 year only. I want to create a way to take a photo every day (or every hour) automatically from an old tripod through a window.

Here is the old gear I have laying around:
old working tripod
old windows xp laptop, purchased 2006.
Sony cybershot DSC-W170 10 megapixel
canon powershot SD630

Maybe there is some way to directly connect the Sony or Canon point/shoot to the laptop and have a computer program tell the camera to take a photo at a regular interval?

I have an intermediate-high level of electronics in general.

edit: My dad and I both have canon DSLRs, but we will use them frequently, so I don't think a DSLR setup would work

Please post if you have ANY idea how to solve this fun problem. Thanks for your help

If any of the cameras have an IR control build an Arduino app to send the equivalent command to the camera. Power everything with a large gel cell and put the cell on a charger. You can determine the IR control pattern by putting an IR sensor on a scope, or build an Arduino app to read the output via the sensor. A similar plan of attack could be used for a wired remote. Have fun.

With the PowerShot you can explore PTP:

https://www.circuitsat​home.com …h-canon-powershot-cameras

The canon SD630 is your best bet. CHDK is a software that may be loaded via the SD card onto the camera. It "updates" the firmware of the camera and "installs" features.

One of the features is an intervelometer. It allows you to set the camera to take a photo at intervals YOU set automatically, such as one photo per minute or one photo per hour.

After getting this to work in the camera your second priority will be to make certain the camera has fresh batteries - or - a good power supply which will keep the camera active and powered on for the process.

I would also think that unless lighting is abundant - night shots are going to be ruled out. Which means you might get between (per hour) 8 and 12 photos a day for the 365.

If all you are after is photos - this will be the best.

If you want to put it all together for a movie in the end - then there are several other considerations you might give thought to. First - just stitching the photos together MIGHT work - if there isn't too much variation of the camera - ANGLE, PLACEMENT and POSITION over the course of the photos. If there is much - then the "movie" will be very jerky and hard to watch. To solve this you need to ANCHOR the tripod - lock the camera angles and use an outside power source - NOT BATTERIES as changing them will cause variances. (I suggest a power supply and adapt a connector to fit the plug on the end of the camera - same as some cell phone connectors and although it says 4.3v I have used 6. Center of the connector is + and the outer is - and it is easy to solder up a connector and since your taking shots "in" the house a wall outlet should be readily available. Also keep the "window" clean.

Do the math - (8 shots a day) X 365 days = 2920 photos overall @ 30 fps = 98 seconds of video

or 12 shots a day X 365 days = 4380 photos overall @ 30 fps = 146 seconds (2 min 26 sec) of video.

I strongly suggest you go here:
http://chdk.setepontos​.com/

and READ - READ - READ.

Then when you think you've got it:
Go here to find the correct files for your SD630. Canon supports the CHDK protocols and although the software claims to update the camera firmware - it is ONLY while the program is running!

http://mighty-hoernsche.de/


Good luck with your project and don't wait too long to have a go at some trial and error practice with the camera.

Hillbille

Take a look at relatively cheap intervalometers on eBay.

Or if all you want is one shot per day as the title says. Just affix the camera to a tripod, set it where you want and once a day turn it on and take a shot using the time delay (this gives the camera time to settle down from being touched.) then turn it off to conserve battery power.

Judging from my own SD630's battery usage, you might go as long as a month on a "set" of batteries before you would need to change them. And if you use a quick release setup then that won't be too bad and will get you back close in setting each time.

Hillbille

The smaller point and shoot type cameras rarely have the ability for intervalometers to just plug in and work, e-bay or not. I don't see that as a solution for the OP's question as he specifically stated that he did NOT want to use a DSLR.

Hillbille