Timer Controlled Remote Switch

I own a Cannon Powershot SD600 and my girlfriend has a a640.

I've done a bit of video editing and a moderate amount of digital photography, and I'd like to start playing with some time-lapse photography. I've been told what I need to start is a "Timer controlled remote switch" but that Cannon doesn't make one for any of the cameras in their powershot line. So...

I was hoping someone might know something that might help me.
I've had problems running the cannon software, but according to the documentation you can control camera via your computer with it, which means hypothetically even without the switch you could do time lapse with some sort of macro. So, anyone ever tried it? is it worth figuring out why I can't get the cannon software to run or is it a waste of my time? or alternatively:

Anyone know of a third party company that makes a TCRS that would work with either one of these cameras?

It seems silly to me to make a camera that can be operated remotely but not offer the switch.

Thanks

Zoom Browser does, indeed, have the functionality you want for intervalometer shooting.

Zoom browser has been totally useless to me.
Slow to load and no advantage to just using windows explorer set on thumbnail.
If I click Connect to camera Camera the only visible response it has is to collapse the expansion under the "aquire & Camera Settings" tab. "Aquire Images from Memory card" has the same lack of a response.
I have the camera turned on under the play setting and have it plugged into USB, can pull pictures off it no problem using windows.
I can't get Camera window to run at all. Anyone else have this problem?
I click on it and nothing happens.

Also I don't even see where I could remote capture.... is it using camera window?
thanks

Camera's in "Display" mode? Just fired up ZB and plugged my A620 into a computer I've never used the camera on before. Camera Window and Remote Shooting tab. It'll switch it over to shooting mode for you. There are a couple of threads here on services XP must have running to successfully talk to a camera. Is Windows Imaging Acquisition Service started? Is Canon Camera Access Library Service started? Are they set to "Automatic" start?

Ok Camera window works.
Don't have the A640 to play with, but am I wrong in assuming the SD600 doesn't support remote shooting?
Button is greyed out.
thanks for your help Jon

If it's greyed out, the camera won't support it. I don't think Canon furnishes a list of the models which don't; I know there are some but not which ones. They may bury a statement about remote shooting somewhere in the manual. My A620 does; I'd expect the A640 to.

This is replying to an older post, but you never know...

I lost the CD that came with the camera, and since I use GIMP and the great panorama programs I found for linux I never bothered to order a new copy. I was looking for a good way to control my camera for time lapse photography and found the following:

For windows, you might check out
http://www.breezesys.c​om/PSRemote/index.htm
I have not tried it, but it might be useful for you. According to the website it does a lot of things, including time lapse. It looks like a pretty full-featured remote control program.

For linux or other unix-like operating systems, check out gtkam or gphoto2 (the latter is command line
interface only)
http://www.gphoto.org/​proj/gtkam/
http://www.gphoto.org/
etc...