icon account icon cash icon cart icon cart icon search main arrow arrow check icon camera icon light icon audio icon computer icon storage icon discount icon facebook icon twitter icon linkedin icon vimeo icon youtube icon instagram icon google plus icon share icon email icon print icon time icon phone icon email-m icon marker-m icon pdf icon remove icon comment icon out icon-status icon-star icon-switch pie-chart line-chart icon-user icon-user-1 icon-warning expand-arrow-1 expand-arrow-2 icon-upload icon-download icon-none icon-date-scheduled icon-date-available icon-is-hazardous

Blog & Knowledge

View
View
v640
X
Intro image for article From 'Jesse's Box' to PCU2: The Evolution of a Phantom Control Unit
Tech News
A few years ago, one of our Phantom customers asked us to solve a problem: how could handheld sports shooters using a Phantom v640, which lacked any on-board controls, perform basic functions without being tethered to a computer, which was the only existing way to control the camera at the time? Figuring that it should be possible to use a micro-controller to communicate with the camera to accomplish this goal, I started working on a solution in my spare time. Using a development board wired to the camera with some buttons and some custom code, the result was a box that could be velcroed to the side of the camera. It could perform black balance and white balance, as well as switch to some frame rate and shutter presets. The device worked pretty well and was used to shoot a number of sporting events, prompting clients to start asking for "Jesse's Box."