How to hardwire the Olympus D-425 Digital Camera
Copyright, PixController http://www.PixController.com, all rights reserved.
This document covers in detail how to modify the Olympus D-425 Digital Camera for remote shutter control from the PixController LE board with LE II camera controller chip. Please see http://www.pixcontroller.com or email support@pixcontroller.com for more information.
Please note that if you make this modification to your Olympus camera that you will void your cameras warranty. This modification can also result in damage to your digital camera if you do not follow the instructions properly.
Tools/Parts Needed 1. 2.4 mm #0 Philips Screwdriver & Small Flat Blade Screwdriver. 2. Fine tipped soldering iron with heat control. 3. 30 Gauge wire. Wire Wrap type wire can be purchased from your local Radio Shack store. Find one of the 3 part numbers: 278-501, 278-502, 278-503. They come in a spool of 50 feet of wire for $2.99 4. Small tweezers. 5. Flat blade screw driver or knife. 6. 5-wire servo cable from PixController, Inc. or purchase the PixController LE Olympus D-425 digital camera kit which will include the 4-wire servo cable. Note, you do not have to use the 4-wire servo cable and you can just solder 4 wires from the internal camera contacts to the PixController LE board. 7. PixController LE board with LE II PIC camera controller chip & PixController Opto Board.
Remove batteries and media card Before starting your project be sure to remove the 2 AA internal batteries and the Media Card.
Remove the 2 AA batteries and Media Card
Remove the camera case screws Remove all 9 screws from the camera case and interior. There are 6 screws holding the exterior case, and 3 interior. Be sure to place the screws in a safe place while modifying the camera.
Remove screws 1,2, and 3 from the bottom of the camera case.
Remove screw 4 from the left side of the case.
Remove screw 5 & 6 from the right side of the camera case.
Remove the case Carefully remove the back of the camera case from the camera exposing the interior electronics. Be careful not to remove the ribbon cable connecting the keypad. Next remove the tripod connector as shown in the photo.
Remove the interior screws Next remove the 3 interior screws, screws 7, 8, and 9. The first 2 are located at the top of the camera, and the last screw is located under the LCD display where the tripod connector was removed. Once these screws are removed it will let you remove the front of the camera case.
Remove the front of the case Remove the front of the case so you can remove the lens cover slide.
Remove the lens cover slide Using a small flat blade screw driver carefully lift the slide arm from the lens cover slide as shown in Figure 1. Next carefully remove the cover slide as shown in Figure 2. We remove the cover slide so we can turn the camera off and power it up by the PixController LE board without having the cover lens block the lens from taking a photo. When complete replace the front of the camera case.

Figure 1

Figure 2
Insert the wires into the tripod connector Drill a small hole in the bottom of the tripod connector and insert the smaller gauge wires of the 5-wire servo cable into the tripod connector hole as shown.
Wire the Power On/Off contacts Attach the red and black twisted pair to the power on/off and power ground wires. Carefully solder these contacts as shown, and be careful not to unsolder the wires already present on these contacts. Attach the wires from the 5-wire servo female end cable or small gauge wires. If using the 5-wire servo cable wire the following colors: Twisted Pair Red Power Twisted Pair Black Power Ground
Wire the Shutter and Refresh contacts Locate the shutter button at the top of the camera. Solder the remaining 3 wires from the 5-wire servo cable as shown in the photo to the right. Solder the following colors: Blue to Refresh Red to Shutter White to Shutter/Refresh Ground

Reattach case and replace the screws Once you are complete with this process place the camera case back together and replace the camera case screws.
Wire to the PixController Opto & LE board Before starting cut a small area out of 2 of the LE board kit mounting spacers and install the PixController Opto board between the spacers as shown to the right. (Figure 3) Next wire the 5-wire male connector to the PixController Opto board as shown in (Figure 4). If using the 5-wire servo cable wire the following colors to the PixController Opto board. White J2, Pin 1 (D-425 Shutter/Refresh Ground) Red J2, Pin 2 (D-425 Shutter) Blue J2,Pin 4 (D-425 Refresh) Twisted Pair Red LE PWR_OUT Twisted Pair Black LE GND Next wire the PixController Opto board to the LE board: LE Shutter Opto J1 pin 3, Red LE Ground Opto J1 pin 2, White LE Rec/RFSH Opto j1 pin 1, Blue Next, remove the R17 resistor from the LE board, see: http://www.pixcontroller.com/PixLE /PixLE_ResistorRemoval.htm Last, make the solder jumper on the PixController Opto board J3 as shown in Figure 4

Figure 3

Figure 4
Setting up your D-425 PixController LE system Once you are ready to put your D-425 camera and PixContorller LE (with LE II PIC chip) into a case you will need to make sure you put the on/off switch slide in the Off position. The PixContorller LE board will power on/off the camera when motion is sensed.
Completed Modification This camera was wired using the 5-wire servo cable for the PixController LE and Opto boards.
Copyright, PixController http://www.PixController.com, all rights reserved. 8/20/05

Digital Cameras A to Z

Floyd L. Nordin, Instructor
What type of camera user am I or what type will I become? Point & Shoot Simple pictures of places and people. Beginner Same as above but want to learn more about picture taking and camera controls. Serious Am quite interested in photography and will be doing some close-up work. Advanced Will take pictures of fast moving events, close-ups, low light, etc. Pro Earn my living taking pictures. What will I be doing with my camera? 1. Preserve family memories, events, history. 2. Use camera at genealogy library (close ups of documents, etc.). 3. Photos of my hobby, job, life, etc. 4. Photos at the zoo (telephoto lens with tripod). 5. Photos of sporting events (fast shutter speeds). Camera Characteristics: 1. Megapixels (Resolution): Should get 3 megapixels or greater. 2 mg = 4x6, 3 mp = 5x7 to 8x10, 4 mp = 8x10, 5 mp = 11x14. 2. Features: Auto Exposure and Auto Focus Manual controls (Aperature or shutter priority, etc.) Scenes exposure selection: (Close-up, bright backlit, Landscape, Portrait, Action, Night, etc.) 3. AA or proprietary batteries. 4. Built-in flash with several modes of operation: (Red-Eye, Flash always, Flash when needed, Dont flash). 5. Lens quality, highest aperature opening (F2.8). 6. Optical zoom (3x or better). 7. Macro Focusing (down to 4 inches or less). 8. Playback to display screen (with delete and zoom controls). 9. Best Brands: Consumer Reports: Kodak, Nikon, Olympus, Sony. Industry Raters: Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Sony. What options should I buy? 1. Extra battery(s). 2. Larger memory cards: A. 2 mp > 64 mb (about 70 pictures) 3 mp > 128 mb (about 100 pictures) 4 mp > 192 mb (about 95 pictures) 5 mp > 256 mb (about 100 pictures) 6 mp > 256 mb (about 80 pictures). B. Speed of Memory Cards: serious = 4x, advanced = 12x, Pro = 16x
C. Types of Memory Cards: CF = Compact Flash, SM = Smart Media, MS = Memory Stick (Sony), SD = Secure Digital, XD = X Type. 3. Camera Bag. 4. AC Adapter. 5. External Battery Charger. 6. Tripod. 7. Lens protect if needed. 8. Memory Card Reader to computer USB port. How do I use my digital camera? 1. Read the manual!!! Review articles on your camera. 2. Hold it steady with tripod or lean against something. 3. Have enough light - flash only works about 10 feet. 4. Use Red-Eye Flash setting for people indoors. 5. Compose shots by getting closer and using Rule of Thirds. 6. If subjects is off to side, press shutter release down half-way pointing at the subject. Then move the camera to final position and press release all the way down to take picture. 7. When shooting with camera in portrait position - keep flash on the side of the camera that the face is pointing. 8. Use picture file type Fine or Best and JPEG (Jay Peg) 9. Practice, Practice, Practice! How do I transfer photos from camera memory to my computer hard disk? 1. Slow Method - use software and cable that came with the camera. 2. Fast Method: A. Buy a Memory Card Reader to USB port. B. Learn how to use Windows Explorer on PC. (Finder on Mac) C. Then Move photo files from the memory card (it appears as a hard drive) to a known location on your Biggest hard drive. How do I manage photo files on my hard drive? 1. Use Windows Explorer to create a hierarchy of folders and sub-folders (Like an electronic file cabinet.) With descriptive event names. Rename photo files with a descriptive name, etc. 2. Use Photo Collector database program that manages photo files while importing from the memory card directly. ( http://www.photocollector.net/IsTheBest ) 3. Use another photo manager program. Where do I go to get more help when I need it? 1. The internet (See page 3)

IMPORTANT INTERNET SITES Instructor: Floyd L. Nordin Best Internet Sites to Do Comparison Shopping From On-Line Stores www.dealtime.com Contains all types of items www.streetprices.com Computers & peripherals, consumer electronics shopper.cnet.com Computers & peripherals, consumer electronics Other Comparison Shopping Sites www.pricescan.com Many items: books, computers, photo, electronics, etc. www.pricegrabber.com Many items: books, computers, photo, electronics, etc. www.price.com Computers, electronics, office, travel, autos www.nextag.com All items www.mysimon.com All items www.epinions.com All items www.consumersearch.com All items www.bizrate.com All items www.ebay.com Several 1000 cameras under $200 (mostly 2 megapixel) Best Internet Sites for Digital Camera Reviews and Information www.steves-digicams.com Best overall ratings and features of top cameras. www.photoexels.com Cream of the crop camera ratings. www.dpreview.com Excellent infomation - in depth reviews of many cameras www.digital-cameras-info.com Very Good www.techtv.com/products/digital cameras Famous outfit Internet Sites for Camera Brand User Groups Search for major camera brands: Nikon = www.nikonions.com, etc. Lists of Cameras with Features www.steves-digicams.com/cameras_dig3.html Where To Go for More Help As I Need It www.shortcourses.com - online camera guides and classes www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/compose_expose/intro.html - An intro to photography. www.nightowlcamera.com - pictures of cameras for Canon, FujiFilm, Kodak, Nikon, Olympus, Sony and Toshiba www.pmai.org/pdf/0403_pixels_to_prints.pdf - interesting 16 page report www.betterphoto.com/digital/DCshootingTips.asp - Very good shooting tips www.google.com Search on photography for training classes. www. google.com Search on digital cameras www.google.com Search on digital camera accessories How to subscribe to the NGS Bi-Monthly E-Newsletter UpFront with NGS: Send a New e-mail message to: NGS-L-request@rootsweb.com Type only one word in the body of the e-mail: subscribe