AMX AXP-PLV and Canon VCC50i
7 February 2007, 16:05 by Chad Reynoldson
I have just completed an AMX module to control the Canon VCC50i camera from an AMX AXP-PLV posi-pilot. This complements the other camera control modules that I’ve written:
- AMX_PosiPilot_JS.axs
- AMX_PosiPilot_UI.axs
- AMX_Joystick_Debug.axs
- AMX_PT_CONTROL.axs
- SONY_EVID30_PT_CONTROL.axs
- SONY_EVID100_PT_CONTROL.axs
- CANON_VCC4_PT_CONTROL.axs
You should generally avoid controlling cameras via RS232 using a joystick. The amount of traffic adds to poor performance. However, this turned out to work very well. I ended up executing start/stop commands (when the joystick moved off center), then updated the speed parameters as the joystick deviated from center. Then when the joystick moved back to center, you flush any pending commands so the camera stops quickly.
It supports 24 presets, of which the first 9 use the on-board presets stored within the camera. The remaining presets implement absolute position queried from the camera.
The module also supports simultaneous control from plain-old buttons from other touch panels. Sharing a camera between a posi-pilot and other touch panels can create problems, but it is accounted for within the module.
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