Elektor, 1981: Shutter speed meter

[Andreas Thaler]

Just published on learncamerarepair.com:

Shutter Speed Meter

Article on how to build a shutter speed tester

learncamerarepair.com

 

[tjwspm]

Interesting article! 43 years ago, of course, things were done differently without microcontrollers than they are today.

I am currently in the process of developing my own hardware based on the XIAO-RP2040 for measuring shutter speeds. In subminiature format, of course

 

[Chan Tran]

I don't care for the readout method or how to time it. I am more interested in the sensor. For focal plane shutter you need to have a very pin point detection to precisely detect the edge of the shutter curtain and a sensor with fast response time. You would want to have more than 1 sensor to measure shutter curtain trave time. For leaf shutter you need something that can measure the shutter efficiency as well. A sensor that would deliver signal strength depending how large the opening is.
for the measurement and readout even a cheap digital storage oscilloscope would do just fine.

 

[ic-racer]

Elektor also published a newer one in 2006: https://www.elektormagazine.com/magazine/elektor-200601/18158

 

[Andreas Thaler]

Elektor also published a newer one in 2006: https://www.elektormagazine.com/magazine/elektor-200601/18158

Are the circuits from Elektor a strong competitor to current solutions?

 

[koraks]

Are the circuits from Elektor a strong competitor to current solutions?

The circuit from 2006 (and the one from 1981) would work as well as it does today. However, the more modern solutions like the one in @Niglyn's massively popular thread are vastly more flexible, generally less sensitive to drift due to component tolerances and operating conditions and the hardware is often easier to build using readily available user-friendly modules. In particular, microcontroller-based solutions can be easily programmed to detect all manner of extreme malfunctions of shutters (curtain opens but never closes etc.), while it would throw off the readings on the more old-fashioned devices based on discrete components.

So it depends a bit on what you consider 'competition' in this regard, but if I were to recommend a solution today, it would be something microcontroller-based, and not the kind of approach that was used 'back in the day'.

It's a bit like a combustion engine in a car; in principle, a carburetor works as well as it did 50 years ago, but all cars today use EFI.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

So it depends a bit on what you consider 'competition' in this regard, but if I were to recommend a solution today, it would be something microcontroller-based, and not the kind of approach that was used 'back in the day'.

I realize that microcontrollers are superior to hard-wired TTL solutions. But the microcontrollers have to be programmed, and that's not my thing

I just wanted to be able to assess whether the Elektor solutions can keep up.

Thanks!

 

[koraks]

I just wanted to be able to assess whether the Elektor solutions can keep up.

In terms of functionality and flexibility: no way. But the Elektor solutions will work just as well today as they did 20-40 years ago when they were published.

 

[Chan Tran]

I realize that microcontrollers are superior to hard-wired TTL solutions. But the microcontrollers have to be programmed, and that's not my thing

I just wanted to be able to assess whether the Elektor solutions can keep up.

Thanks!

I wouldn't care for microcontroller at all. I just need very good sensor and a good variable standard light source.

 

[ic-racer]

Not having to deal with 'firmawre' would be a huge plus for those projcets.