Rotate Real Objects in Your Web Browser - The Easy Way!

Static photos can only get us so far in showing what an object really looks like; sometimes spinning it in 3D is the best way to show it off.  Many online merchants stitch together 3D images to allow you to "spin" the product around in your browser.

 But what if the object is physical - a sculpture, a breadboard hack, a seashell?

This tutorial will show you how use the Canon Hack Development Kit and a Canon point and shoot camera to photograph an object rotating in place, and how to set up a viewer that allows you to spin the object.  I'll talk about setting up the viewer in Wordpress, but you can use similar code on any site.  See it in action here!

You will need:
A Canon point and shoot camera compatible with CHDK
An SD memory card, 4GB or smaller.
A lazy susan
Something to photograph.  For this demo, I'm using a small barware set.

Step 1: Installing CHDK

CHDK is a simple hack that expands the capabilities of your Canon camera and also allows it to run scripts.  We're going to use it to make your camera take time lapse photos, so you won't have to press the trigger and potentially move the camera between shots.

All you need to do is put files on your memory card; the program doesn't make any permanent changes to your camera.

1. Check to see if your camera is supported here and check your firmware version.  
2. Download the version of CHDK for your firmware from this list.
3. Copy all of the CHDK files to the root directory of your memory card.
4. Download the script file Timelapse.bas, attached here, or copy and paste this code into a plain text file called Timelapse.bas.  Copy the file to your memory card in the directory CHDK/SCRIPTS.
5. Insert the SD card into the camera.
6. Power up your camera in view mode, press the Menu button, and scroll down to the "Firm Update" option.  This will load CHDK temporarily onto your camera.

Comments

[sjsquirrel]

Excellent Instructable of a great idea. I have need of something like this in my Wordpress site so your timing is excellent too. Thanks for sharing.

[toenolla]

Awesome! I had a feeling I wasn't the only person who needed this. :)

[articseabear]

This is really cool! could you display a video of it work!?

[toenolla]

There's a demo here: http://blog.toenolla.com/?p=383
and an animated GIF from the stills here: http://toenolla.deviantart.com/#/d54u8y8

I hadn't thought of doing a video for it, honestly.

[kurdtpage]

Do you have a website that shows the finished thing? Like a demo?

[toenolla]

Yep! There's a demo post on my blog. http://blog.toenolla.com/?p=383

There was a link in the intro, but I've edited it to be more obvious, since I guess it was pretty missable.

[joespicnictables]

That's awesome!