Remote Shutter and Focus for DSLR Camera

This is a remote I made that fits the three pin connectors that Minolta and Sony use on their cameras.

Step 1: The Connector

For this connector, you are going to need three female to female/male jumper wires. A jumper wire with a triple socket won't work; it needs to be three single sockets. You are also going to need two momentary push buttons, sand paper, super glue, electrical tape, scissors, a hobby knife, solder, and a soldering iron.

First, cut of the connector at one end, leaving the female connector attached to the wire. You are left with three wires with female connectors at one end. Now, you need to sand down the sides of these connectors as much as possible; just be careful not to sand through to the metal part inside. Then, super glue these three connectors together side by side. In this way you have created a triple female connector that is a little narrower than a standard one.

Step 2: The Shutter and Focus Trigger

If you turn the camera with the small bump in the remote socket up, like in the picture, the pins are ground, focus, and shutter, respectively. The connector you made in the previous step should fit in here.
Now, you need the two momentary push buttons. Super glue them side by side and solder one leg from each of them together; you also need to solder the ground wire to this connection. Then, solder the shutter and focus wires to the two other terminals on the two momentary push switches. Now, when you press one of the buttons the focus pin is grounded, focusing the camera; then, push the other button to ground the shutter pin, snapping the picture.

Step 3: Finishing Up

Wrap some electrical tape around the connector and cut out a small notch in the tape for the small bump in the socket to fit in. Also, wrap some electrical tape around the two push buttons.

If this type of remote doesn't fit your camera, you can go to this page to find out how to make one for your type of camera.

Step 4: Enjoy!!

Plug in the connector (just remember to turn it the right way; the notch in the tape made in the previous step should help) and go snapping pictures without touching the camera. It's useful when the camera is on a tripod and you don't want it to shake because of you pressing a button on the camera.

On this type of socket, both the focus and the shutter pin needs to be grounded to snap the picture. So, press the focus button to focus, and then, while holding that down, press the shutter button. Since this is so small, it can all be done with one finger!