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using DR-40 coupler for S90 with battery door open?

Started 11 months ago | Discussions thread
reyalp Regular Member • Posts: 201
Re: using DR-40 coupler for S90 with battery door open?
1

joniverson wrote:

I recently acquired a Canon S90 and a DR-40 coupler so I can use external DC. However, much to my disappointment, there is power only if I go through the hole in the closed door. If opened and the jack plugged directly into the DR-40, when I try and turn on the camera, no power. So, is there any way I can power the camera with the DR-40 and open door? I wanted to be able to insert and remove the SD card without having to remove the camera from the tripod each time. My guess is that there must be a switch activated when the battery door is closed that is in an open state when the door is opened. Perhaps I could defeat the switch somehow with a shim (toothpick)? That is, only if I knew where the switch was.

Yes, there's usually a switch on cameras of that generation. I don't have an S90, but on my D10 there's a plastic bump on the door which engages a small white plastic switch next to the battery. Holding the white plastic bit in with a paperclip allows the camera to start. The D10 door is probably quite different from S90, the switch on yours could be near the hinge mechanism.

With CHDK it's possible to make a special build that spoofs the door switch in software for many cams (this works because the switch doesn't actually prevent the camera from booting, it starts, notices the switch is in the wrong state, and shuts down). The S90 port doesn't currently have this feature, but it could probably be added.

Note that removing/inserting the card while the camera is running is probably a bad idea.

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