Firewire hack to work as LANC
 

OK I was pondering the other day. Firewire can be used to send coammends to the camera for capturing etc from software...therefore presuambly it could be used as a means of providing LANC operation of cameras (that don't have LANC). Does anybody know if this has been done where i should look?

S

Firewire is simply a way to send and receive information from/to camera.
Lanc is another way (while a lot more limited).
If you do not specify which function exactly you are looking at, it is difficult to answer.
But to make it short, Firewire command set usually include almost all commands you can find into Lanc (including zoom and focus control).
the problem is that the command set is rarely fully implemented into a consumer camera.
Actually, i am not sure that Sony has implemented zoom control over Firewire

LANC is simply a very limited signal sent in a series of pulses (each command is repeated seven times; it's a very old analog protocol).

There's a Canon software called Console which offers complete control of all XL and XH series camcorders through FireWire; all external controls as well as internal (custom presets, etc.) but it is not compatible with other camera makes and models.

My thoughts and wonderings are is there anybody out there that makes a LANC type control using Firewire interface for those cameras taht dont have lanc...it would seem an obvious thingto do?

the problem is that camera that are not implementing something as simple as Lanc will probably not support these command neither by firewire, since you do not only need the interface but all the electronics to control the camera.

Most cameras that don't have LANC have some other method for control purposes. For example, the HVX lacks LANC, but has it's own equivalent for zoom/focus/record.

Simon, do you have a specific purpose in mind? Personally, I would love a cheap and simple "Firewire to Timecode" or "LANC to Timecode" adapter!

Chris!

A controller using FireWire will need a CPU plus its own source of power. If there were such a thing as a PDA with FireWire, that would be ideal, but I haven't heard of one yet.

Chris, The only idea i was after was having a degree of control for when the camera is on a stick...we are doing some adventure filming so its easier than a more complex rope rig....

What camera are you using?