Hi,
I have a homemade camera slider, and would like to make it motorized. I would like to get a micro controller that can tell a motor how fast to go, and when and how much to turn (like one turn every ten seconds). Could you recommend a motor and micro controller that would do that?
Can you provide a photo of your setup so we know the size?
You have two main options: A DC gear motor (or DC gear motor with encoder) or a stepper motor (much harder to use).
robotshop.com/en/gear-motors.html
robotshop.com/en/stepper-motors.html
You can easily control the speed and direction of a DC gear motor using a DC gear motor encoder. You cannot however specify an exact speed or number of turns you want it to rotate (it’s all done by eye).
If you add an encoder to the DC gear motor, you can specify number of turns / speed, but you’ll need to program a microcontroller to read it and react accordingly.
With a stepper motor, you specify number of steps (for example one “step” might be equal to 1.6 degrees) per period of time. This requires a stepper motor controller and usually a microcontroller or computer to send the commands.
Most people use a standard DC gear motor for time lapse and motorized camera sliders because they are easy to use, easy to mount and don’t require programming.