Home > Photography DIY Projects> Camera Remote for Canon EOS

Building a camera remote for the Canon 300D digital camera is easy. All you need is a mini-stereo jack, and 2 push button switches, some wires and a suitable casing.

I have an old telephone headset that doesn't work and I salvaged the mini jack and used it for this project. For the case, I'm using a plastic film canister.

Bore a hole on the cap and slip the wire through.

Then, we strip the insulation of the wires and solder it to the switches.

The GROUND wire goes to each terminal of both switches. Then, the remaining 2 wires go to each switch, (one per switch).

The stereo jack has a TIP-RING-SLEEVE parts. The SLEEVE is the ground, and the TIP is usually the (+) and the RING is the (-).

If you short the SLEEVE and the RING, the camera will auto-focus.

If you short the SLEEVE and the TIP, the camera will shoot.

It's that easy. Here's the project housed in the film canister. The switch at the end is the "shoot" button, and the switch at the side is the "auto-focus" button. You press the "auto-focus" button with your finger, and use your thumb to depress the "shoot" button. If you've played games using a joystick, I think you get the idea!

And here's the remote camera control/cable release attached to the Canon Digital Rebel 300D camera.