External mic jack mod for Lumix GX80 / GX85

I love my Panasonic Lumix GX85 mirrorless camera, it can do 4K video, has IBIS and the 15mm Leica lens is awesome. Both the lens and camera are small making the whole setup super portable. There is one massive downside though, the camera is lacking the mic input making it a pain to get good audio. You have to use an external recorder and sync the audio and video in post.

This has been on my mind since I bought the camera a couple of years ago. I have searched the web and the external microphones have been mentioned by other people, but nobody actually shared a solution. For some time, I was hesitant to poke around inside the camera, but I’m glad that I eventually did.

It is now possible to use an external mic with the Panasonic Lumix GX80/85 by soldering a microphone jack to the three test pads on the main circuit board of the camera.

Read more

Attiny85 Breakout Keychain Game

attiny So, what can you do with Attiny’s 5 i/o pins?

UPDATE: New game, “UFO Escape” side scroller

IMG_20140923_152553

I saw this great Attiny OLED project on http://tinusaur.wordpress.com/ and decided to try out the screen (It will be very handy as a mode display for a remote for my http://orb.photo/ project)

So I set out to make myself familiar with the screen and make something fun in the process. I made a remix of the classic breakout game, here is a video of the gameplay:

Read more

PWM Servo Control with attiny85

Pursuing an idea to create a fully automated lightweight 360°  bracket that would work with pocket cameras I came across a challenge.

_MG_5564_web

The starting point for the project was a 15kg torque mg995 servo powerful enough to move the camera when powered from a small 3v battery. I was planning to use an arduino programmed Attiny85 controller to drive the servo which is where I got stuck at first.

Read more