Snappixx is software to remote control your Nikon Coolpix digital camera through a serial cable. It is available for both Windows and PocketPC platforms.



Requirements, features and screenshots

Requirements
To use Snappixx you need:

A Nikon Coolpix digital camera, which supports the MC-EU1 remote control (for example Coolpix 4300)
A SC-EW3 Nikon serial cable (or make your own dual usb/serial cable as written here) or if you have an IPaq 38xx, 39xx, 22xx, 54xx or 55xx checkout the article DIY cables for IPaq 38xx, 39xx, 22xx, 54xx and 55xx
A Windows PC with a free COM port or a WindowsCE / PocketPC device

Extra requirements for WindowsCE:

A null-modem adapter to connect your PocketPC device cable to the camera cable

The Windows version of Snappixx

Features
Remote snapshots
Manual and automatic focus
Manual bulb shots
Automatic bulb shots (from 1 second to 15 minutes if your camera supports it)
Retrieval of camera information
Intervalled snapshot functionality
Sleepmode during interval to save the camera's battery
Zoom in and out
Navigation in review mode
Nightvision mode

The PocketPC version of Snappix, left normal, right in Nightvision mode



Comparision chart



Downloads and history

This section always contains the most stable and the latest versions of Snappixx. Previous versions can be found in the RuweBit archive


Note: Snappixx is in a beta stadium. It could be unstable and could put your camera in an unusable state.

Windows XP/2K/ME/98/95 platform
The Windows Edition of Snappixx has been tested with WindowsME, Windows2000 and WindowsXP. It should also work with other versions (maybe some servicepack could be needed or something).

Download Snappixx v0.54 beta for Windows
Download Snappixx v0.40 beta for Windows
Download Snappixx v0.23 beta for Windows

PocketPC platform
The PocketPC Edition of Snappixx has been tested on PocketPC, PocketPC 2002 and *new* PocketPC 2003 devices.
Note that you probably need a null-modem adapter to connect your device to your camera. ARM, SH3 and MIPS processors are supported.

Download Snappixx 0.54 for PocketPC
Download Snappixx 0.40 for PocketPC
Download Snappixx 0.23 for PocketPC


Pre-beta
Pre-beta versions are releases of Snappixx without installer. Install a previous version and copy the new exe file over the old one.
(Description of changes, see history. To install, see included readme.txt)


Download Snappixx 0.45 pre-beta for Windows, PocketPC, PalmSize/PC and Handheld Pro/PC
Download Snappixx 0.44 pre-beta for Windows, PocketPC, PalmSize/PC and Handheld Pro/PC

Donations
Although Snappixx is 100% freeware I would be very happy to receive donations. This will trigger me to further develop Snappixx in the future. Donations from 1 euro/dollar and up are very welcome!




CP4500 problems
Currently I'm fully focussing on the connection problems with Coolpix 4500 cameras. CP4500 users, please submit both your bug and success reports on both Windows and PocketPC cameras.

In case of problems, please use Snappixx v0.58 (pre-beta) as found here and send me the log file.

Please also submit the firmware version of your camera!

Thanks!
Maurice

History
v0.54b Woops, I screwed up v0.53b. Fixed it here.
v0.53b Cosmetic fixes only: round led for PPC and battery bar for PPC fixed. Caution: this release is broken
v0.52b Fixed the updating of exposures left in intervalled mode and added a nice indication bar for the batterylevel in the camera info dialog
v0.51b Cosmetic communication led fix for PocketPC and some minor cosmetic updates for Windows
v0.50b Bulb shots longer than 1 min should be fixed now, camera model type are implemented in info dialog, fixed losing manual focus due to zoom and info dialog, cosmetic fix for communication LED on PocketPC and.... implemented logging of debug information (see manual). Note that due to this last feature the MSCEFile.dll file is needed on PocketPC devices. This file is automatically installed using the setup program.
v0.49b Automatic focus was always 3.5 seconds despite of chosen value, fixed. Snap button cannot be pressed when manual focus is selected and camera has not focussed yet.
v0.48b Changed bulbshot values, intervalled exposures has been improved, added communication led, added manual pre-focus functionality (it is now possible to manually focus and make a shot), added zoom feedback, changed screen layout
v0.45b Pre-beta, tried to improve zoom. Like to have feedback from 5700 users
v0.44b Pre-beta, longer bulbtimes, timer more accurate, codecleaning, focus time increased, ports to PalmSize and Handheld Pro devices
v0.39b Pre-beta, Fixed flash reload, fixed interval sleepmode, fixed PPC version, layout tweaks and... should now work with Coolpix 990 (though not verified yet)
v0.34b Pre-beta, Intervalled exposure was broken in this 0.33, fixed it in 0.34
v0.40b Fixed some intervalled exposure issues
v0.33b Pre-beta, released as update for Windows and PocketPC, changes: retrieval of camera information, intervalled snapshot functionality including sleepmode, speed has been improved, fixed many bugs
v0.23b More stable, other layout in Windows version, support for half-press, fixed snap-bug (which turned camera of after non-bulb snapshot, added better errorhandling in Windows version, added icon to PocketPC version
v0.17b First release

To-do / known issues
Still some CP5700 users experience problems with zooming?
Some CP4500 users experience conneting problems with Snappixx. Please use the debug logging functionality of Snappixx to provide me with information.
Coolpix 995 works under Win2000 but not under Win98SE?
Optimize intervalled exposure with sleep, when flash is reloaded. Camera does not have to be waken up, because it going to sleep anyway

Problem reports and suggestions
Please see below to submit your problem reports or on how to contact me for suggestions.

User Manual

Connecting
To connect your camera, follow these steps:

1. Physically connect the camera to your PC or CE device
2. Switch the camera on
3. Select the correct comport
4. Press the [Connect] button
5. Wait until it s connected

Snappixx times out after about 30 seconds if it cannot find the camera. If the camera is already in a connected state, press [Cancel] during connecting and try again.

Snapshots
To take snapshots, set your camera in the 'manual' (or 'custom') or 'auto' mode, make any settings (shutter time, iso setting, focus settings etc) on your camera and press the [Snap] button.

Bulb shots
To make manual bulbshots, follow the steps below:

1. On the camera, change the mode dial to 'manual' (or 'custom')
2. On the camera, change the shutter setting to 'bulb'
3. In Snappixx, select 'Manual' as bulbsetting
4. Select the Use Bulb checkbox
5. Press the [Snap] button
6. Wait the amount of time you please
7. Press the [Release] button (this is the same button)

To make automatic (by Snappixx timed) bulbshots, follow the steps below:

1. On the camera, change the mode dial to 'manual'
2. On the camera, change the shutter setting to 'bulb'
3. In Snappixx, select the bulbtime you please
4. Select the Use Bulb checkbox
5. Press the [Snap] button
6. The shutter will be automatically released after the specified amount of time

It is possible to press the [Release] button manually, before the time is reached. Note that if the camera reaches its maximum shuttertime (eg. 60 seconds on the Coolpix 4300), that you still have to press [Release] when doing a manual bulb.

Focussing
Default automatic focussing of 3.5 seconds is used. This means that Snappixx leaves the camera three seconds to focus and the takes the snapshots. For most camera this delay is sufficient, but it can be adjusted using the 'focus time'-dropdown list.

Manual focus can also be used (in non-intervalled mode) by using the [Focus] button. This button acts identical to halfpressing the snapshot button on the camera. Use it as follows:

1. In Snappixx, select 'Manual' as focustime
2. Press the [Focus] button
3. If focussing fails, press [Unfocus] and then [Focus] again, repeat until focus is good
4. Press [Snap] to take the picture

Zooming
You can use the zoom buttons to zoom in or out, before making a snapshot. Use the slider (or its arrows) to adjust the zoomstep. The zoomstep is given in seconds or milliseconds.

Intervalled snapshots
This is just the term for taking, well, intervalled snapshots. With Snappixx it is possible to take a picture each period, ranging from one second up to 60 hours.

To use intervalled snapshots, select the Use interval checkbox in Snappixx. Select the interval of choice (see below) and finally select the amount of snapshots to be taken.

Default the first intervalled snapshot is taken after the interval period has passed (this is called 'Interval Mode B' on the MC-EU1 control). To take a snapshot immediately, check Snap at start. (this is called 'Interval Mode A' on the MC-EU1 control)

To start intervalled snapshots, press the button. A countdown timer indicates the time before the next snapshot is taken.



It is recommended to use external power when using intervalled snapshots.

Play
In the 'play' (or 'review') mode you can use the arrow buttons to browse through the pictures. The zoom buttons can be used to zoom in or out.


Camera info
Snappixx offers a way to display the camera's state. When pressing the button a dialog appears, displaying the cameras brand, model, type and firmware version, the battery's state, the memory left on the CF card in the camera and the current date and time as set on the camera.



Note that the camera type does not match the type of your camera under which it is marketed. It is probably a name Nikon uses internally.

Debugging
During the development of Snappixx I have received many problem reports. To make life a bit easier for me (and to provide a solution for your problem faster), please provide me debug logging by following the next steps:

1. In Snappixx, open the About-dialog by pressing [About]
2. Enable logging of debug information by checking the 'Enable debugging logging' checkbox
3. Reproduce your problem

To save the logging information to a file:

4a. Close Snappixx OR
4b. Uncheck the 'Enable debugging logging' checkbox in the About-dialog

A file called 'snappixx_log.txt' is now saved in the root-directory of the drive where Snappixx is installed (on PocketPC this is always '\').

5. Attach this file to a e-mail to E-mail

Please don't forget to mention the model of your camera, that information is not included in the log file.

Please see below for more more information about bug and success reports.

FAQ

This paragraph contains the Snappixx FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Please read this paragraph first if you have problems using Snappixx, before mailing me. Thanks!

1. Will there be a version of Snappixx that supports the USB cable?
Probably not. I created Snappixx in the first place for PocketPC and later I ported it to the Windows platform. I do not know if it is possible to implement USB communications on PocketPC.

For the Windows and Linux platforms there are several other programs available that support the USB cable.

I know that the USB cable is standard supplied with a range of Nikon Coolpix cameras, but an extra serial SC-EW3 cable is still far cheaper than a complete MC-EU1 control!

2. I need feature X, can you implement it?
Probably not. I created Snappixx for my own benefit and decided to share it freely with the Nikon Coolpix community. I probably don't have the time to implement it, however, suggestions are always welcome. Mail me at: snappixx@ruwebit.net.

3. I have a camera of another brand, will it work with Snappixx?
No. Nikon uses a proprietary extension to the standard Sierra Imaging protocol that other camera uses. Only Nikon Coolpix cameras tha support the proprietary protocol (in other words: cameras that support the MC-EU1 remote control) can work.

4. What DLLs are needed by Snappixx for PocketPC?
Snappixx uses the VB run-time libraries. On most CE devices those are already installed in ROM. The files are located in de \Windows directory. The files are:

- pvbform2.dll
- pvbhost2.dll
- pvbload.exe
- vbscript.dll
- vbsen.dll

Besides the VB run-time libraries, Snappixx also uses the Microsoft Comm Control DLL, called MSCEComm.dll and the Microsoft File Control DLL, called MSCEFile.dll. If it not already exists this file will be installed by Snappixx in de \Windows directory.

5. Uninstallation on PocketPC fails, how do I uninstall Snappix manually?
With the file explorer delete:

\[location to Snappixx]\snappixx.exe
\[location to Snappixx]\snappixx.vb

If the Microsoft Comm Control DLL and Microsoft File Control is not in ROM and is not needed by other application you can delete:

\windows\MSCEComm.dll
\windows\MSCEFile.dll

If the VB run-time library files are not in ROM and are not needed by other application you can also delete:

\windows\pvbform2.dll
\windows\pvbhost2.dll
\windows\pvbload.exe
\windows\vbscript.dll
\windows\vbsen.dll

6. My camera locks up and/or displays SYSTEM ERROR (or REMOVE LENS CAP) and/or doesn't turn on, what to do?
During development I found that in rare circumstances the camera could lock up and display the message SYSTEM ERROR. Even once the camera didn't turn on and displayed the message REMOVE LENS CAP (when the cap was already off).

If this occurs, follow these steps (in this order):

- Don't panic
- Turn your camera off and on
- Reset your camera from the setup menu
- Leave the battery out for several minutes
- Leave the battery out for 24 hours (or more?)
- Read the technical section of this article
- Contact me
- Panic
- Contact your dealer for warranty (tip: don't mention the use of third-party software)

Update: it appears that my camera suffered from a hardware problem since I bought it. It has been fixed by Nikon and I haven't seen the problem anymore.

7. Why does the bulbtime counter only counts in half seconds?
In the Windows version the bulbtime counter displays increments of tenths of seconds, hovever, some PocketPC devices cannot handle this. The time counting then consumes 100% of the CPU cycles, leaving no cycles for the other threads. On PocketPC devices the counter displays increments of half seconds.

This doesn't mean that the exposure timing isn't accurate: the exposure timer itself is accurate in 60 milliseconds (sorry, it's a Microsoft limitation).

8. I cannot connect!
1) Be sure to use Snappixx 0.39 or higher, earlier versions had issues with certain types (eg. 990) of Nikon cameras
2) Check the cables
3) If you are using the PocketPC version, first check if the Windows works
4) If you are using the Windows version, check if other tools (eg. The Force) are working
5) Are you using the correct comport? On the Jornada PocketPC, default, comport 1 is the correct one, this differs on an iPaq for example. Just try them all. On a PocketPC it could be necessary to add a comport manually in the registry (search Google).
6) Check the comport settings. In normal situations Snappixx sets those. However, it is cannot harm to check your comport settings with these values:

- Baudrate should be 19200
- Ddatabits, paritybit and stopbits should be respectively 8,N,1
- Flowcontrol should be Off or None

9. In certain situations I get an ERROR on the display of Snappixx
ERROR means that Snappixx tried to send a packet to the cameras for several times and the camera didn't respond as Snappixx expected.

This can be caused when for example switching between camera modes when Snappixx is still busy with an action.

If it happens in certain circumstances when it is not wished, consider to submit a bug report.

10. On PocketPC, in suspend mode Snappixx acts unpredictable
In suspend mode PocketPC timer isn't accurate anymore. This is an Microsoft PocketPC issue. I do not know if this has been solved on the PocketPC 2002 platform.

Workaround to save battery life: set your screen as dark as possible, or software to display nothing than a black screen (eg. with PocketForce, not related to The Force by the way.)

11. What cable do I need?
If you have a normal PC, you only need the Nikon SC-EW3 serial cable to connect your camera to your PC. This is a serial cable of which one side has a 9-pins female DSUB connector to connect to a serial (com-) port of your PC.

The other side connects to your camera through the same connector as the USB cable uses (however other pins are used). An USB cable won't work with Snappixx.


If you have a Windows CE / PocketPC device, first of all your device must support serial communication. Most of them do. You also have to have a serial cable that connects to your device. This serial cable also has a 9-pins female DSUB connector and is normally used for synchronizing your device with your PC or for connecting modems.

This cable must be connected to the serial cable of your device by using a null-modem adapter. The null-modem adapter has a 9-pins male connector on each site. Note: don't use a gender changer! The difference between a gender changer and a null-modem adapter is that a null-modem adapter has pins 2 and 3 crossed. Please refer to http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/lan/cat2600/c26userg/cables.htm for more information on the pin layout.

11b. More on cables and PocketPCs
This is a part of an E-mail I wrote to someone who wanted to buy a PocketPC only to use Snappixx for his CP4500:

Besides the Nikon SC-EW3 serial cable you need a serial sync cable for the PDA. This cable is normally used to synchronize a PDA with a PC using a serial (RS232) connection. The cable is different for each manufacturer: the PDA-side has a proprieary connector, the PC-side has a 9-pins female RS232 connector (aka DB9 or DSUB9).

The SC-EW3 cable also has a female RS232 connector and must be connected to the PDA serial sync cable. To accomplish this, you need a nullmodem adapter. This is a small converter with has on both side a 9-pins male connector. Caution: A nullmodem adapter is something different that a genderchanger.

I hope this is enough information for you to find the correct cable.

However, some recommendations of my side:

- Do not buy a PDA specially for use with Snappixx without testing it first! Unfortunately there are problem reports of CP4500 users using Snappixx. I'm currently investigating that (see my site).

- Do not buy a PDA for using Snappixx alone ;-) An average PDA is so powerful that it can do so much more than controlling a digital camera.

- I can not give you any advice on what PDA to use. I have tested Snappixx with a HP Jornada 545 and a HP IPaq 2210. I have successreports on the Compaq/HP IPaq 36xx and 38xx series. It should also work on many other devices like the Jornada 520 and 560 series and Ipaq 54xx and 55xx series. Just be sure that the PDA is a PocketPC / PocketPC 2002 or PocketPC 2003 device which supports serial communication through the proprieary connector. I know some Toshibas need a special cable and driver (or settings) for it. Please look in the newsgroups (http://groups.google.com) to see which PocketPC work with serial GPS mouses. Generally speaking those PocketPCs should also work with Snappixx. Not that Snappixx only works on PocketPCs with SH3 or MIPS or ARM/XScale processors.

- Well if you persist on buying a PocketPC for Snappixx alone, try to find a secondhand HP520 or 540 series PocketPC. It has been successfully tested by me personally and the serial cable is standard supplied by those devices.

12. Will there be a Palm/PalmSize PC/Handheld PC versions of Snappixx?
Palm: There will be no Palm version of Snappixx. Try Coolcom.

There are Snappixx versions available for PalmSize/PC and Handheld Pro/PC (WindowsCE) devices, although not completely tested and not supported. See the download section. A Handheld/PC version is not available, but the Handheld Pro/PC or PalmSize/PC version may be tried. Expect the dialog not to fit in the screen.

13. Does Snappixx work on a Microsoft SmartPhone?
I don't know. If it supports eVB (i.e. if there is a eVB runtime available for the platform) then you have a chane. Try it and file a report. Thanks.

14. Will there be a Java versionof Snappixx for mobile phone
MIDP 1.0 (the standard that is supported by most Java-enabled mobile phones) does not support serial communication. Propietary extension can support this, but have limitations. In case of Siemens only IrDA serial communication is supported. Other disadvantage: I need to make a different Snappixx for each mobile phone brand.

MIDP 2.0 does support serial communication in a generic way. If there are plenty of mobile phone available that support this standard I will consider porting Snappixx to MIDP 2.0.

15. What VB runtime file do I need
The VB runtimes are automatically installed. If you have installed the VB runtimes previously, you can skip this by not replacing the VB runtime files.

On Windows Snappixx need VB 6.0 runtimes.
On PocketPC Snappixx need eVB 3.0 runtimes.

On PocketPC the run-time files can be in ROM (or flash RAM). In that case it is recommended not to replace them on installation. This saves memory.

On PocketPC 2003 the files are default not installed. You can download the eVB runtimes from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/resources/downloads/developer/evb.mspx and install the complete eVB runtimes or you can just let Snappixx install the necessary files.

The latter is recommended, because it saves space.

References and links


References
Snappixx uses the Sierra Imaging protocol and the Nikon extension to it. I found the necessary information about these protocol on the Internet.

Thanks to Eugene Crosser for his paper 'Serial Protocol of Some Digital Cameras' (http://photopc.sourceforge.net/protocol.html or click here for a local copy)
Thanks to Vladimir Vyskocil for his paper about the MC-EU1 protocol (http://vyskocil.free.fr/coolcom/MC-EU1 Protocol.txt or click here for a local copy)
Make your own serial cable: http://www3.sympatico.ca/d.holmes/photos/coolpix_e990/e990_usb_cable.html

Links to other implementations
http://photopc.sourceforge.net Digital Cameras on Fujitsu chipset, win32 and Linux implementation
http://velatron.com/dca/theforce/ (TheForce, for Windows platform, also scripting and HocusPocus (your camera's LCD on your laptop's screen)
http://vyskocil.free.fr/coolcom/ (Coolcom, for Palm platform)
http://timeguy.com/palm/ (PalmShot, for Palm platform, incl. GPL sourcecode)
http://www.charliex.net/cpix/cpix.htm (cPix, for Windows platform)
http://www.freewarepalm.com/utilities/camcom.shtml (Cam Comm, for Palm platform)
http://www.digital-camera.dk/ (DC_RemoteShutter for Windows platform, also DC_TimeTrigger, DC_SoundTrigger and DC_VideoTrigger)
http://krinnicam.cjb.net/ Krinnicam remote shutter software incl. automatic image download via USB

Also check out this site
http://e2500.narod.ru/index_e.htm Research of DSC E2500 v1.1, very nice tool to fix hot/dead pixels yourself. Be carefull though!

How Snappixx is used
On Astrosurf.com, see here (French)
On Salzgeber.at, see here and here and here and here
http://www.google.com/search?q=snappixx Google results

Addendum paper Vladimir Vyskocil
The paper of Vladimir Vyskocil contains a mistake. The correct packets that are sent for the different camera modes are:



Snappixx Forum


To improve the support for Snappixx I've created aSnappixx forum

Please use the forum to submit bug or success reports and to ask questions about Snappixx. Don't forget to use the Snappixx debug log-file if your have problems. See above on how to create one.

You can contact me on webmaster@ruwebit.net.

Source code of Snappixx!

Dear Snappixx users. I enjoyed working on Snappixx very much, however, I cannot guarantee that I find time in the future to develop Snappixx any further or to give support on it. Therefore, I hereby give the Snappixx source to the community!




About the source code
The source code of Snappixx is in Visual Basic. Not a language I'm very fond of. The reason for this choice is that I wanted the program to be portable to the PocketPC platform.

The Windows version can be compiled with Visual Studio 6 (SP 4 or higher), the PocketPC version can be compiled with eMbedded Visual Basic (or eVB 3.0 for short) .

Because of the limitations of eVB 3.0 I had to make some decisions which are explained next. I tried to use object oriented techniques as much as possible, however eVB 3.0 doesn't support classes. Only modules can be used. However, I put each OO class in a separate module and created my own constructors for it (called Initialize).

Events (to support concurrency) are not supported by eVB, I had to hack something myself to support this. See the sourcecode about this.

There are still bugs in Snappixx. The biggest problem is that Snappixx doesn't work on each camera/(Pocket)PC combination.



Last update notes

A Snappixx forum is now available here! Please use it for bug and success reports.

The source code of Snappixx is available, see at the bottom of this article!

Snappixx v0.54 is now available with a fix for bulbtimes longer than 1 minute, with debug logging and much more...

Snappixx v0.45 is now available as pre-beta version (with improved zoom functionality). Also for PalmSize/PC and Handheld Pro/PC devices