EOS Documentation Project

Modifying the GR30 to give the EOS 630 a remote release socket

by Fan Yang

Contents

• Introduction
• Method
• Usage
• Revision History
• Comments

Introduction

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I was fortunate to have spy a Canon GR-20 grip in a second-hand photo equipment store, so I memorized the shape of the handle and, more importantly, the position of the remote release socket. This gave me the impression that the GR-20 had almost the same structure as GR-30, except for the addition of a simple circuit for the accessory remote release.

Now, let me give you a description of the release handle. Nearly all of Canon remote shutter release units are connected to the same position of the body, where I think it sucks because you cannot grasp the body firmly while the accessory release is attached! Please refer to Figures 1 and 2 for my initial idea of the socket position.

Figure 1 figure legend goes here	Figure 2 figure legend goes here

Method

Figure 3 figure legend goes here	Figure 4 figure legend goes here

First, loosen the big screw to remove the grip from the camera. You will see three gold contacts on the right side of the body. (Figures 3 and 4) From memory, their functions are:

UP	common ground;
MIDDLE	auto-focus (AF);
DOWN	shutter-release.

So the contacts in my modified grip have the same order accordingly. (Figure 5)

Figure 5 figure legend goes here	Figure 6 figure legend goes here

Locate the two screws on the inside of the grip, marked by the red arrows in Figure 5. Remove them both, so that you can seperate the steel (Figure 6) and Plastic parts. Now you should be able to see the two screws on the steel part: a big one shown by red arrow and a small one shown by green arrow. To remove them you will need a good quality jewellers' screwdriver. Take special care to not to mix up or lose any of the screws! You should now see parts like in Figure 7.

Figure 7 figure legend goes here

We will need to make a hole in the plastic part, with the big round screw on. I used a soldering iron with a sharp tip to melt a hole in the plastic about 5mm in diameter, then trimmed the edges with a knife. You might find it easier to use an electric drill instead. (Figure 8).

Now install a 2.5mm stereo headphone panel socket, into the hole you just drilled, making sure of a snug fit. If you cannot find a 2.5mm (subminiature) socket, you can still use a 3.5mm (miniature) stereo headphone panel socket, but you might need to use an adapter or change the plug on your remote release to make it work.

Figure 8 figure legend goes here

On the other side of this part, you can find there legs of the socket, make sure the corresponding function: ground, left and right. We will use the following relation:

Ground	----	ground
Left	----	AF
Right	----	shutter release

Take 3 pieces of insulated hookup or wirewrap wire. Strip about 5 mm of insulation at each end and tin the ends with solder. Now solder one wire onto each of the 3 legs of the socket. Pass the wires through the plastic holder into the main cavity of the GR-30 so that they can reach the brass pieces. You will need to cut the plastic to make a path so that the wires will lie flush with the plastic.

Figure 9 figure legend goes here

Figure 10 figure legend goes here

The next step is to cut 3 pieces of brass into the shapes shown in Figure 10, one with a hook to bypass the big screw. Make a curve (shown by green circle in Figure 5) on every piece for contact with the gold contact pad on the body. And then carve 3 notches for the brass in the plastic platform. Solder each brass piece to the corresponding wire as shown in the circuit diagram, making sure that each wire is insulated from its neighbour. IF all done, cover the brass with a piece of insulating tape. I found that electrical tape was too thick, so I use a transparent tape and it works fine.

After testing the electric conductivity among all the points, assemble them.

Usage

The last step is to check the entire assembly. Turn on the camera without loading any film, but have a lens mounted on the body. Test the AF and shutter release functions.

Good luck with the making of the unit!

Revision History

0.1 fy: Original Draft, jul: ed.

Comments

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