Remote Camera Trigger

From: http://www.instructables.com/id/Canon_Digital_Rebel_wired_remote_for_shutter_and_f/step3/Assemble/

I had been meaning to make this project since July 4th, when a remote trigger would have come in really handy while snapping pics of fireworks. I also didn't want to shell out $20 for an overpriced remote from Pentax and other camera makers. This build cost me ~$4 and a lot of frustration, but I could not be more pleased with the results.
Parts:1 x 2.5mm hands-free headset for a cellphone1 x Microsoft trackball mouseFor this project, I followed the circuit diagram from the Instructables.com article and basic premise for making the remote trigger. Essentially, by using a 2.5 mm audio jack and some rewiring a digital camera can be controlled to focus and snap a picture. All you need is the audio jack, and two buttons to use it with. In the how-to article from Instructables, two generic buttons were used housed inside an empty mint container. I decided to be a bit classier and asked myself: What has two buttons I can cannibalize? A mouse.I broke open the headset and snipped off the ear bud and microphone from the line, leaving me wires that corresponded to the "tip," "ring," and "sleeve" of the audio jack. I used a multimeter to figure out which wire corresponded to which part (bare copper wires are generally ground/sleeve).

From the mouse, I ripped out the original wiring. All i needed to do was to solder the leads from the headset to the buttons. I soldered in intermediary leads to make my job easier.

Soldering the headset wires to the mouse wires was the hardest part, since the headset wires are so thin. In the end, I (poorly) soldered together the wires with my dad as an extra set of hands and wrapped up the exposed wires in scotch tape (didn't feel like breaking out the electrical tape).