Powering the whole shebang in the field requires some preparation. Consider the following electrical requirements;
These devices need the correct voltages and currents available for extended periods, as the camera may be on location for many hours. This means a big battery or batteries.
I have decided on 12V as the base voltage as it is already used widely and batteries of various sizes (amp hours) are easy to obtain. Based on this I sourced out some 12V motors. Unfortunately I cannot try to source a camera and microcontroller that run on 12V, so a workaround is required. I found this in the form of voltage regulators.
For my camera, a detailed account of the creation of a 12V adaptor can be found here, and the relevant power plug can be sourced in Australia from Farnell.
A similar adaptor can be built to get 5V from a 12V supply using another regulator. More details on that once I've finished building the 8.3V supply, as the micro controller can also run off 3 x AA batteries (3 x 1.5V = 4.5V - which is close enough for the PICAXE).