Cyclapse Classic
Product Guide - Revision B
As far as photographic settings are concerned, we only have basic suggestions. For most applications you may find that using the
Program mode (P) is perfectly adequate. The camera will adapt the ISO setting, aperture, and shutter speed to suit the lighting
conditions. If your camera is close to your subject (for instance within 50 feet of a construction site detail) the aperture-priority mode
(A) may yield more consistent focus from picture to picture, as the depth of field will be fixed. We recommend against using fully
manual control of the exposure, unless you are an experienced photographer and have a scene with consistent lighting. The variation
in lighting in an outdoor scene is typically too extreme for any particular arrangement of exposure settings. There may be some
advantage to setting the camera for a fixed white balance, rather than using the camera’s auto white balance. We also suggest setting
the ISO to a relatively low value, for minimum noise. In many camera models, you can limit the ISO to some maximum value, which
could be even better than using a fixed ISO setting. A maximum ISO setting of 400 is suitable for most outdoor scenes. For most
applications, you can leave the exposure up to the camera and if absolutely needed, use post-production software to smooth out frame
to frame variation. Many cameras yield images with such a wide dynamic range that details can be lifted out of shadows, also in post
processing.
Our standing recommendation is to take pictures at the highest resolution of the camera, and take more pictures as you think you will
need. It’s very easy to downsize or discard images, but you can’t get more of them after the project has finished! Given high
resolution images, you can do some very interesting post-processing, such as in-frame pan and zoom effects. If the lighting at your
site has extreme contrasts, such as interior scenes with sun streaming through a window, you may be able to re-balance the lighting
more effectively if you capture the images in RAW format, rather than JPEG. There are file size and post-processing tradeoffs with
RAW, and if you are not already familiar with this distinction, you may want to consult with a professional photographer.
Ideally, you will set up the system a week or two ahead of time, collect lots of test images, and adjust the camera angle and exposure
(if manually set) before the ‘event’ you are monitoring actually begins. If you have this luxury, congratulate yourself for thinking
ahead—you are in the minority! For rush projects, we are happy to pre-configure the time-lapse parameters for you, so you can
simply mount and position the camera. There are always risks associated with communicating your needs, and technical issues, so we
urge you to work through the entire system configuration and installation yourself, and take time to test.
Image Extraction
Memory card swap
A second 16 GB memory card is also included with the standard system. Most cameras allow ‘hot swapping’ of cards during long-
term applications, so you should not need to turn the system off, nor unplug any cables. The card access door on the camera must be
closed to operate, and the space is limited in the housing, so the camera is normally pulled free momentarily to swap cards. A hex-
key is included in the housing to facilitate this. Given the positive stop on the slide rail, and the tight fit of the sled on the rail, the
camera will re-install with almost pixel-perfect registration.
It may also be possible to fit a memory card extender cable which would allow access to the memory card without touching the
camera. Some cameras may require slight modification to allow use of such a cable, but we would be happy to help.
USB Download
If you have access to the housing, but fear handling the camera periodically to swap memory cards, you can attach the USB cable
supplied by the camera manufacturer and leave it attached to the camera inside the housing. This would allow you to open the
housing and download the images to a laptop computer in the field without ever touching the camera. Please note that process can
take an hour or more with a full memory card!
We also offer a USB Extension option with the system which allows image download via an external cable. The weatherproof
polyurethane jacketed cable is installed using a watertight 'gland', allowing download from a distance without accessing the housing.
The USB Extension option provides a 16 ft passive USB cable. You may continue to extend the distance using active repeater cables.
In many cases, you can use multiple active repeater cables to extend to 80ft or more. Make sure to test these cables with the system
before installing on a pole!
Harbortronics Inc 6 8/4/2015
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