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Step 6Best Practices Tips
Here I'll offer some best practices for getting a good sprite recording.
#1 Make sure the camera is stable!
#2 A dark environment is a must. Sprites are very faint and any light pollution will wash them out.
#3 Protect the camera from the elements. there are some really good Instructables on how to build a free or cheap camera housing.
#4 Determine the direction a storm is moving. If it's moving towards you. Odds are the high level clouds will obscure the sky before you'll be able to see any sprites. If a storm is moving towards your location it's best to point the camera in the opposite direction from the storm. That way once the storm passes and moves away. you can capture sprites from it as it moves further on " down the road"
#5 If a storm was moving towards you.. you'll end up with ALOT of flashing sky video. the camera will record not only sprites but also lightning flashes and clouds. go through and delete anything you don't want to keep to clear out room on the drive.
#6 DEFRAG OFTEN! As you record and delete things you don't want. the drive will get fragmented. This will cause the drive to take longer to save any videos and may cause skipping of the saved video. a Defragged drive is a happy drive!!
#7 you don't just have to run this on nights when there are storms. On clear nights you'll catch meteors and Iridium Flares. these can be as interesting as sprites!
I hope you enjoy this Instructable and if there is anything that's unclear please let me know and I'll add or fix what needs to be added or fixed!
If you want to see more of the system I've set up. Check out
http://dragonneo.net/~bigcountrywx/meteorcamabout.phpMy Spritecam Website
Thanks!!
#1 Make sure the camera is stable!
#2 A dark environment is a must. Sprites are very faint and any light pollution will wash them out.
#3 Protect the camera from the elements. there are some really good Instructables on how to build a free or cheap camera housing.
#4 Determine the direction a storm is moving. If it's moving towards you. Odds are the high level clouds will obscure the sky before you'll be able to see any sprites. If a storm is moving towards your location it's best to point the camera in the opposite direction from the storm. That way once the storm passes and moves away. you can capture sprites from it as it moves further on " down the road"
#5 If a storm was moving towards you.. you'll end up with ALOT of flashing sky video. the camera will record not only sprites but also lightning flashes and clouds. go through and delete anything you don't want to keep to clear out room on the drive.
#6 DEFRAG OFTEN! As you record and delete things you don't want. the drive will get fragmented. This will cause the drive to take longer to save any videos and may cause skipping of the saved video. a Defragged drive is a happy drive!!
#7 you don't just have to run this on nights when there are storms. On clear nights you'll catch meteors and Iridium Flares. these can be as interesting as sprites!
I hope you enjoy this Instructable and if there is anything that's unclear please let me know and I'll add or fix what needs to be added or fixed!
If you want to see more of the system I've set up. Check out
http://dragonneo.net/~bigcountrywx/meteorcamabout.phpMy Spritecam Website
Thanks!!
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http://www.hssvss.com/
I use it for still and timelapse image capture... it's good and best of all... it's free!