Cyclapse Classic
Troubleshooting Guide
Power
The most common problem we've encountered is lack of power somewhere in the
system. Later in this document there is a detailed description of the power scheme in the
system, which may be of use when doing more detailed testing. For now however, please
refer to the '
Debug Flow Chart - Power
', and perform some simple tests. If power is
flowing properly, you should be able to tell very quickly.
Camera
The next thing to check is the camera itself. We have been using Canon Rebel series
cameras for years, and are delighted with their reliability. The Cyclapse housing allows
use of a wider range of cameras that haven't been proven in years of field operation. In
general, there have been very few outright camera failures in the field, and we only
infrequently hear about shutter life limitations. Modern digital cameras are quite reliable!
Please refer to the “
Debug Flow Chart - Camera
” to check out the camera.
There are a lot of menus and buttons on the camera. Most of them are already set
properly, but in case you aren't familiar with SLR cameras, this discussion may help.
There are three basic goals to setting up the camera for a long term time-lapse project:
•
Minimize the power drawn (power off, stabilizer, image review, distortion)
•
Maximize consistency to the image (manual focus, lighting optimizer)
•
Maximize exposure adaptability (program mode, auto white balance)
There are a lot of cameras that are compatible with the Cyclapse, and we cannot address
the detailed menu setup of each one. For this discussion, we presume use of the standard
camera, the Canon T6i/750D.
First change all the settings to factory default: Menu / Tools 4 / Clear Settings. Then,
here are the changes to make or verify:
1) Lens
Manual Focus (MF)
Stabilizer Off
2) Top Dial
P (Program Mode – auto exposure, flash off)
If the camera is within 30 ft of your intended scene, you might consider using Av
(Aperture priority), to maintain a constant depth of field.
3) Top Buttons
AF Selection: Ignore, you'll be using Manual Focus eventually
ISO: AUTO
DISP: Ignore
4) Navigation Buttons (on back)
WB (Up Arrow): Auto, or set per the lighting conditions
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