Cyclapse Classic
Troubleshooting Guide
Please refer to the “
Debug Flow Chart - DigiSnap 2700 Terminal
” for additional help.
There are also discussions of the terminal connection on our website support pages, as
well the user guides.
#2 The system sometimes misses pictures
There are a few things that can cause it to take some pics, and miss others.
Shutter Release Timing
Each time the DigiSnap commands the camera to take a picture, it's electronically
pressing the shutter release button on the camera. When the camera is asleep between
pics, it can take up to 2 seconds to wake and SLR camera, set the exposure, and take the
picture, assuming the camera is set to manual focus. If set to auto focus, it can take many
more seconds! The DigiSnap has a setting for the amount of time it holds the shutter
“Camera Release Time”... it's normally set for 2 seconds. Some cameras, such as the
Sony A7RII require a 3 second release time. If you really must use auto focus, please
increase this time to 10 seconds. You may still miss many pictures, as auto-focus doesn't
always succeed, and it will generally focus on the nearest object in the scene, such as a
bug walking across the window.
Power Drop-Out
If the battery pack is mostly discharged, it might run for a while, then stop, charge up
some more, take a few more pics, etc. You might check the voltage on the battery pack!
If it's low, take it out of the housing, and use the AC charger included with the system to
charge it up. It may take up to 9 hours for a fully drained battery pack. Solar panels are
sized to keep up with the power draw from the system, not to charge the battery quickly.
The 'standard' 10 watt solar panel is sufficient to keep the battery charged when taking
about 200 pics per day over the long term. In particularly sunny locations, you might be
able to take 2-3x this many, and in cloudy areas about half of this.
Camera Power Timing
The DigiSnap 2700 has the ability to control the camera power, via a connection to the
Battery Converter circuit.
Normally we recommend setting the Power Control Mode on the DigiSnap to 'Toggle Off
Daily', where power is applied to the camera all the time, save a few seconds once a day,
to reset the camera in case of a lock-up (something that is less frequent on recent camera
models).
You may also set the Power Control Mode to turn the power to the camera on a few
seconds before the snap, and a few seconds after to save the image. However, if taking
pictures in low light, the camera may need a long exposure, such as 20 seconds... if the
camera power is removed before the camera has finished, that picture will not be saved.
This power control mode is always recommended when using networking, as network
equipment draws significantly more power than the camera alone.
http://www.harbortronics.com/
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