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Lightning differences between cameras

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Offline CanonBlue

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Lightning differences between cameras
« on: 30 / May / 2013, 11:33:53 »
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We had a big lightning storm the other night, and I set up in the window:
1. My SX230 running the fast MD script
2. My SD1100 running the fast MD script
3. My iPhone running LightningCam app

To my surprise, the camera I think of as the nicest, the SX230, did the worst. It triggered a lot but all the photos came out with just bright flashes in the sky, with no bolts visible. Meanwhile the SD1100 caught some nice bolts and so did the iphone!

So, I was trying to figure out what settings to change to get better lightning photos with my SX230. I tried turning down the exposure but it didn't seem to make a difference. Any ideas of what settings to fiddle with for the next storm? (We may have one today, but the weather here is unpredictable.)

PS. I'm sorry, I thought I was posting this in general discussion and assistance using stable releases, and I just noticed it was in general discussion and assistance under development. How can I move it?
« Last Edit: 30 / May / 2013, 11:38:16 by CanonBlue »
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I use the chdk on my SX230 and SD1100 cameras, and I installed them using a Macbook, currently running 10.6.8.
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Offline reyalp

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Re: Lightning differences between cameras
« Reply #1 on: 30 / May / 2013, 16:01:13 »
I moved the thread.

It has been noted before that older cameras have better MD response, so sd1100 performing better isn't actually a huge surprise. It looks like sx230 has the functions for fast md, but they may not be correctly implemented.

A while back philmoz added the capability to self test MD speed using the camera, described in this thread http://chdk.setepontos.com/index.php?topic=9366.msg96633#msg96633

This could help check if it MD is implemented correctly on sx230.
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Offline CanonBlue

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Re: Lightning differences between cameras
« Reply #2 on: 30 / May / 2013, 19:48:55 »
My impression from watching it and the shots I got is that it was triggering just fine, but the pictures were getting too washed out. However, I could be wrong and it could still be a timing issue. Another possibility is that I had the SX230 pointed more directly at where the storm was, and the others pointed a little bit off to the side, so maybe they didn't get washed out because they weren't getting the brightest bolts in the frame. Anyway, it seemed like the issue was the general brightness of the lightning just washing out the sky, so I was trying to think of what to do about that in terms of exposure settings, etc.
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My Flickr Page
I use the chdk on my SX230 and SD1100 cameras, and I installed them using a Macbook, currently running 10.6.8.
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Offline waterwingz

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Re: Lightning differences between cameras
« Reply #3 on: 30 / May / 2013, 22:37:49 »
Quote from: CanonBlue on 30 / May / 2013, 19:48:55
Anyway, it seemed like the issue was the general brightness of the lightning just washing out the sky, so I was trying to think of what to do about that in terms of exposure settings, etc.
What script were you using?  CHDK has a lot of manual override capability but the script might not have been using it.

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Ported :   A1200    SD940   G10    Powershot N    G16
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Offline reyalp

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Re: Lightning differences between cameras
« Reply #4 on: 30 / May / 2013, 22:47:23 »
Quote from: CanonBlue on 30 / May / 2013, 19:48:55
My impression from watching it and the shots I got is that it was triggering just fine, but the pictures were getting too washed out.
That's possible, I just assumed not working well meant not catching the actual strike. If the camera was in any sort of auto-exposure mode (P/Tv/Av) it would calculate the exposure for ambient light, which could easily be too much when the lightning is actually striking.

I'd guess for nearby lighting you'd want manual settings similar to what you'd use in daylight but maybe not direct sun. For these photos https://picasaweb.google.com/115940260949628685898/LightningJan192010#5428625155340098514 I used 1/60th @F2.6, probably ISO 80.
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Offline waterwingz

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Re: Lightning differences between cameras
« Reply #5 on: 30 / May / 2013, 23:03:36 »
Quote from: reyalp on 30 / May / 2013, 22:47:23
If the camera was in any sort of auto-exposure mode (P/Tv/Av) it would calculate the exposure for ambient light, which could easily be too much when the lightning is actually striking.
Hence my question about what script he was using ....
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Ported :   A1200    SD940   G10    Powershot N    G16
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