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davelp

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    Storm Chase 2012 - Dates And Early Booking Offer

    in Storm Chase USA

    Posted · Edited by davelp

    Meh! Raincoats for Cameras Indeed - Pmsl!

    We do like to be in an ideal situation out of the rain for Lightning Shots, in fact if you ask Arron or Ash about the 11th June 2011 Supercell/s in the Oklahoma Panhandle they will tell you that not 1 drop of rain landed on our heads and we were chasing for about 7 hours and begrudgingly had to leave that line of Supercells to catch our flights home! But the Lightning pictures we got were nothing short of incredible, I am sure Arron will put up the one along the highway West of Woodward as he had his shorts on supping on a bud!

    But it will come in handy if a squall line hits the hotel at night and we are undercover but rain and hail is being swept into our location and getting raindrops on the lens for instance.

    Right as always. Rain coats are for those rare occassions Paul does not hit the mark. They would not be capable of withstanding a full downpour, and certainly not hailstones, however they can extend the shoot in moderate circumstances. Generally speaking the human element gives up long before the camera would. The important thing with modern cameras, is to keep the body and mounting ring dry, as thats where the guts of the system are. lenses tend to be sealed and can take a serious pounding. Unfortunately the more expensive SLR's are the ones which can withstand the weather as they tend to be metal construction with water and wind resistance built in as part of the spec.

    A good microfibre cloth for cleaning the lense and a proper chammy leather for keeping spots off the camera is a good alternative.

    Storm Chase 2012 - Dates And Early Booking Offer

    in Storm Chase USA

    Posted

    May have a look into a wireless trigger I think. Where do you get rain coats for cameras or can anyone recommend a decent one that won't fail on me!

    This is the one I use. It does come in different sizes and colours. Well made and easy to get on and off, also light and small to pack. Shouldnt need it too often when you are out there but a nice safety blanket.

    http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-storm-jacket-slr-medium-black/p1017351

    Storm Chase 2012 - Dates And Early Booking Offer

    in Storm Chase USA

    Posted

    I have a shutter release and have had quite a bit of success with lightning shots here in the UK so i'm not sure really. All i'm worreid about is missing the action cause i'm so worried about getting good lightning shots with a shutter release and the worry of CG strikes whilst I am holding a shutter release. You have the safety of being in a vehicle while the lightning trigger does all the work for you don't you?

    I'm basically thinking that if I can get some decent lightning grabs here (as I already have) then i'm sure I can in the states as the amount of strikes per minute just don't compare to the poofy storms we get here!

    I would not worry too much about being outside with the remote release, follow the lead of your crew and when they get back in the cars it is time to consider doing the same. day time shots are always difficult owing to exposure issues. I will be outside with the camera regardless of tigger or otherwise. If you feel more comfortable not being attached to the camera, there are radio triggers available. These operate on the wifi 2.4 ghz system. You can pick these up for between 20 -70 quid. The range will mean you can fire the camera from anywhere in range.

    My take on the lightning trigger is not so much being separated from the camera but reaction time. The tigger will react faster than I can, During the day it might take some of the guesswork out.

    In addition to my Nikon I'll be taking the following

    15mm Full frame fish eye (Sigma)

    24-70mm 2.8 zoom (Nikon)

    70-200mm 2.8 zoom (Nikon)

    1.7 teleconverter

    Spare battery & Charger

    Charger

    Lots of CF cards

    Manfrotto tripod

    Ball head

    Panorama head

    remote trigger

    wirless trigger

    lightning trigger

    Storm guard rain cover

    ND filters Various

    ND grads various

    Polarizer

    Lens cleaner

    Sensor cleaning kit

    Microfiber cloth

    Chammy leather

    Storm Chase 2012 - Dates And Early Booking Offer

    in Storm Chase USA

    Posted

    Yes it would, the challenge comes in obtaining it "Over there" before your tour, as they are not mainstream items, so would need to be ordered. If you order it, then delivery becomes the challenge (as we found out last year) delivering to the hotel as your only a transitory guest, they'll probably not sign for it.

    There are a number on sale via ebay. I ordered a Patch master which gets reasonable reviews. Only cost $100 via the make an offer system. Delivery was quick. Seem to work using a flashgun, but only a storm will give a true test. There are others available, some from the states and one from the uk. The one from the states is the AEO Lightning strike which get similar reviews to the patch master, just a little more expensive. The Uk one seem complex and no track record to speak of. There is a $300+ one available but that is available only from a us company.

    The one thing we all need to be aware of is they do having technical limitations. The reaction time of the trigger is most likely considerably quicker then the sutter lag on a digital camera one being electrical and the other mechanical. So triggers will fire the camera but for at least some of the time the lightning will discharge quicker than the camera shutter can operate. They will record duds. There are ways of improving the shutter lag time, using mirror up etc but it will never be perfect. In theory it will have better reaction times that the human controlled trigger so the odds of capturing improve.

    The purists will argue the fun is in the human element. I know I will be trying both. I still recomend use of manal trigger and bulb for night shots.

    Storm Chase 2012 - Dates And Early Booking Offer

    in Storm Chase USA

    Posted

    Kinda have to agree with Paul's point I picked up a trigger for Arizona last year and got very excited when my camera kept clicking away in the field , only to find very few lightening in my shots when I uploaded them. On the plus side I did get some cracking shots I probably wouldn't have normally taken so may still find some space in my bag this year for it

    Like all pieces of tech, it will have it limitations, which is why I went for the cheap option. If it is anything like the ND filters then it will end up in the bottom of the bag and I go back to last years tried and tested method. keep shooting until Paul threatens to get out of the car and thow you in the back. :acute:

    Storm Chase 2012 - Dates And Early Booking Offer

    in Storm Chase USA

    Posted

    Triggers take the fun out of trying to snap lightning! Stick with a wired trigger and longer exposures. Looking at getting an ND8 filter to help with daytime shots!

    I agree but worth a punt at £60, I'm not really expecting it to do wonders anyway.

    I tried the ND filters last year and they are not really worth the effort. The ambient light reduces the flash effect, much the same as studio lighting and ambient from outside or tubes. Yes you can open up the aperture and also increase the exposure time with them, but unless the CG is close or really bright the ND tends to cut out the the brilliance of the discharge loosing it occasionally. I have had better results with faster shutter speed and near continous operation of the camera. Managed to duplicate the tequnique in the uk last year. Only problem is it works on a ratio of about 200 shots to 1 strike.

    Storm Chase 2012 - Dates And Early Booking Offer

    in Storm Chase USA

    Posted

    If you can sleep who cares who drives the plane. Likewise not a good sleeper. That's exactly what the person in front of me did last time. Two pills and out cold. I spent the flight with their seat 4 inches from my face. No dinner as I could not wake them and the staff were not interested. Got my own back for breakfast though, deft use of elbows and knees. lol

    Storm Chase 2012 - Dates And Early Booking Offer

    in Storm Chase USA

    Posted · Edited by davelp

    Yes. Unfortunately BA only have one direct flight per day, The rest are under the guise of 'One world'. My last flight out and back which was AA, had a BA flight number and 7 others. Was interesting trying to figure out what gate to go to, I didn't read the small print when I booked it. :)

    Thankfully my planning worked from last year so I did not have to rely on getting the cheapest flights which is great, but at the end of the day the chase is what counts so any airline would have done at a pinch.

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