Walter Sanford's Blog: 2026

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

What's wrong with this picture?

I bought an Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens from Amazon recently. The following image is one of the actual product photos featured on Amazon.

Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens product photo on Amazon.

The next image is a photo of the lens that I received from Opteka/Amazon.

Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens mounted on Fujifilm X-T5.

Hmm, what's wrong with this picture? (Remember that type of children's puzzle?) Look closely at the focus ring in both images. The lenses shown in the two images are similar but not identical, and the difference is critical. Unlike the product photos on Amazon there aren't any distance numbers (ft and m) marked on the focus ring of the Opteka lens that was delivered to me.

Instead of distance numbers the focus ring is marked "←Near" "Far→" and "∞" (infinity). The "←Near" label on the focus ring turns far to the left of the index mark on the lens barrel, presumably beginning at the closest focusing distance of the lens; the "∞" label also turns far to the left of the index mark. That's right, the Opteka lens focuses "to infinity and beyond." Way beyond.

Opteka, Circuit City, and Amazon are guilty of false advertising.

"False advertising is any published claim or statement used to promote a product or service that is untruthful, deceptive, or misleading to a reasonable consumer." Source Credit: Google AI Overview.

In my strong opinion Opteka, Circuit City, and Amazon should carefully consider offering some form of restitution other than simply returning the lens for a full refund. I'm open to suggestion.

The Backstory

I bought the Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens because it's available for Fujifilm X Mount camera bodies while the comparable Meike version is no longer available.

"Opteka frequently rebrands and sells lenses produced by other Chinese and Korean manufacturers, including Meike and Samyang (Rokinon)." Source Credit: Google AI Overview.

Question is does the Opteka lens perform as well as the Meike? I don't know, yet.

I would like to be able to recommend the Opteka lens as a viable option to replace the Meike lens. First I need to do some field testing to see how the Opteka lens performs. (Limited studio testing is inconclusive so far.)

For now my recommendation is "buyer beware -- what you see is not what you get!" You might call the product photos on Amazon an "Optekal Illusion," but seriously, false advertising is an egregious matter.

Related Resources: Posts on Walter Sanford's Blog with the label "all sky."

Post update: Both the Web site address (http://www.Opteka.com) and e-mail address (support@opteka.com) listed in the hardcopy User Manual (included in the box with the lens) are invalid. #shellcompany?

Thursday, August 6, 2026

Oh beautiful ...

Oh beautiful, for spacious skies. Source Credit: America the Beautiful.

This blog post is an homage to Jack Borden, founder of "For Spacious Skies," a non-profit organization "committed to promoting the beauty of the sky as a visual feast that anyone, anywhere, and at any time could partake." Source Credit: BORDEN, Jacob “Jack” - Local Newscaster & Founder of For Spacious Skies.

Sometimes the sky is astoundingly beautiful. Friday, 31 July 2026 was one of those days. Click on the following panoramic composite image to see the full-size version.

31 JUL 2026. 2:40 PM. Panoramic view. (15274 x 3806 pixels.)

I decided to share two "as is" all sky time lapse videos, meaning unedited, so you can see exactly what the camera/lens combo "saw."

31 July 2026 | 1:34 PM - 1:54 PM EDT | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

6.5mm APS-C | f/8 | 1/4,000 s | ISO 160 | 623 photos at 2 s interval

Beautifully saturated blues and almost no blown highlights is the result of using faster shutter speeds, enabling me to capture the dynamic nature of the low level cumuliform clouds (moving generally from north-to-south across the sky).

Notice the sunstar (a.k.a., sunburst) that is visible in the second video during breaks in the clouds. A distributor of the lens says the sunstars are 18-point, although I haven't counted the points to verify that claim. (See the Post update at the bottom of this page.)

"A sunstar forms when brilliant, direct sunlight (or any other bright light) diffracts (spreads) as it passes through the overlapping blades of a lens iris (its aperture). These are the blades that open to admit more light (small f-number), and close to limit light (large f-number)." Source Credit: Sunstars, by Gary Hart.

31 July 2026 | 2:01 PM - 2:23 PM EDT | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

6.5mm APS-C | f/8-ish | 1/6,400 s | ISO 160 | 636 photos at 2 s interval

The aperture was "f/8-ish" for the photos used to create the second time lapse, meaning the clickless aperture ring was set a little higher than f/8. What was the actual f/stop? I don't know because the aperture ring for the Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens doesn't have any markings between f/8 and f/22, plus the lens is manual only (with no electronic contacts) so there isn't any communication between the lens and camera body.

Tech Tips

The dimensions of the JPG photos used to create both time lapse videos are 6240 x 4160 pixels. That's way more than the resolution of Ultra High Definition, a.k.a., UHD (3840 x 2160 pixels)!

"YouTube officially supports maximum playback and upload resolutions up to 8K (4320p or 7680 × 4320 pixels)." Source Credit: Google AI Overview.

Click on the "Settings" button (gear icon) in the YouTube player and select the highest "Quality" available on your device.

Related Resources

For Spacious Skies - Jack Borden (14:15) - a YouTube video by Sam Ruocco [The video becomes repetitive toward the end but the first two-thirds is worth watching.]
"Skyku©" poetry - a blog post by Walter Sanford
Posts on Walter Sanford's Blog with the label "all sky"

Post update: Yep, that's an 18-point sunstar!

Sunday, August 2, 2026

X-T3 Sky Lapse

The following YouTube video includes two time lapse video clips that show the sky over Fairfax County, Virginia USA during the afternoon on 27 July 2026. Two photo sets were captured using a Fujifilm X-T3 and the 18-55mm kit lens. Each photo set was rendered to video using Apple "QuickTime Player"; each movie clip was edited using Apple "Photos." The final video was created using DaVinci Resolve.

27 July 2026 | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

Low level cumuliform clouds were moving generally from north-to-south.

Panoramic Image

The following panoramic composite image was taken using the "Camera" app on my Apple iPad mini 6, set for "Pano" mode. The iPad was mounted on a tripod located in the shade of the tree shown at the right side of the image.

27 JUL 2026. 3:28 PM. Panoramic view. (16350 x 3870 pixels.)

Have I mentioned how much I love the look and feel of the panoramic composite images created using the Apple "Camera" app? I love it so much I would marry it. Easy to use. Excellent output. Good job by you, Apple!

Wind (mph), Weather and Sky Condition

"Wind (mph)," "Weather" and "Sky Cond." are highlighted by red rectangles in the following excerpt from a table of three-day weather observations for KDCA on 27 July 2026 nearest the times when I recorded the photos used to create the time lapse video, and the panoramic composite image.

Source Credit: KDCA | National Weather Service.

Tech Tips

My Fujifilm X-T3 camera was set for manual exposure and manual focus. Aperture was set for f/8. Shutter Speed was 1/500 second. ISO was set for 160. White Balance was set for "Daylight." The focal length of the 18-55mm kit lens was set for 18mm (27mm, 35mm equivalent). Aspect Ratio was set for 16:9 (6240 x 3512 pixels). Image Quality was set for FINE+RAW (Fine JPEG plus RAF).

The ELECTRONIC LEVEL was turned on. The manual focus DEPTH-OF-FIELD SCALE was set for "FILM FORMAT BASIS."

I selected a two (2) second interval between photos. Scene 1 = 602 photos. Scene 2 = 612 photos. Both photo sets lasted approximately 20 minutes in real time.

Related Resources: Posts on Walter Sanford's blog with the label "Fujifilm X-T3."

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Another GoPro Panoramic Sky Lapse

The following panoramic time lapse video shows the sky above Fairfax County, Virginia USA on 21 July 2026 beginning at 1:06 PM EDT. The video was recorded using my GoPro HERO4 Black action camera mounted on an inexpensive mechanical one-hour kitchen timer.

21 July 2026 | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

The GoPro video was recorded after the "22 degree halo" all sky time lapse video featured in my last blog post. Regrettably the halo isn't visible in the GoPro video.

Panoramic Image

The following panoramic composite image was taken using the "Camera" app on my Apple iPad mini 6, set for "Pano" mode.

21 JUL 2026. 1:38 PM. Panoramic view. (14487 x 3785 pixels.)

RadarScope

Low level cumilform clouds (shown in the preceding panoramic composite image) were growing larger and darker ahead of an area of thunderstorms advancing from west to east.

RadarScope (app) animation | 1:39 PM to 1:58 PM EDT.

Tech Tips

The camera was set for "Video" mode / "Time Lapse Video" submode at a resolution of 4K and an interval of two (2) seconds.

I don't set the kitchen timer for a specific amount of time -- I just turn the dial clockwise until it's set for one hour. Then I compose the shot (by rotating the ball head to check the end points of the panoramic view) and start recording for as long as I need/want.

"CommerciaLapse," one of my earlier blog posts, features photos and a detailed description of the magnet-free rig I use for mounting the one-hour mechanical kitchen timer on a tripod plus a description of how the GoPro is mounted on the timer.

Related Resources

22 degree halo - a blog post by Walter Sanford
RadarScope app - available for both Apple iOS and Android operating systems
Search results for "RadarScope app" tag from walter sanford's photoblog (4 posts)
Posts on Walter Sanford's blog with the labels "GoPro" and/or "one-hour kitchen timer"

Thursday, July 23, 2026

22 degree halo

A time series of 412 photos was taken during the afternoon on 21 July 2026 using my Fujifilm X-T1 camera and a Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens. The first photo was shot at 12:37 PM; the last photo at 12:58 PM.

The camera was mounted on a tripod with the lens facing the zenith. The entire dome of the sky is shown in the circular field of view; the horizon is located around the outer rim of the circle.

21 July 2026 | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

A 22° halo around the Sun is visible high in the sky.

The small halo appears as a white or mostly white luminous ring of 22° radius with the light source (Sun or Moon) at its centre. ... The sky inside the ring is conspicuously darker than the rest of the sky. The halo always has a 22° radius regardless of its position in the sky. Source Credit: 22° halo, International Cloud Atlas, World Meteorological Organization.

Camera Settings

The camera was set for manual exposure and manual focus. The Meike lens features a "clickless" aperture ring. The Aperture was set for the f/8 mark on the aperture ring. The manual focus ring was set near the 3 ft mark. The Shutter Speed was set for 1/4,000 s, the fastest mechanical shutter speed featured on the Fujifilm X-T1.

The camera was set to record FINE+RAW, in L 3:2 format (4896 x 3264 pixels). The film simulation was set for Provia/Standard. A three (3) second interval was used to allow sufficient time for the camera to save the photo files to a memory card.

Panoramic Image

The following panoramic composite image was taken using the "Camera" app on my Apple iPad mini 6, set for "Pano" mode. The iPad was mounted on a tripod located at my usual vantage point on top of a seven-story parking garage.

21 JUl 2026. 1:28 PM. Panoramic view. (14402 x 3877 pixels.)

Notice the low- and middle level cumuliform clouds.

Wind (mph), Weather and Sky Condition

"Wind (mph)," "Weather" and "Sky Cond." are highlighted by red rectangles in the following excerpt from a table of three-day weather observations for KDCA on 21 July 2026, nearest the times when I recorded the time lapse videos and panoramic composite photo.

Source Credit: KDCA | National Weather Service

The preceding table shows the surface wind direction is from the south-southwest. High level cirrostratus clouds (Cs) were streaming across the sky from west to east, as shown in the time lapse video. The difference in wind direction indicates vertical wind shear.

Tech Tips

The camera-lens combo was mounted on a ball head/tripod so that the lens is pointed at the zenith. Notice the green plastic spirit level mounted on the X-T1 hot shoe, used to level the camera body in this orientation.

Camera-lens combo mounted on ball head/tripod.

Apple "QuickTime Player" was used to render 412 JPEG images from the photo set into a time lapse video. The video was edited lightly using Apple "Photos." The post-processed video clip was made into a YouTube movie using "DaVinci Resolve."

Related Resources

Halo Phenomena | International Cloud Atlas - World Meteorological Organization
22° halo | International Cloud Atlas - World Meteorological Organization
Ice Crystal Halos - one of many good resources available from the Atmospheric Optics Web site
22 Degree Halo - WW2010 | Department of Atmospheric Sciences (DAS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Rainbows, Halos and Glories, by Robert Greenler [excellent reference book]
Results for the query "halo" on Walter Sanford's Blog

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Backdoor cold front

For locations in the northern mid-latitudes, weather systems usually move from west to east. Usually, but not always.

A backdoor cold front is a weather boundary that moves south or southwest, bringing cool air from the east or northeast. Unlike typical cold fronts that push west to east, it arrives from an atypical direction—entering through the "back door." Source Credit: Backdoor cold front (Wikipedia).

On 12 July 2026, weather radar showed a backdoor cold front located over the mid-Atlantic United States.

RadarScope (app) animation beginning at 12:00 noon EDT.

The precipitation echoes moving from east-to-west (to the north) and west-to-east (to the south) trace an invisible boundary between different air masses -- that's the "backdoor" cold front!

RadarScope (app) animation beginning at 2:18 PM EDT.

Tech Tips

Set the RadarScope (app) "Radar Frame Count" for 30 frames, the maximum number of frames.

Settings / General / Data / Radar Frame Count

A 30-frame time lapse lasts ~25 to 30 minutes. That's not very long, so I recommend you set the preceding videos to Play in a "Loop."

Click the white "Play" button. When the button turns red, right-click on the video and select "Loop." Then press the "Play" button again and the video will loop over and over. Alternate procedure (for mobile devices): Click the "Settings" button; select "More options" then select "Loop."

Related Resources

RadarScope app - available for both Apple iOS and Android operating systems
backdoor cold front - AMS Glossary of Meteorology
"Backdoor" Cold Front - National Weather Service Glossary
Search results for "RadarScope app" tag from walter sanford's photoblog (4 posts)

Monday, June 29, 2026

Using a Fujifilm X-T1 for time lapsing, revisited

Two time series of photos were taken during the afternoon on 15 June 2026 using my Fujifilm X-T1 camera and a Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens. Apple "QuickTime Player" was used to render the JPEG images from each photo set into a time lapse video. Both videos were edited using Apple "Photos." The two video clips were combined to make a movie using "DaVinci Resolve."

The camera was mounted on a tripod with the lens facing the zenith. The entire dome of the sky is shown in the circular field of view; the horizon is located around the outer rim of the circle.

The "Scene 1" time lapse video was created from 432 photos: first image = 1:29 PM; last image = 1:50 PM. The "Scene 2" time lapse video was created from 473 photos: first image = 2:35 PM; last image = 2:58 PM. My GoPro HERO4 Black action camera was used to record a panoramic sky lapse video during a break between "Scene 1" and "Scene 2."

15 June 2026 | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

When I started using the Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens for "all sky" time lapsing, I mounted the camera on a tripod with the center column fully extended. The idea was to raise the camera/lens high enough that I could stand by the tripod without appearing in the fisheye photos. As expected, this resulted in camera shake and noticeably "jittery" video. I lowered the center column so there's no extension, making the camera steadier. That's a good thing. The trade-off is now you can see me in some photos at times. I can live with that.

Test Shot

It's very difficult to see the LCD screen of the X-T1 in bright sunlight, so I went to a shady place where I could take a few test shots to be sure exposure was set correctly.

15 JUN 2026 | 1:21 PM | f/8 | 1/3,200 s | ISO 200 | 4896 x 3264 pixels

Camera Settings

Panoramic Image

15 JUN 2026. 3:17 PM. Panoramic view. (16350 x 3906 pixels.)

Wind (mph), Weather and Sky Condition

"Wind (mph)," "Weather" and "Sky Cond." are highlighted by red rectangles in the following excerpt from a table of three-day weather observations for KDCA on 15 June 2026 nearest the times when I recorded the time lapse videos and panoramic composite photo.

Source Credit: KDCA | National Weather Service

Low-, middle-, and high level clouds were streaming across the sky from the north-northwest to south-southeast.

Tech Tips

Everything You Need to Know About SD Cards by B&H eXplora provides a clear and concise explanation of the numbers and symbols that appear on SD memory cards. Although the article is a good resource it's the kind of information that makes my head feel like it's going to explode! So I just assumed the fastest memory cards I own were incompatible with my older Fujifilm X-T1. Turns out I was wrong.

After reading my blog post entitled Field testing an X-T1 for time lapsing - an after action report my good friend Luis Acosta suggested I try using one of the fastest memory cards I own with my X-T1. I did, and much to my surprise it worked. In fact it works so well I could probably record FINE+RAW files using a two-second interval. So I decided to give the X-T1 another chance for time lapsing. The following photo shows the memory card I'm currently using with my X-T1.

SanDisk 64 GB SDXC memory card.

Sometimes the little things make a big difference. I repurposed the lens cap strap from an old Kodak digital camera (now that's old!) to make a safety tether for the lens cap that covers my Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens. It's not elegant yet seems to work well. Also notice the green plastic spirit level mounted on the X-T1 hot shoe. I use it to level the camera body when the lens is pointed at the zenith.

Lens cap tether for Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens.

Post update: I forgot to mention "Mr. T," a little trick I learned from Chris Lee (a.k.a., pal2tech) that makes a big difference. For more information watch Fujifilm Shutter Speed Dial (8:20), a YouTube video by Chris.

Finally let's transition to a brief discussion about "DaVinci Resolve." I have learned two hard lessons from my early struggles to get up-to-speed with DaVinci: 1. Always spec the "Project Settings" before you begin editing ("Timeline resolution" most importantly); and 2. DO NOT move or rename media files on your computer after adding them to the timeline.

Related Resources

Field testing an X-T1 for time lapsing - after action report - a blog post by Walter Sanford
More Fisheye on the Sky - a blog post by Walter Sanford
Fisheye on the Sky - a blog post by Walter Sanford

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Solstice sunset

As a child we learned "the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west," right? Not always. In fact that's true only two days a year -- the equinoxes (March and September).

The Motions of the Sun Simulator was used to show the apparent motion of the Sun across the sky on the June Solstice. Notice the Sun rises along the northeastern horizon and sets along the northwestern horizon. At Washington, D.C. (38.89° North latitude and 77.03° degrees West longitude) the Sun reaches a maximum altitude of 74.7° above the horizon, the highest maximum altitude all year.

"Motions of the Sun Simulator" set for 21 JUN at 38.8 N latitude.

The following animation shows the Sun's apparent path across the sky on the June Solstice, repeated several times.

Firsthand Observations

I used my iPad mini 6 running the "Theodolite" iOS app to take a time series of images during the evening on 21 June 2026, beginning at 8:00 PM and ending at 8:36 PM (sunset) with an interval of five minutes between shots. The camera was mounted on a tripod facing exactly west. Notice how far north of west the Sun sets.

21 JUN 2026 | 8:00 PM | Facing west.

21 JUN 2026 | 8:05 PM | Facing west.

21 JUN 2026 | 8:10 PM Facing west.

21 JUN 2026| 8:15 PM | Facing west.

21 JUN 2026 | 8:20 PM | Facing west.

21 JUN 2026 | 8:25 PM | Facing west.

21 JUN 2026 | 8:30 PM | Facing west.

21 JUN 2026 | 8:36 PM | Facing west.

The exact position of sunset was obscured by both clouds and the tree line to the west of my vantage point, but it's clear enough the Sun set near the trunk of the tallest tree along the horizon.

By the way, I have no idea what the white orb is that appears in the lower-right corner of most of the sunset images. I assume it's a feature of the "Theodolite" app, but I'm not sure.

Related Resource: Theodolite - a blog post by Walter Sanford

Post update: The mysterious white orbs that appear in my "Theodolite" images are "augmented reality (AR) markers to show the position of the Sun." According to the developer, the fact that the Sun, as shown in my photos, isn't aligned with the AR markers indicates the compass on my iPad mini 6 was a little off. (Source Credit: "Thoedolite" app developer.)

Google AI says "Check if your iPad case has magnetic closures ... , and try removing the case temporarily to see if your accuracy improves." The Apple case I use with my iPad does feature magnetic closures so I will try removing the case. Although that might help reduce magnetic interference, it might not eliminate the problem because the iPad itself has a built-in magnet that is used to attach an Apple Pencil.

All of that being said, the amateur scientist in me thinks it's also possible the "Theodolite" AR might be a little off, especially since I calibrated the Apple iPad compass before using "Theodolite" to photograph the solstice sunset. I'm just saying, multivariate analysis isn't easy.

Monday, June 22, 2026

GoPro Panoramic Sky Lapse

The following panoramic time lapse video shows the sky above Fairfax County, Virginia USA on 15 June 2026. The video was recorded using my GoPro HERO4 Black action camera mounted on an inexpensive mechanical one-hour kitchen timer. The camera was set for "Video" mode / "Time Lapse Video" submode at a resolution of 4K and an interval of two (2) seconds.

15 June 2026 | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

The following panoramic composite image was taken using the "Camera" app on my Apple iPad mini 6, set for "Pano" mode.

15 JUN 2026. 3:15 PM. Panoramic view. (16080 x 3900 pixels.)

Sometimes I like my "misfires" as much as the wider panoramic composite images such as the one shown above.

15 JUN 2026. 3:18 PM.

Related Resources: Posts on Walter Sanford's blog with the label "GoPro."

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Theodolite

Theodolite is an award-winning app for Apple iOS that has many applications for my sky watching activities. Wait, what is a "theodolite?"

A surveyor's instrument for measuring horizontal and usually also vertical angles. Source credit: Merriam-Webster (dictionary).

Tracking cloud motion

I used the "Theodolite" app to determine the position of the four cardinal points for my location. That enables me to know the direction clouds are moving across the sky.

15 JUN 2026 | Facing north.

15 JUN 2026 | Facing east.

15 JUN 2026 | Facing south.

OK, I was a little off-center for the direction "south."

15 JUN 2026 | Facing west.

Tracking weather satellites

Radio signals from polar orbiting weather satellites can be received using free software and relatively inexpensive hardware including an RTL-SDR and V-dipole antenna. For best results the V-dipole antenna should be oriented north-south, with the open end of the "V" facing south. For more information, see the following article: Simple NOAA/Meteor Weather Satellite Antenna: A 137 MHz V-Dipole.

Oh by the way, of course I used the "Theodolite" app to determine the direction of north and south relative to the position of my portable rig for reception of weather satellite radio signals.

Tracking daily- and annual cycles in the Sun's apparent path across the sky

The June Solstice will occur at 8:25 UTC on 21 June 2026 (4:25 a.m. EDT), according to the Earth's Seasons - Equinoxes, Solstices, Perihelion, and Aphelion page, Astronomical Applications Department, U.S. Naval Observatory.

The Motions of the Sun Simulator can be used to explore the apparent motion of the Sun across the sky on the June Solstice. The following screenshot shows the simulator configured for 21 June at 12 noon. Be sure to set the "animation mode" for "continuous" and "loop day," as shown in the following graphic.

"Motions of the Sun Simulator" set for 21 JUN at 38.8 N latitude.

Notice the Sun rises along the northeastern horizon and sets along the northwestern horizon. At Washington, D.C. (38.89° North latitude and 77.03° degrees West longitude) the Sun reaches a maximum altitude of 74.7° above the horizon, the highest maximum altitude all year. "This maximum angle occurs precisely at local solar noon, which usually happens around 1:00 PM EDT due to the Earth's axial tilt of 23.5° and daylight saving time adjustments." Source Credit: Google AI.

Also notice the odd-looking figure eight that is shown in red on the preceding screenshot. It's called an analemma. The crest of the figure eight shows the Sun's maximum northern latitude on the June Solstice.

Many years ago I used the "Theodolite" app to show the direction of sunrise on the March Equinox. You might want to do something similar for either sunrise or sunset on the June Solstice.

20 MAR 2011 | 7:12 a.m. | Facing east.

Tech Tips

The following settings were selected under "PREFS" (upper-left corner) / "Camera Options...": "Screenshot"; "Photo Size" <100%>; and "Also Save Regular Image" <Yes>.

The "Theodolite" app isn't available for devices running the Android OS. According to Google AI, the top-rated comparable app is "Sololocator - GPS Field Camera" ($0.99), available from Google Play.

Related Resources

Theodolite Augmented Reality Navigation Viewfinder for iPhone and iPad
Theodolite / Theodolite HD User Manual
Earth's Seasons - Equinoxes, Solstices, Perihelion, and Aphelion - Astronomical Applications Department, U.S. Naval Observatory
Motions of the Sun Simulator - University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Physics and Astronomy
Position of the Sun on the horizon at sunrise - University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Equinox sunrise - walter sanford's photoblog
Sunrise Positions in Washington, D.C. - a post from my old Web server, rescued from the Wayback Machine Internet Archive, featuring a time series of photos by Dr. Robert Weinbeck, American Meteorological Society

Friday, June 12, 2026

Field testing the Viltrox DC-A1 camera monitor

The following YouTube video includes three time lapse video clips that show the sky over Fairfax County, Virginia USA during the afternoon on 09 June 2026. Three photo sets were captured using a Fujifilm X-T3, 18-55mm kit lens, and Viltrox DC-A1 camera monitor. Each photo set was rendered to video using Apple "QuickTime Player"; each movie clip was edited using Apple "Photos." The final video was created using DaVinci Resolve.

09 June 2026 | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

The sky was overcast to mostly cloudy, covered by high level cirroform clouds at 25,000 feet. Notice the cirrocumulus clouds visible in all three video clips.

Source Credit: KDCA | National Weather Service.

Tech Tips

A "Viltrox DC-A1 2800 Nits 7-Inch Camera Monitor" enabled me to see the camera display clearly, even in direct afternoon sunlight. The monitor sells for $278.00 MSRP; I bought it on sale for $236.30 from B&H Photo. The DC-A1 comes with a snap-on/off Sun Hood, L-series/NP-F550 battery, HDMI Type-A cable, HDMI Type-A to Mini-HDMI cable, and USB-C power cable (USB-C to USB-A), among other accessories.

My Fujifilm X-T3 connects to the Viltrox DC-A1 via a micro-HDMI to full-size HDMI cable, not included with the monitor. (My Fujifilm X-T1 features a mini-HDMI connector, but HDMI Output works only during Playback.)

The Viltrox DC-A1 can be used to show the display of my Apple iPad mini 6 by connecting the iPad to a CalDigit SOHO Dock via a USB-C cable, then connecting the SOHO to the Viltrox DC-A1 via a full-size HDMI cable. Although the display size of the Apple iPad mini and Viltrox DC-A1 is similar, the DC-A1 is much brighter than the iPad (as shown below).

It's all about "nits."

"nits" is a quantitative measure of screen brightness. The following bulleted list shows the brightness (in nits) for many of the cameras and devices I own.

Viltrox DC-A1 Camera Monitor = 2800 nits
Apple iPad mini 6 = 500 nits
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ = 480 nits
Fujifilm X-T3 = estimated 300-400 nits
Fujifilm X-T1 = no official rating (seems to be dimmer than X-T3)
Panasonic DMC-FZ300 = estimated 400-500 nits
Canon EOS 5D Mark II = estimated 350-400 nits
GoPro HERO4 Black action camera = There is no viewfinder screen on the back of the HERO4 Black, only a small "Camera Status Screen" on the front of the camera. (GoPro "Quik" app runs on Apple iPad mini 6, therefore 500 nits.)
Skyflow (iOS app) = Runs on Apple iPad mini 6, therefore 500 nits.

In contrast with the Viltrox DC-A1, the highly rated Atomos Ninja 5.2" 4K HDMI Recording Monitor has a smaller screen, isn't as bright (1,000 nits), and sells for a higher price ($589.00 MSRP). Yes, the Atomos can record video, but so can my cameras.

So why don't camera manufacturers make cameras with brighter LCDs? My best guess is it's all about optimizing camera battery life. The Viltrox DC-A1 battery is much bigger than most camera batteries and it still drains quickly. Very quickly. And so would camera batteries if they were used to power brighter screens.

Related Resources: Posts on Walter Sanford's blog with the label "Fujifilm X-T3" and "Fujifilm X-T1."

Monday, June 8, 2026

More Fisheye on the Sky

The following YouTube video -- including two "all sky" time lapse videos and a panoramic composite image -- shows the sky over Fairfax County, Virginia USA during the afternoon of 01 June 2026. A Fujifilm X-T1 plus Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens was used to capture the two "all sky" time lapse video clips. The panoramic composite image was captured using the "Camera" app on an iPad mini 6, set for "Pano" mode.

The entire dome of the sky is shown in the 190° circular field of view in the "all sky" time lapse videos: the zenith is located in the center of circle; the horizon is located around the outer rim of the circle. The sky was covered by low level cumuliform clouds and high level cirroform clouds. Notice the wind shear between the lower- and upper level clouds: the cumiliform clouds are streaming from north to south; the cirroform clouds are streaming from west to east.

01 June 2016 | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

The tree on the left side of the panoramic composite image is the same one shown in the second time lapse video clip.

Tech Tips

DaVinci Resolve was used to create the YouTube video. Not bad for my second video created using DaVinci, if I do say so myself.

Two short video clips and one composite panoramic image were used to create the movie. In order to avoid losing frames of content, "jump cuts" were used between the three media segments. Simple "fade out/in" transitions (one second) were used for the title- and credits screens, respectively.

Related Resources

Field testing an X-T1 for time lapsing - after action report - a blog post by Walter Sanford
More quick-and-dirty video editing using QuickTime Player - another blog post by Walter Sanford
DaVinci Resolve Instruction Manual (PDF)

Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Field testing an X-T1 for time lapsing - after action report

I own three Fujifilm X Series cameras (featuring an APS-C sensor): an X-T1; X-T3; and X-T5. The camera body is slightly bigger and heavier from the X-T1 to the X-T3 to the X-T5. To some extent that's a moot point when the camera is used for time lapsing, since it is mounted on a tripod. But it's worth noting because for me part of the appeal of the X-T1 was it's smaller and lighter than my Canon 5D Mark II full-frame sensor camera.

The X-T1 = 16.3 MP (number of effective pixels). The X-T3 = 26.1 MP. And the X-T5 = 40.2 MP. In some ways, the X-T3 is the Goldilocks of my Fujifilm cameras -- it takes photos that are neither too small nor too big -- they're just the right size for time lapsing.

Why try the X-T1 for time lapsing?

So why did I decide to field test the X-T1 for creating time lapses? Because I would rather not have to change lenses every time I want to shoot either an "all sky" time lapse or "wide angle" time lapse. You might be asking yourself "Isn't interchangeable lenses one of the more compelling reasons to buy a better camera?" Yes, it is. But every time you remove a lens from the camera body is an opportunity for dust to settle on the camera sensor. And that's not good. So I prefer to change lenses only when necessary, under controlled conditions.

My tentative plan was to be able to use my X-T1 with the Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens for "all sky" time lapses and use my X-T3 with the 18-55mm kit lens for "wide angle" time lapses. My plan probably would work if I set the X-T1 to shoot JPEG only, but I prefer to shoot both JPEG plus RAW images. Although I don't always use the RAW files, I like to have them in case I need them.

Strike 1. The write speed is too slow!

In the end, the slower write speed of the X-T1 processor doomed my plan. A five (5) second interval is probably sufficient time for the camera to save both JPEG and RAW files to a memory card. In my experience a five (5) second interval for "sky lapses" makes time seem to pass too quickly, so that's a no go.

I prefer using a two (2) second interval for "sky lapses." I set the X-T1 for a three (3) second interval as a compromise to enable the camera to write files to the memory card. But it was immediately evident the X-T1 struggled to write files that quickly. (It's worth noting the X-T3 can save compressed RAW files (RAW RECORDING > COMPRESSED); the X-T1 cannot.)

Strike 2. The X-T1 LCD is too difficult to see outside!

The X-T1 LCD screen doesn't have an official rating for brightness (in nits) but it might be the dimmest screen of all the cameras I own. I had to remove the camera from the tripod and go to a shady place in order to test exposure and make the settings for "INTERVAL TIMER SHOOTING" and I still struggled to see the screen.

Strike 3. You're out!

I bought a new Viltrox DC-A1 field monitor with a brightness rating of 2,800 nits. HDMI Output from the X-T1 is Playback only, so no joy there. (The X-T3 works beautifully with the Viltrox. More about that in an upcoming blog post.)

What are the take-aways?

A sample size of one proves nothing but as a result of my field test I'm fairly confident in saying the X-T1 is not the best tool in my camera toolbox for time lapsing.

That being said, the X-T1 is still a very useful camera for simple still photography and videography (although I don't shoot enough video to be sure about the latter).

Related Resources

More quick-and-dirty video editing using QuickTime Player - a blog post by Walter Sanford
Posts on Walter Sanford's blog with the label "Fujifilm X-T3."
Why I LOVE the Fujifilm X-T3 Camera (10:14) - a YouTube video by pal2tech (Chris Lee)

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Sunday, May 24, 2026

DaVinci debut

The following video features two time lapse video clips that show the sky over Fairfax County, Virginia USA during the afternoon on 13 May 2026. This is my first video produced using "DaVinci Resolve."

The video looks best when viewed in full-screen mode.

The entire dome of the sky is shown in the 190° circular field of view: the zenith is located in the center of the image; the horizon is located around the outer rim of the circle. The clouds are moving from southwest to northeast across the sky.

Related Resource: Fisheye on the Sky - a blog post by Walter Sanford

Post update: Two of my friends have been telling me to flip the upside-down tree in Scene 2. (Apparently an upside-down tree caused them to feel cognitive dissonance.) So I flipped the scene.

Scene 2 flipped vertically.

Then my friends suggested both clips should be flipped so the atmosphere appears to flow in the same direction in both clips. So I did.

Both scenes flipped vertically.

Which version do you prefer?

Walter Sanford's Blog

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

What's wrong with this picture?

Thursday, August 6, 2026

Oh beautiful ...

Sunday, August 2, 2026

X-T3 Sky Lapse

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Another GoPro Panoramic Sky Lapse

Thursday, July 23, 2026

22 degree halo

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Backdoor cold front

Monday, June 29, 2026

Using a Fujifilm X-T1 for time lapsing, revisited

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Solstice sunset

Monday, June 22, 2026

GoPro Panoramic Sky Lapse

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Theodolite

Friday, June 12, 2026

Field testing the Viltrox DC-A1 camera monitor

Monday, June 8, 2026

More Fisheye on the Sky

Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Field testing an X-T1 for time lapsing - after action report

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

More quick-and-dirty video editing using QuickTime Player

Sunday, May 24, 2026

DaVinci debut

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