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!

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

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."

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

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."

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

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)

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

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

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All right reserved.

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?

Quick-and-dirty video editing using QuickTime

Simple video editing is as easy as drag-and-drop using Apple "QuickTime Player," as shown in the following example.

"Fisheye on the Sky" | 13 May 2026 | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

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 video was created by following these simple steps.

1. Open the first video clip using Apple "QuickTime Player."
2. Drag-and-drop the next video clip on top of the open "QuickTime Player" window.
3. Repeat as often as necessary to add more video clips.
4. Click the "Done" button on the video timeline.
5. Drag-and-drop a music track on top of the open "QuickTime Player" window.
6. Click the "Done" button on the video timeline.
7. Save the edited movie using a new filename.

Video segments are separated by a "jump cut" -- smooth transitions aren't supported by QuickTime. So far I haven't experimented with adding a title screen at the beginning of the movie and a credits screen at the end, but I know it is possible.

How to combine video clips

Source Credit: Google AI.

How to add music to a video

Source Credit: Google AI.

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

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Fisheye on the Sky

Two time series of photos were taken during the afternoon on 13 May 2026 using my Fujifilm X-T3 camera and a Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens. Apple "QuickTime Player" was used to render JPEG images from each photo set into a time lapse video. Both videos were edited using Apple "Photos."

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 398 photos: first image = 1:38 PM; last image = 1:58 PM. 20 minutes of actual recording time resulted in ~13 seconds of "raw" time lapse video, given the recording settings I used.

The "Scene 2" time lapse video was created from 424 photos: first image = 2:02 PM; last image = 2:23 PM. 21 minutes of actual recording time resulted in ~14 seconds of "raw" time lapse video.

Low-, middle- and high level clouds were moving across the sky from the south-southwest to north-northeast. A southerly wind was steady at ~15-20 mph, gusting to ~25-30 mph.

Source Credit: KDCA | National Weather Service.

Panoramic Images

The following panoramic composite images were 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 on the left side of the first panoramic image (below).

13 May 2026. 2:34 PM. Panoramic view. (16352 x 3900 pixels.)

13 May 2026. 2:39 PM. Panoramic view. (14762 x 3598 pixels.)

13 May 2026. 2:42 PM. Panoramic view. (11480 x 3824 pixels.)

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 1/2,500 s. 

The camera was set to record FINE+RAW, in L 3:2 format (6240 x 4160 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.

Tech Tips

The Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens, mounted on a Fujifilm X-T3 camera with an APS-C sensor, produces an image that nearly fills a square with the dimensions of 4160 x 4160 pixels. I set the camera to record images using a 3:2 aspect ratio (6240 x 4160 pixels), so the entire field of view is recorded with black "bars" on both sides of the image.

Warning: 16:9 format (6240 x 3512 pixels) results in an image that is cropped at the top and bottom for this camera/lens combination. Since 4K video has an aspect ratio of 16:9 the top and bottom of the photos will be cropped so that the "all sky" field of view is lost, as shown in the following video.

"Fisheye on the Sky" (0:35) - a YouTube video by Walter Sanford

It's worth noting the two time lapse clips with a 3:2 aspect ratio look fine in the Apple "iMovie" timeline, but they are cropped when the project is exported in 4K.

You might be wondering "How is Apple "QuickTime Player" able to create videos with a 3:2 aspect ratio?" (like the two videos at the beginning of this blog post). "QuickTime" features an "Actual Size..." setting for Resolution (shown below) that enables the creation of time lapse videos with a 3:2 aspect ratio.

Resolution: Actual Size...

What's Next?

I need to learn how to create videos using a 3:2 aspect ratio so that I can add titles, transitions, credits, and a music track as easily as I can using Apple "iMovie." Advice from readers of my blog is invited and welcome. I look forward to seeing your suggestions.

Related Resources

• Circular fisheye lens - a blog post by Walter Sanford (Hey, that's me!)
• Sky Arch - another one of my blog posts, documenting my failed attempt to use a GoPro HERO4 Black action camera to create an all sky video
• How to make a timelapse with iMovie (7:17) - a YouTube video by Matthew Vandeputte [Note: Matthew demonstrates how to use Apple "QuickTime" to make a time lapse video, beginning at the ~4:50 s mark.]
• Posts on Walter Sanford's blog with the label "Fujifilm X-T3."

Post update: With the aid of Google AI, I was able to figure out how to add a music track to a QuickTime movie.

Scene 1 time lapse video (with music track)

How? Follow these simple directions. Thanks, Google!

Source Credit: Google AI.

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Circular fisheye lens

The following photo was taken during the afternoon on 08 May 2026 using my Fujifilm X-T3 camera and a Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens. The camera was facing in a northerly direction. Low level cumuliform clouds were moving across the sky for most of the afternoon.

08 May 2026. 1:51 PM. Fisheye view. (4160 x 4160 pixels.)

This was my first field test of the Meike lens. I'm encouraged by the quality of the photos that I shot. Maybe next time I'll remember to set the camera to record RAW images. Fog of war. That being said, a sample size of one proves nothing. I look forward to testing the lens more thoroughly in the near future.

Panoramic Images

The following panoramic composite images were 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 top of the preceding fisheye photo.

08 May 2026. 1:32 PM. Panoramic view. (15711 x 3934 pixels.)

08 May 2026. 1:35 PM. Panoramic view. (15210 x 3688 pixels.)

The midday Sun in late spring is high in the sky, making it difficult to shoot photos of the sky that don't show the disc of the Sun, given the 190° field of view of the Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens. Direct sunlight can cause damage to the camera lens and sensor. Both the tree and a passing cloud blocked direct sunlight when the fisheye photo was taken.

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 infinity (∞) mark. The Shutter Speed was set for 1/1,600 s. 

The camera was set to record JPEG only (L Fine), in L 1:1 format (4160 x 4160 pixels). I thought the square format might be better for photos that could be used to create time lapse videos.

In retrospect, it might have been better to record the images in 3:2 format (6240 x 4160 pixels) in order to allow more flexibilty for cropping and annotating images. Warning: 16:9 format (6240 x 3512 pixels) results in an image that is cropped at the top and bottom for this camera/lens combination.

Tech Tips

The Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens is a manual lens -- completely manual, as in there are no electronic contacts that enable the lens to communicate with the camera. In order to take photos using the lens you must set the camera to "SHOOT WITHOUT LENS," as shown in the following video.

There's one caveat: You can use the Fujifilm "XApp" to shoot photos without setting the camera to "SHOOT WITHOUT LENS." My recommendation? Set it and forget it. That way your camera will work with or without connecting to the "XApp."

The preceding "how to" video was recorded using HDMI Output from my Fujifilm X-T3 camera. A micro-HDMI cable was connected to the HDMI connector on the camera, and tethered to my Apple iPad mini 6 using a MavisLink Video Capture Card (HDMI to USB) and Apple USB-C to USB-A Adapter (also known as an OTG adapter). "Dongled," a free Apple iOS app, was used to display HDMI video from the camera; the iPad display was captured using screen recording.

The Backstory

I own a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (RPi). I bought it to use for capturing images from polar-orbiting weather satellites. Well, that was the plan but it never worked as well as I hoped.

I haven't used my RPi since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration decommissioned all of its Automatic Picture Transmission polar-orbiting weather satellites. I've been thinking about repurposing the RPi as an "all sky camera" by adding a camera/lens and installing free open source software for controlling the camera.

As I was researching cameras and lenses that can be used with my RPi, I noticed some information and videos related to fisheye lenses that are used for capturing all sky imagery with APS-C cameras like my Fujifilm X Series cameras. I realized a wide angle "circular fisheye" lens is perfect for my needs.

I started shopping online and quickly discovered the Meike MK-6.5mm f/2 Circular Fisheye Lens for FUJIFILM X seemed to be one of the better lenses on the market, and its $130 price point made it very attractive. I bought the lens from B&H Photo on Wednesday, 29 March 2026; it was delivered on Friday, 01 May 2026. 

The lens was supposed to come with a "lens pouch"; the pouch wasn't in the box. By the time I contacted B&H on Thursday, 07 May 2026 the lens had been "Discontinued" by B&H. I asked Marvin C., the B&H product specialist with whom I chatted, "How do we make this right?" Marvin suggested I contact Meike. Good luck with that, Marvin! Meike is a Chinese company whose "Contact Us" Web page doesn't include a link for resolving issues like mine.

I didn't buy the lens from Meike -- I bought the lens from B&H Photo therefore I think the missing lens pouch is a B&H problem. The old B&H Photo that I grew to know and love would have offered to provide a lens pouch for similar sized lenses, free of charge. But that didn't happen.

B&H Photo has been my go-to store for photography gear. Over many years I've purchased a lot of gear from B&H. As a result, I expect better customer service than I received. Are you listening B&H? This is how businesses lose loyal customers.

Related Resources 

• Meike MK-6.5mm f/2 Circular Fisheye Lens for FUJIFILM X - B&H Photo
• Meike 6.5mm f2 for Fuji X Series | The Widest Fujifilm X Mount Lens?! (9:38) - a YouTube video by Damian Brown
• Meike 6.5mm f/2 Circular Fisheye lens review with samples (6:55) - a YouTube video by Christopher Frost
• Posts on Walter Sanford's blog with the label "Fujifilm X-T3."
• Take a screen recording on iPad - Apple Support | Take a screenshot on iPad - Apple Support

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

[Gotta get] Back In Time

My Fujifilm X-T3 camera was used to shoot four photo sets of the sky over Fairfax County, Virginia USA during the afternoon on 20 April 2026. The four scenes are shown in reverse chronological order in the following time lapse video.

Did you catch the music/movie reference in the title of this blog post? "Back In Time" is a song by Huey Lewis & The News from the soundtrack of the movie "Back to the Future."

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 20 April 2026 nearest the times when I recorded the photos used to create the time lapse video.

Source Credit: KDCA | National Weather Service.

Low level cumuliform clouds were reported at 4,000 to 7,000 feet. Wind was ~15 mph, gusting 25-30 mph as a cold front passed.

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 JPEG + RAW.

The ELECTRONIC LEVEL (green line) was turned on. The manual focus DEPTH-OF-FIELD SCALE (blue bar), set for "FILM FORMAT BASIS," indicated everything from slightly more than five (5) feet to infinity was acceptably in focus, as shown in the following HDMI screenshot of the X-T3 LCD.

ELECTRONIC LEVEL (green line) | DEPTH OF FIELD SCALE (blue bar)

The camera was set for a two (2) second interval between photos.

• Scene 1 = 343 photos
• Scene 2 = 310 photos
• Scene 3 = 319 photos
• Scene 4 = 467 photos

Scene 4 ended when the camera turned off because the battery was dead. But hey, I was able to shoot 1,439 photos on a single charge -- that's fairly good!

Adobe Photoshop 2026 was used to render Scene 1; Apple "QuickTime" was used to render Scene 2-4. Apple "Photos" was used to post-process all four scenes. Titles, transitions, credits, and a music track were added using Apple "iMovie."

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

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Fujifilm X-T3 Sky Lapse

My last blog post describes field testing my Fujifilm X-T3 for making time lapse videos, when two sets of photos were taken: the first set was used to create the following "Sky Lapse" time lapse video; next I shot the set used to create the "Road Lapse" featured in my last post.

The camera was facing east toward the sky from the 6th floor of a seven-story parking garage. A time series of 302 JPG photos was shot from 12:06 pm to 12:21 pm using a three (3) second interval. 15 minutes of actual recording time resulted in approximately 10 seconds of time lapse video, given the recording settings I used.

31 March 2026. Facing east.

A few thin, wispy cirroform clouds were the only clouds in the sky. 

Panoramic Image

The following panoramic composite image was taken from the top of the same parking garage using the "Camera" app on my Apple iPad mini 6, set for "Pano" mode. The camera panned nearly 360° from west-northwest to south-southeast.

31 March 2026 at 12:42 pm. Panoramic view. (16350 x 3790 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 31 March 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.

A few clouds were reported at 25,000 feet. At that altitude, the cloud types were high level cirroform clouds.

Tech Tips

My Fujifilm X-T3 camera was set for manual exposure and manual focus. Aperture was set for f/11. 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 three (3) second interval to be sure there was enough time for the camera to write the FINE+RAW files to a memory card. Each Fine JPG is 8.1 MB; each RAW (RAF) is 56.1 MB. In retrospect, my usual two (2) second interval probably would have worked.

I set the camera to use the Fujifilm "Velvia/VIVID" "Film Simulation" in the hope it would add a little "pop" to the clouds in the sky. In this case, the film simulation didn't help with the thin, wispy clouds. I haven't edited the RAW files I recorded -- maybe I can tweak them to look better than the JPEGs that were processed in-camera.

Related Resource: Field test: Fujifilm X-T3 time lapse - a blog post by Walter Sanford.

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Field test: Fujifilm X-T3 time lapse

You know, there's more than one way to make a time lapse video and I'm a man on a mission to field test all of the gear I own that can create time lapses.

I decided to test the "Interval Timer Shooting" feature of my Fujifilm X-T3 camera. The camera has a built-in intervalometer; it doesn't do in-camera rendering of photos to video.

My camera was facing east from the 6th floor of a seven-story parking garage. A time series of 311 JPG photos was shot from 12:24 pm to 12:29 pm using a one (1) second interval. Five (5) minutes of actual recording time resulted in approximately 10 seconds of time lapse video, given the recording settings I used.

All trees "flower," some more noticeably than others, like the ones with purple- or white flowers shown in the video. At the time when this video was recorded many trees were almost in full leaf. In my experience, that's two weeks earlier than usual despite record-setting cold during this past winter.

Panoramic Image

The following panoramic composite image was taken from the 6th floor of the parking garage using the "Camera" app on my Apple iPad mini 6, set for "Pano" mode. The camera was facing east. No, the black metal safety railing isn't actually curved.

31 March 2026. Facing east.

Tech Tips

My Fujifilm X-T3 camera was set for manual exposure and manual focus. Aperture was set for f/11. 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 JPEG.

The ELECTRONIC LEVEL (green line) was turned on. The manual focus DEPTH-OF-FIELD SCALE (blue bar), set for "FILM FORMAT BASIS," indicated everything from slightly more than three (3) feet to infinity was acceptably in focus, as shown in the following HDMI screenshot of the X-T3 LCD.

ELECTRONIC LEVEL (green line) | DEPTH-OF-FIELD SCALE (blue bar)

Fujifilm "Film Simulations" are "recipes" for recording JPG files in-camera. ("Film Simulations" aren't applied to RAW files.) I set the camera to use the "Velvia/VIVID" "Film Simulation." ("Vibrant reproduction, ideal for landscape and nature." Source Credit: Fujifilm.)

Apple "QuickTime" was used to render the video; the output was edited using Apple "Photos." Titles, credits, and a music bed were added using Apple "iMovie."

Related Resources 

• "Road Lapse" along Richmond Highway - a blog post by Walter Sanford
• Time-Lapse Photography: A Complete Guide [using Fujifilm X-T3 camera] (37:56) - a YouTube video by pal2tech
• Fujifilm Depth of Field Focus Scale (8:37) - a YouTube video by pal2tech
• Fuji Depth of Field Scale Pixel Basis vs Film Format Basis (4:15) - a YouTube video by Grandads Reviews

Editorial Commentary: Both "pal2tech" and "Grandads Reviews" are correct in their explanation of how the Fujifilm "Depth-of-Field Scale" works but I chose to follow "Grandads Reviews" recommendation to set the scale for "Film Format Basis" when doing landscape photography.

I think the Fujifilm "Depth-of-Field Scale" set for "Film Format Basis" looks like and works similarly to the manual focus scale (yellow bar) featured in my Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ150, shown below.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ150 LCD showing manual focus scale (yellow bar).

Looking at my photos, I'm satisfied with the results from using the "Film Format Basis" setting.

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.