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. (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.

Panorama Photos

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 tethering to the "XApp."

The preceding "how to" video was recorded using HDMI out from my Fujifilm X-T3 camera. A micro HDMI cable was connected to the HDMI port on my camera, and tethered to my Apple iPad mini 6 using a MavisLink Video Capture Card (HDMI to USB) and Apple OTG adapter (USB to USB-C). "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
• Blog posts with label "Fujifilm X-T3."

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Sky Arch

The following panoramic time lapse video shows an arching view across the sky above Fairfax County, Virginia USA on 27 April 2026. The video was recorded using my GoPro HERO4 Black action camera mounted on an inexpensive "Orbit" two-hour mechanical hose watering timer. The camera was set for "Video" mode / "Time Lapse Video" submode at a resolution of 4K and an interval of two (2) seconds.

The camera pans from the western horizon to the southern horizon, passing near the zenith at the apex of the arc.

I thought the camera view would auto-rotate after the camera passed the apex of the arc. It didn't, as you can see in the video. I was fooled because the camera view auto-rotates during Preview, as expected. As it turns out the GoPro locks the camera orientation at the beginning of a time lapse video, as well as regular video.

GoPro "Sky Arch" rig, in situ.

Did you notice part of the mount for the "Orbit" timer is visible at the end of the video? I was concerned that might be a problem. Perhaps it would have helped to mount the "Sky Arch" camera rig vertically, as shown in the following photo.

GoPro "Sky Arch" rig, mounted vertically.

The following screenshots from the GoPro "Quik" app show the settings I selected for Auto-Rotation.

Settings | Camera Preferences

Settings | Camera Preferences | Auto-Rotation

Related Resources: Blog posts with label "two-hour 'Orbit' timer."

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Panoramic Cumulapse

The following panoramic time lapse video shows the sky over Fairfax County, Virginia USA during the afternoon on 20 April 2026. The camera pans counterclockwise from east-northeast to south-southwest.

The sky was filled with low level cumuliform clouds.

Tech Tips

Two video segments were recorded using my GoPro HERO4 Black action camera mounted on an inexpensive one-hour mechanical kitchen timer (available from Amazon): the first video segment is 14:11 seconds of "raw" video; the second segment is 36:19 seconds.

The camera was set for "Video" mode / "Time Lapse Video" submode at a resolution of 4K and an interval of one (1) second. This is the first time I've used a one (1) second interval for "sky lapses." I think the resulting video looks a little "smoother" than my go-to interval setting of two (2) seconds. 

There is no viewfinder screen on the back of the HERO4 Black, only a small "Camera Status Screen" on the front of the camera. Although it’s possible to operate the HERO4 Black manually using only the small screen on the front of the camera, it’s less than ideal for navigating menus and making settings.

In my opinion, it’s much easier to pair the camera with either a smart phone or tablet running the GoPro “Quik” app and use one of those devices to control the camera remotely. In this case I used the GoPro "Quik" app [Version 13.20.2 (18532)] -- running on an Apple iPad mini 6 -- to compose the scene.

You go, GoPro!

The GoPro HERO4 Black is easy to use for creating time lapse videos and works well. Under ideal conditions (primarily good light) the GoPro works as well or better than more expensive photography gear I own. For example, compare/contrast the GoPro time lapse video (shown above) with the time lapse video output from my Fujifilm X-T3, shot a little earlier the same day.

And it's worth mentioning the mechanical one-hour kitchen timer works as well as sliders that cost hundreds of dollars. That's why I refer to it fondly as "the little kitchen timer that could."

Related Resources

• "CommerciaLapse" is a blog post by Walter Sanford that provides detailed information about how the kitchen timer can be mounted on a tripod.
• Blog posts with label "one-hour kitchen timer."
• [Gotta get] Back In Time - another blog post by Walter Sanford that features time lapse video from 20 April 2026 created using my Fujifilm X-T3 camera.

Post update: If you look closely at the second video clip, then you will see slight camera "jitter" that's noticeable when looking at the top of the concrete wall shown in the foreground. Don't blame the one-hour kitchen timer -- the "jitter" was caused by my failure to lock in position all of the adjustment knobs on my tripod/ball head. That isn't a problem when the wind is calm. Problem is I wasn't expecting the 30 mph wind gusts that began after I started the time lapse. From now on my new mantra is "Hope for the best; prepare for the worst."

"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 time when I recorded the time lapse video. Wind was ~15 mph, gusting 25-30 mph as a cold front passed.

Source Credit: KDCA | National Weather Service.

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 bed were added using Apple "iMovie."

Related Resource: Blog posts with label "Fujifilm X-T3."

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

CommerciaLapse

The following panoramic time lapse video shows the view from the parking lot of a Giant Food grocery store located in Fairfax County, Virginia USA. The camera pans counterclockwise from north-northeast to south-southwest.

11 April 2026.

The video was recorded using my GoPro HERO4 Black action camera mounted on an inexpensive one-hour mechanical kitchen timer (available from Amazon). The camera was set for "Video" mode / "Time Lapse Video" submode at a resolution of 4K and an interval of one (1) second. Approximately 18 minutes of actual recording time resulted in 35 seconds of "raw" time lapse video, given the recording settings I used.

A sequence of three photos shows my latest magnet-free rig for mounting the mechanical kitchen timer on a tripod.

Side view of the rig.

The component parts, numbered in the preceding photo, are listed below.

1. GoPro J-hook buckle mount
2. GoPro flat adhesive mount
3. Kitchen timer (available from Amazon)
4. SmallRig Mount Plate for Magsafe Phones 5155
5. SmallRig Universal Power Bank Holder 2790
6. Manfrotto 323 RC2 Quick Release Adapter with 200PL-14 323

The SmallRig Mount Plate (4) is optional; the SmallRig Universal Power Bank Holder (5) is essential. The latter is so secure I feel comfortable using the rig upside-down for clockwise rotation.

View from the bottom of the rig.

I mounted a GoPro flat adhesive mount on the kitchen timer using the same "cludgy" way I added an adhesive mount to my "Orbit" two-hour mechanical hose watering timer. The process is described in detail in an earlier blog post: "Post update: Minor modifications of 'Orbit' panoramic time lapse rig."

View from the top of the rig.

Magnet mounts

The one-hour mechanical kitchen timer has a flat top and bottom: the top is metal; the bottom is magnetic. Naturally I thought the best way to mount the kitchen timer on a camera tripod would be to use some type of magnetic mount. The following list shows all the magnet mounts I tested. Spoiler alert: Every magnet mount I tried failed, for one reason or another.

1. Ulanzi R101 Universl MagSafe to 1/4 20 Tripod Base Mount for iPhone - eBay
2. SmallRig Mount Plate for Magsafe Phones 5155 - B&H Photo Video
3. Master Magnet 65 lb. Heavy Duty Round Pull Magnets - Home Depot
4. Master Magnet 25 lb. Round Base Pull Magnets 96324 - Home Depot

The Ulanzi MagSafe tripod mount (1) is too weak for me to feel comfortable using it without a safety strap for the camera. The SmallRig Mount Plate (2) is a little stronger than the Ulanzi, but still not strong enough to be completely secure.

In contrast, the Master Magnet 65 lb. heavy duty magnet (3) is too strong -- the magnet is so strong it caused the metal kitchen timer to stop rotating unexpectedly, and the bell doesn't ring when time is up.

Finally the Master Magnet 25 lb. magnet (4) is better but still disabled the bell inside the timer, making me wonder whether the timer itself actually works properly. Buyer beware: The "Questions & Answers" section on the Home Depot product page for the 25 lb. magnet says the hole "will pass a 1/4" bolt." That's incorrect. A paper insert inside the plastic package says the hole is ".197 inch," not ≧ 0.25 inches. I would have known that if I hadn't ordered the item online. My "no tools necessary" design idealogy for repurposing inexpensive mechanical timers uses off-the-shelf, ready-to-use parts available at most hardware stores -- a hole that's too small for a 1/4-20" tripod mount breaks the "ready-to-use" clause.

So there it is, after trying and failing (four times) to make a magnet mount work I decided to try using some type of clamp for the kitchen timer. I repurposed a battery clamp that I bought for my Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD 45W (recommended by Fujifilm for use with my X-T Series cameras). I'm pleased to report the new rig performed well during field testing.

What are the take-aways?

Now I have two panoramic rigs that I can use with my GoPro HERO4 Black -- either a one-hour kitchen timer or two-hour "Orbit" timer -- mounted either right-side-up for counterclockwise rotation or upside-down for clockwise rotation. Cool, huh? Almost worth the wasted time and expense trying to make a magnet mount work. Almost. Anyway, trial and error is the best teacher, right?

Related Resources

• "Road Lapse" - Street Level - a blog post by Walter Sanford
• Sky Lapse 360 © 2025 - another blog post by Walter Sanford (introducing my panoramic mechanical kitchen timer)
• More power! - yet another blog post by Walter Sanford

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

"Road Lapse" - Street Level

The following panoramic time lapse video shows the view from the corner of Richmond Highway (U.S. Route 1) and Groveton Street in Fairfax County, Virginia USA during the afternoon of 11 April 2026.

The video was recorded using my GoPro HERO4 Black action camera mounted on an inexpensive one-hour mechanical kitchen timer (available from Amazon). The camera was set for "Video" mode / "Time Lapse Video" submode at a resolution of 4K and an interval of one (1) second. Approximately 18 minutes of actual recording time resulted in 35 seconds of "raw" time lapse video, given the recording settings I used.

Tech Tips

I mounted a GoPro flat adhesive mount on the kitchen timer using the same "cludgy" way I added an adhesive mount to my "Orbit" two-hour mechanical hose watering timer. The process is described in detail in an earlier blog post: "Post update: Minor modifications of 'Orbit' panoramic time lapse rig."

I recommend aligning the front of the action camera with the pointer/zero mark on the kitchen timer. I don't worry about setting 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 and start recording for as long as I need/want.

Related Resources

• Field Test: Fujifilm X-T3 time lapse - a blog post by Walter Sanford
• "Road Lapse" along Richmond Highway - another blog post by Walter Sanford
• Sky Lapse 360 © 2025 - yet another blog post by Walter Sanford (introducing my panoramic mechanical kitchen timer)
• Atmospheric Motion - one more blog post by Walter Sanford (showing a homemade safety strap for my GoPro HERO4 Black action camera)
• GoPro HERO4 Black User Manual

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. 

Panorama Photo

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.