Panoramic stratocumulapse

The following panoramic time lapse video shows the sky above Fairfax County, Virginia USA on 29 September 2026 beginning at 12:50 PM EDT. Two video segments were recorded using my GoPro HERO4 Black action camera mounted on an inexpensive mechanical one-hour kitchen timer. The camera pans counterclockwise beginning from the south-southeast, around past north, and ending to the southwest.

Experience has shown it can be challenging to align the camera so that everything looks level as the camera pans around the horizon.

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.

29 SEP 2026 | 1:22 PM | Panoramic view. (15831 × 3659 pixels.)

Some of the clouds in the preceding panoramic view looked dark and threatening and did in fact produce very light rain briefly during the shot.

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 29 September 2026 nearest the times when I recorded the time lapse videos and panoramic composite photo.

Source Credit: KDCA | National Weather Service

The "weather" was reported as overcast (OVC) during the entire photoshoot; the clouds reported under "sky condition" were all lower than 6,500 feet. Low level stratocumulus (Sc) clouds were moving across the sky from the northwest to southeast.

Tech Tips

The GoPro camera was set for "Video" mode / "Time Lapse Video" submode at a resolution of 4K and an interval of one (1) second.

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." 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.

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 13.39 (21291) running on an Apple iPad mini 6] to compose the scene.

Related Resources: Posts on Walter Sanford's blog with the labels "GoPro" and/or "one-hour kitchen timer."

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Quick Tips Tuesday

This is the first installment of an occasional series of shorter blog posts called "Quick Tips Tuesday" in which I will share one or more simple/useful gear/tech tips. For example, how to enable control of Sensitivity (ISO) and Shutter Speed from the front- and rear command dials on select Fujifilm X Series cameras.

The following photograph shows my Fujifilm X-T5, Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens, and clear green plastic spirit level mounted on the camera hotshoe. Notice the lens is set for an aperture of ~f/8 and the focus ring is set for ~3 ft. Yeah, yeah, I realize it looks like the focus ring is set for infinity but it's set for 3 ft, the hyperfocal distance for this lens at f/8. [For more information see "Hacks" for focusing Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens.]

Fujifilm X-T5 plus Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens.

The Sensitivity dial is set for "C" (command). This enables control of ISO from the front command dial in 1/3 stop increments.

Fujifilm X-T5 Owner's Manual | Taking Photographs / Sensitivity

The Shutter speed dial is set for "T" (Time). This setting enables control of Shutter speed from the rear command dial in 1/3 stop increments.

Fujifilm X-T5 Owner's Manual | Taking Photographs / P, S, A, and M Modes

The "C" setting on the Sensitivity dial (ISO) isn't available on either my Fujifilm X-T3 or X-T1. The "T" setting on the Shutter speed dial is available on all three Fujifilm X Series camera I own (X-T5, X-T3, and X-T1).

Related Resource: "Mr. T" is 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.

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Another stratocumulapse

The following YouTube video shows two time lapse views of the sky over Fairfax County, Virginia USA during the afternoon on 18 September 2026. 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.

Fairfax County, Virginia USA

18 SEP 2026 | 1:07 PM to 1:35 PM

Stratocumulus clouds (Sc) were streaming across the sky from north to south, as shown in the preceding time lapse video segments. After watching the video, perhaps you might agree with me that "Break Through the Clouds II" is an appropriate title for the song used as the music bed in my video.

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

18 SEP 2026 | 3:06 PM | Panoramic view. (16239 × 3834 pixels.)

Although some of the clouds in the preceding panoramic view looked dark and threatening, they didn't produce precipitation. The following local radar "Super-Res Reflectivity 1" image, saved using the "RadarScope" app, shows widely scattered rain showers across Virginia.

NWS KLWX Sterling [Virginia] | 3:29 PM EDT

"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 18 SEP 2026 near the times when I recorded the photos used to create the time lapse video segments, and the panoramic composite image.

Source Credit: KDCA | National Weather Service.

The clouds in the sky were mostly low level stratocumulus clouds (Sc) [from the Earth's surface to 2 km (0 - 6,500 ft)], as shown by the preceding table of weather observations.

Tech Tips

My Fujifilm X-T5 camera was set for manual exposure and manual focus. The focal length of the Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens is, well, 6.5mm (~9.75mm to 10mm, 35mm equivalent). Aperture was set for ~f/8. The focus ring was set for ~3 ft, the hyperfocal distance at f/8. Shutter Speed was 1/1,250 s for the first video clip; 1/1,600 s for the second clip. ISO was set for 125. White Balance was accidentally set for 10,000 K (Kelvin), adding extreme orange-red warmth to the original JPG photos, and was corrected during post-processing. Aspect Ratio was set for M 3:2 (5472 x 3648 pixels). Image Quality was set for FINE+RAW (Fine JPEG plus LOSSLESS COMPRESSED RAF). A two (2) second interval was used between photos.

The camera-lens combo was mounted on a ball head/tripod so that the lens is pointed at the zenith. A green plastic spirit level mounted on the X-T5 hot shoe, used to level the camera body in this orientation.

Two photo sets were rendered to video using Apple "QuickTime Player"; the resulting movie clips were edited using Apple "Photos." The final YouTube video was created using DaVinci Resolve.

Related Resources 

• "Road Lapse" and "Sky Lapse" along Richmond Highway" - a blog post by Walter Sanford featuring a time lapse video that was recorded after the two time lapse videos- and before the panoramic view included in this post.
• Posts on Walter Sanford's Blog sorted by relevance for the query "road lapse."
• Posts on Walter Sanford's Blog with the label "Opteka 6.5mm."

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

"Road Lapse" and "Sky Lapse" along Richmond Highway

The following time lapse video shows a combination "Road Lapse" and "Sky Lapse" along Richmond Highway, U.S. Route 1 in Fairfax County, Virginia USA during the afternoon on 18 September 2026. My camera was facing east from the top of a seven-story parking garage.

A time series of 643 JPG photos was shot from 1:45 PM to 1:55 PM using a one (1) second interval. 10 minutes of actual recording time resulted in approximately 31 seconds of time lapse video, given the recording settings I used.

The photo set was rendered to video using Apple "QuickTime Player"; the resulting movie clip was edited using Apple "Photos." The final video was created using DaVinci Resolve.

18 SEP 2026 | Road/Sky Lapse along U.S. Route 1

643 photos at 1 s interval

Vehicular traffic is moving north-south along Richmond Highway. Clouds appear to be moving across the sky from north to south (left to right across the screen).

Tech Tips

My Fujifilm X-T5 camera was set for manual exposure and manual focus. The focal length of the Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens is, well, 6.5mm (~9.75mm to 10mm, 35mm equivalent). Aperture was set for ~f/8. The focus ring was set for ~3 ft, the hyperfocal distance at f/8. Shutter Speed was 1/1,250 second. ISO was set for 125. White Balance was accidentally set for 10,000 K (Kelvin), adding extreme orange-red warmth to the original JPG photos, and was corrected during post-processing. Aspect Ratio was set for M 3:2 (5472 x 3648 pixels). Image Quality was set for FINE+RAW (Fine JPEG plus LOSSLESS COMPRESSED RAF).

Related Resources: Posts on Walter Sanford's Blog with the label "Opteka 6.5mm."

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Tracking the International Space Station

It's easy to track and spot the station the International Space Station (ISS) at night during a nearly overhead pass.

Use the n2yo.com Web site to get tracking information about the ISS. By default, the track of the ISS is displayed on a world map. Click on the blue button in the right sidebar labeled "10-day predictions for Space Station."

"Excellent" passes are highlighted in orange, and usually occur (but not always) when the maximum elevation (El) of the ISS is higher, that is closer to 90 degrees.

For example, I used a red rectangle to highlight an "excellent" 82° elevation pass in the following excerpt from the n2yo.com table of 10-day predictions.

n2yo.com | 10-Day Predictions

Click on "Map and details" in the far right column.

n2yo.com | Map and details for ISS pass prediction

At maximum altitude, the magnitude of the ISS was -2.4, making it one of the brightest objects in the night sky. There is a lot of light pollution at the location where I live yet the ISS is still relatively easy to see.

Hearing the ISS amateur radio repeater

Grab a ham radio and go outside to a clear place. Tune the radio to 437.800 MHz, the frequency for the ISS, and listen during the window of time between the "Start" and "End" times shown in the n2yo.com table of 10-day predictions. A relatively inexpensive radio such as the Baofeng UV-R5 should work just fine; it sells on Amazon for around $20.

I planned to use an Apple iPad mini 2 (running the Apple "Voice Memos" app) to record audio from my Baofeng UV-5R radio.

Apple iPad mini 2 / Apple "Voice Memos" app | Baofeng UV-5R

Notice I said "planned." I heard ambient noise including insects, air conditioners, airplanes, and helicopters, but I never heard the ISS on radio. See Tech Tips (below) for related information.

Seeing the ISS

I used my iPad mini 6 (running the "Final Cut Camera" app) to record video because the Google Machine says it works better than the Apple "Camera" app for recording video at night. 

Final Cut Camera is a free iOS app by Apple that gives your iPhone professional manual video controls and live multi-camera recording. Source Credit: Google AI Overview.

I shot the video handheld, against my better judgement. I should have turned on the camera stabilization feature of "Final Cut Camera." In my defense, this was the first time I've used the app and I knew almost nothing about how it works.

The next two images show the end points of the part of the ISS's path that I captured on video, from near the zenith (A) heading toward the northeastern horizon (B).

Final Cut Camera app (frame grab) | ISS, Point A

Final Cut Camera app (frame grab) | ISS, Point B

The pass started at 20:29 (8:29 PM) and ended at 20:39 (8:39 PM). There was so much air traffic I missed the best part of the pass before I was sure I was actually looking at the ISS. A shorter segment of the 10 minute pass is shown in the following video.

09 SEP 2026 | International Space Station

Tech Tips

I used the "Rubber Ducky" antenna (~6" long) that is included with the Baofeng UV-5R radio. I need to connect a V-dipole antenna to the UV-5R in order to determine whether it can improve radio reception from the ISS.

Luis Acosta, my good friend and radio guru, used the "Antenna Tool" app to show me how to "tune" a V-dipole antenna for receiving radio signals from the ISS. The following image shows the "Rubber Ducky" antenna is about half as long as the optimum dipole length recommended for good reception from the ISS. Luis said the legs should be in a straight line (rather than a "V") and the line should be oriented vertically.

"Antenna Tool" app (Android version) | Antenna tuning for 437.8 MHz

The "Antenna Tool" app is available for both Apple iOS and Android.

Related Resources

• "Spot the Station" app (by NASA) - available for both Apple iOS and Android
• ARISS - Amateur Radio on the International Space Station and ISS Ham Radio Status
• Final Cut Camera User Guide - Apple Support
• iPhone Filmmaking: How to Use the Final Cut Camera App (8:29) by Camp Films

Post update: "Tracking ISS - Listening to ISS repeater (21 September 2026)" by Luis Acosta features a recording of the ISS amateur radio repeater during a late night pass. At the same time Luis was listening in New Jersey I was listening inside my home (standing near a large window) in Fairfax County, Virginia. Using my modified V-dipole antenna I was able to hear a few brief radio transmissions. I'm eager to test the V-dipole from the roof of the parking garage for the building where I live. So why didn't I go outside last night? It was raining, and as everyone knows, sugar melts in the rain!

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

"Hacks" for focusing the Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens

How can you manually focus a lens like the Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens that features virtually useless distance markings along the focus ring?

The Opteka "User Manual" includes the following information in the section entitled "Focusing Aides."

Many compatible cameras provide aides for manual focus precision. The two most common aides are Focus Peaking, and/or a Focus Magnifier. Be sure to consult your camera's user manual for assistance with configuring these features. Source Credit: Opteka 6.5mm f/2.0 HD Multi-Coated Lens User Manual, p. 6.

In my experience "focus peaking" and "focus magnifier (Focus Check)" are easier to use under controlled conditions such as a photo studio. Nonetheless, I'll tell you how to use those features on Fujifilm X-Series cameras, then I'll tell you about a simpler/better "hack" for focusing the Meike/Opteka lenses that just works for "all sky" photography.

Fujifilm manual focus aides

Here's how to set "focus peaking."

Fujifilm X-T3, XT5

MENU/OK, AF/MF SETTING, p. 2/3, MF ASSIST > FOCUS PEAK HIGHLIGHT > RED (HIGH)

Here's how to enable/disable "focus magnifier (Focus Check)."

Fujifilm X-T3, X-T5

Focus magnifier: press rear Command Dial; toggle on/off.

"Hack" for manually focusing Meike/Opteka 6.5mm lenses

It's possible/probable the Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens is a rebranded version of the Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens, given the similarities in the physical appearance and specifications of the two lenses.

Apparently the Meike 6.5mm looked like this during September 2019.

Photo Credit: Shutterbug.

The iteration of the Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens that I bought from B&H Photo during May 2026 looks like this. Notice the labeling on the focus ring changed to include a few distances in feet (ft) and meters (m).

Photo Credit: B&H Photo.

Finally, the Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens that I bought from Opteka/Circuit City/Amazon during August 2026 is advertised to look like this.

Photo Credit: Opteka/Circuit City/Amazon.

But wait, that's not the way the Opteka 6.5mm lens that was delivered to me looks. Actually it looks like this, similar to the 2019 iteration of the Meike 6.5mm.

Photo Credit: Walter Sanford.

Gee, notice any similaries in appearance between the Meike 6.5mm lens and Opteka 6.5mm lenses? I think it's safe to say they are the same lens with different labeling on the focus ring.

Both lenses have virtually the same "focus throw."

In photography and cinematography, the term "throw" usually refers to focus throw, which is the total physical distance or angle a lens's focus ring must rotate to move from its minimum focusing distance all the way to infinity. Source Credit: Google AI Overview.

As an aside, I would say both the Meike and Opteka lenses have a relatively short focus throw of ~90 degrees. This is better for videography than photography, which might explain why the aperture- and focus rings are clickless.

Anyway, because the Meike 6.5mm and Opteka 6.5mm lens have the same "focus throw" it's reasonable to think they focus identically, meaning when the Meike focus ring is rotated so it's focused on a given distance, say 3 ft, the Opteka works the same way.

Here's some practical advice. With the camera/lens facing forward, slowly rotate the focus ring clockwise until it stops turning at the index mark on the lens barrel. From that point, measure 4.1 to 4.2 cm along the focus ring; that point, which should be aligned with the middle of the infinity mark on the Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens, is equivalent to the 3 ft label on the Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens.

Why set the focus ring to 3 ft?

Because the hyperfocal distance of a 6.5mm lens is so remarkably short, focusing this lens manually is incredibly forgiving. If you align your focus ring to roughly 1 meter (3 feet) while shooting at f/8, your total depth of field will stretch from just a few inches in front of the lens element all the way out to infinity. [1, 2] Source Credit: Google AI Overview in response to my query "At an aperture of f/8 what is the hyperfocal distance of the Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens?"

In case you'd like to know/mark other Meike/Opteka equivalent distances, use the following measurements along the Opteka 6.5mm focus ring: 0.7 ft = ~7-8 mm; 1 ft = 2.2 cm; 3 ft = ~4.1-4.2 cm; ∞ = ~4.9-5.0 cm.

In a nutshell, my "hack" for manually focusing the Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens is set the focus ring for 3 ft, that is, rotate the focus ring until the infinity symbol (∞) is aligned with the index mark on the lens barrel -- everything from a few inches in front of the lens to infinity will be acceptably in focus. Ignore the fact that it looks like you set the focus ring for infinity (∞). You didn't. It's set for three feet (3 ft), the hyperfocal distance for both the Meike 6.5mm and Opteka 6.5mm lenses when the aperture is set for f/8.

Related Resources

• What's wrong with this picture? - a blog post by Walter Sanford
• Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens - first field test - another blog post by Walter Sanford
• Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens - more field testing - yet another blog post by Walter Sanford
• Posts on Walter Sanford's Blog with the label "Opteka 6.5mm."
• Posts on Walter Sanford's Blog with the label "all sky."
• Meike MK 6.5mm f/2 Circular Fisheye Lens Review, by Jon Sienkiewicz. Shutterbug.

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens - more field testing

After using a Fujifilm X-T5 camera and an Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens from Amazon to shoot Scenes 1-3 with the lens pointed straight up at the zenith, the camera/lens rig was relocated to the edge of the parking garage for a fisheye view of both the sky above and Richmond Highway below. Two more photo sets were captured.

Scene 4

The following photo is the first image in a time series of 344 images. The JPG photo is shown "as is," that is straight out of the camera without post-processing. As you can see the sky is overexposed, especially noticeable in the clouds.

6.5mm APS-C | f/8?+ | 1/250 s | ISO 200 | 7728 x 5152 pixels

The next photo is a post-processed .raf file -- Fujifilm's proprietary RAW image format -- exported as a JPG. Notice I was able to recover some of the detail in the clouds that was lost in the overexposed photo. So what are the takeaways? First, try to get the exposure right in-camera. Failing that, sometimes it's worth the time and effort to post-process the RAW files before rendering time lapse video.

6.5mm APS-C | f/8?+ | 1/250 s | ISO 200 | 7728 x 5152 pixels

As a sidebar let's briefly discuss exposure for all sky photography.

The Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens doesn't feature filter threads because the front lens element is so bulbous you can't use filters with the lens (e.g., circular polarizing filter, neutral density filter, etc.). So how can you set exposure to avoid blown highlights?

Remember the exposure triangle? Lower ISO equals less light sensitivity; smaller aperture (higher f/number) means less light enters the lens; and faster shutter speed means less light enters the lens.

I'm already using a low ISO. I don't want to reduce the aperture since f/8 seems to be widely regarded as the "sweet spot" for this lens. So I recommend turning on "preview exposure/white balance" and "blinkies" (see Tech Tips, below) and increasing the shutter speed until the blinkies disappear. Blown highlights cannot be recovered. On the other hand, it's usually possible to recover detail from shadows.

The following ProRes video was created using Apple "QuickTime Player." This video was made using the "as is" JPG photos with blown highlights.

25 August 2026 | 2:07 PM - 2:13 PM EDT | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

344 photos at 1 s interval

Notice the interval between photos was set for 1 second in order to capture the vehicle traffic along Richmond Highway (U.S. Route 1). The Fujifilm X-T5 was able to save FINE+RAW files to a memory card without a problem.

The next video was created using Apple "QuickTime Player" and edited using Apple "Photos."

25 August 2026 | 2:07 PM - 2:13 PM EDT | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

344 photos at 1 s interval

Scene 5

The following photo is the first image in a time series of 59 images. The JPG photo is shown "as is," that is straight out of the camera without post-processing. As you can see, the sky is exposed properly, preserving detail in the clouds.

6.5mm APS-C | f/8?+ | 1/1,000 s | ISO 200 | 7728 x 5152 pixels

I started recording another time lapse.

25 August 2026 | 2:14 PM - 2:15 PM EDT | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

59 photos at 1 s interval

The memory card was full soon after the time lapse began. I knew there was only one memory card in my Fujifilm X-T5, but I was in a rush to get to the roof so I took a chance that one card would be sufficient. I didn't realize the 64 GB memory card would fill so quickly due to the HUGE file size of photos captured by the X-T5 using the following settings: IMAGE SIZE = L 3:2 7728 x 5152 40 M; IMAGE QUALITY = FINE+RAW; RAW RECORDING = LOSSLESS COMPRESSED.

I'm planning to test using an IMAGE SIZE of M 3:2 5472 x 3648 (20M). That's comparable to an IMAGE SIZE of L 3:2 6240 x 4160 (26M) using my Fujifilm X-T3.

Tech Tips

Here's how to turn on "preview exposure/white balance." I recommend customizing the D-Pad to feature this function; in my case, I use the FN3 button. Press and hold the DISP BACK button to edit button settings.

Fujfilm X-T5

MENU/OK, SET UP, SCREEN SET-UP, p. 2/4 > PREVIEW EXP./WB IN MANUAL MODE > PREVIEW EXP./WB.

Here's how to turn on "blinkies."

Fujfilm X-T5

MENU/OK, SET UP, SCREEN SET-UP, p. 3/4 > DISP. CUSTOM SETTING, p. 1/5 > check LIVE VIEW HIGHLIGHT ALERT.

The Opteka User Manual includes the following information in the section entitled "Focusing Aides."

Many compatible cameras provide aides for manual focus precision. The two most common aides are Focus Peaking, and/or a Focus Magnifier. Be sure to consult your camera's user manual for assistance with configuring these features. Source Credit: Opteka 6.5mm f/2.0 HD Multi-Coated Lens User Manual, p. 6.

In my experience "focus peaking" and "focus magnifier (Focus Check)" are easier to use under controlled conditions such as a photo studio. My next blog post will feature a discussion of some "hacks" for focusing that I use when shooting in the field.

Related Resources

• Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens - first field test - a blog post by Walter Sanford
• What's wrong with this picture? - another blog post by Walter Sanford
• Posts on Walter Sanford's Blog with the label "all sky."
• Fujifilm X-T5 Owner's Manual

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.