Harbortronics Cyclapse Classic User Manual

Cyclapse Classic

User’s Guide

Cyclapse Classic. Optional Canon 6D Full-Frame Camera Bundle.

16-35mm Lens Option, (Housing Lid not shown)

Harbortronics Inc

7103 County Road 86

Fort Collins, CO 80524

970-232-9619 (Phone)

970-672-8729 (Fax)

http://www.harbortronics.com/

Sales & Service: [e-mail]

Technical & Customizing:[e-mail]

Cyclapse Classic

Product Guide - Revision B

Overview ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4

Quick Start ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 4

Configuring the DigiSnap ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Connecting to a terminal .................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Configuring for Advanced Time-Lapse .......................................................................................................................................... 5

System Components, Operation & Options ........................................................................................................................................... 5

Cameras ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 5

Camera Set-up .................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Image Extraction .............................................................................................................................................................................. 6

Housing and related Mounts ............................................................................................................................................................ 7

Battery Pack ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

External Power Sources ................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Electronics ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Tools and Accessories ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Standard System .................................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Specifications .................................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Items included: Standard System .................................................................................................................................................. 13

Extreme IQ System .............................................................................................................................................................................. 14

Items included: Extreme IQ System .............................................................................................................................................. 14

Camera Bundles .................................................................................................................................................................................. 15

Canon 750D (Rebel T6i) ................................................................................................................................................................. 15

Canon 1200D (Rebel T5) ................................................................................................................................................................ 15

Nikon D3300 .................................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Canon 6D ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Nikon D610 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Nikon D810 ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Canon 5D Series .............................................................................................................................................................................. 16

Pentax (Ricoh) 645Z ....................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Operating Temperature ................................................................................................................................................................. 18

Service / Warranty ............................................................................................................................................................................... 18

Philosophy: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 18

Legal: ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 18

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Cyclapse Classic, illustrating the two mount arms, operating on a utility pole in the rain.

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Overview

The Cyclapse Classic is a fully integrated long term time-lapse camera system. Typical uses are for documenting construction
projects, environmental changes, crop growth, and an amazing variety of other long-term outdoor photographic tasks.

This equipment will yield significantly higher quality images than can be achieved with 'Web', 'Trail', 'Garden', 'Smartphone', or
'Action' camera equipment, and is designed to be completely autonomous—no connection to AC power, computers, networks, or
video recorders are required. You own the equipment, and there are no monthly charges! The system will support a great range of
cameras, from compact digital cameras to SLR and even medium format!

The 'Classic' version of the Cyclapse incorporates the DigiSnap 2700 controller, a tried-and-true intervalometer developed for long
term time-lapse operations. The DigiSnap 2000 series of controllers have been in continuous production since 1999.

A variety of mounts are available to suit your particular application, and the system can be installed in as little as as 15 minutes.

Quick Start

1. Turn the camera's power switch ON. You may leave this switch on at all times.

2. Flip the Power Module toggle switch to the ON (up) position. This will apply power to the camera and the controller.

3. The DigiSnap should immediately blink amber once, followed by a long green flash, and then a few moments later will
quickly blink four times green.

4. Press the * button on the DigiSnap, and the camera should take a picture. This verifies that everything is connected and
working properly. Each time you press the * button, it should take a picture.

5. The DigiSnap controller is already configured at the factory to take pictures on a daily schedule. The following
configuration was used for testing, and you may want to reconfigure the settings for your application.

The DigiSnap is preset to take pictures starting at 7AM (Mountain Time Zone / GMT-7), and every day afterward at the
same starting time. Ten pictures will be taken per day, at an interval of 1 hour between shots.

Configuring the DigiSnap

Now that you’ve verified that things are working, you may want to configure the DigiSnap for your particular application. The first
time you do this can be trying, but once you’ve gone through the process once, it’ll be easy the next time. If you get stuck, give
Harbortronics a call!

The DigiSnap is already configured properly for the camera. All you should need to configure are the time-lapse settings within the
DigiSnap, and adjust the camera lens zoom and focus for your site.

Please review the DigiSnap 2700 manual, which is on the CD Rom supplied with the equipment. This should help you to understand
how the DigiSnap works with a terminal window, and what sort of operations the DigiSnap can perform.

Connecting to a terminal

Each order will be supplied with a USB to Serial converter which includes the Null-Modem connections to connect directly to the
DigiSnap 2700 controller. You may need to install the drivers for this cable on your computer. This is a commonly overlooked
problem.

If you are using a standard USB/Serial converter, or a desktop PC with a built-in serial port, please use a null-modem cable or adapter
between your serial port and the DigiSnap. We are happy to provide this cable if needed.

You now need to run a program to open up a 'terminal' window. If you are running Linux, you already know how to do this! If you
have a windows PC you can use the DigiSnap_Terminal.exe program supplied on the CD Rom. If you are using a Mac we also have
an application on the CD-Rom that you may install. If you don't have a CD-Drive on your computer, you can download any of the
drivers and software from our website.

Once you have your terminal program running, and ‘connected’, cycle the power on the system (flip the toggle switch on the
Cyclapse Power Module off and on again), and you should see it present a menu on the screen. You can select the different menus
and particular commands. Once you have configured the DigiSnap via a terminal, the settings are saved forever, or until the next time
you change them using this same procedure.

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If you have problems getting the 'terminal' working with the DigiSnap, please refer to the support page on our website. If you suspect
any problem with our equipment, please call us!

Configuring for Advanced Time-Lapse

The majority of monitoring applications use the Advanced Time-Lapse (ATL) feature of the DigiSnap controller. With ATL, the
camera can be made to take pictures at specific times of the day, such as during daylight hours, or during construction hours. It's easy
to configure multiple sequences that take pictures at different rates, during various times of the day. Please refer to the DigiSnap 2700
manual on the CD-Rom for specific details regarding the configuration menus.

Please note that the DigiSnap 2700 controller has a 'real-time' internal clock. This is the clock used for scheduling pictures, not the
camera's internal clock. You may want to make sure the two clocks are roughly the same, so the time listed in the picture data is
consistent with the DigiSnap clock. As time progresses, the clocks will drift relative to each other—this drift should be small, but is
to be expected.

We would be happy to pre-configure the DigiSnap for your particular application, to ease your project by one more step. Also, feel
free to call us at your convenience for help in configuring the time-lapse sequence. Although the process is straightforward for some
people, others need a bit of hand-holding the first time—we understand this!

System Components, Operation & Options

Cameras

There are many camera models that can be used in the Cyclapse Classic system. Harbortronics has shipped thousands of time-lapse
camera systems using Nikon Coolpix, Pentax K100/K200, Canon 1000D (XS), Canon 1100D (T3), and Canon 1200D (T5) camera
models. In addition to these 'production' camera selections, we have created and built customized systems with another dozen camera
models. Most customers prefer that we supply the system with the camera pre-installed, and this is our strong preference as well, but
we can also provide the system without a camera. Customers have often had issues matching cable assemblies with cameras and
mechanical fit issues, which are eliminated when we install the camera at the factory and perform initial testing.

There are a host of considerations to evaluate when choosing a camera model for time-lapse photography, particularly one that is left
in the field for years. The ultimate goal of your project is to collect a series of images over a long period of time regardless of the
environmental conditions. Shutter life, image quality, power consumption, and of course reliability are major concerns. We have
done the research for you, and believe we have chosen some cameras that are well suited for the application. Please note that we may
change our recommendations periodically. We are constantly evaluating new cameras for suitability, and rest assured our goal is to
provide reliable and high quality equipment!

As with most endeavors, details count. For instance some customers have asked to use a camera they already own. While your
existing camera may certainly be perfectly suited to capturing images, we have encountered a variety of frustrations and outright
problems incorporating some camera models over the years when applied to long term time-lapse. For a long term time-lapse project,
we urge you to consider using the cameras we have tested and recommended. These cameras use industry standard connectors, draw
negligible power between pictures, some have proven reliability in harsh environments, and all will yield excellent image quality.

We list below the cameras that we have selected to offer with the Cyclapse Classic. Not all of these cameras have been evaluated by
Harbortronics as of the time of the release of the system, and this list will change as the manufacturers change camera models, and
we gain experience with the many camera models.

If you would like to discuss using a different camera than one we have listed, we would be happy to work further with you. While
Harbortronics is currently an official dealer for Canon and Ricoh (Pentax) equipment, we do not have any particular affinity for one
camera brand vs another. We have been very impressed with the reliability of the Canon Rebel series cameras for the last several
years, so they are models that we are happy to recommend. However, we can provide whatever camera makes the best sense for your
project. We typically charge 15% above the retail camera price, to acquire, install, test, and help with warranty issues that may occur.

Camera Set-up

Once the camera is installed, the zoom and manual focus set, please use gaffer tape, or some other tape with low adhesive residue, to
wrap around the lens rings, preventing movement over the life of your project. The Phase One iUX camera comes with locking lens
rings.

Our large battery pack(s) will power the entire system, and no other batteries are used in the equipment. If the power is turned off for
a long period of time, the clock in the camera may reset itself and need adjusting before use.

Please configure the camera to use the lowest power consumption. For most systems, this has been done for you at Harbortronics.
Refer to your camera operation manual. Instant Review: Off, Auto power off: 30 seconds, Manual focus, Image Stabilization: Off

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As far as photographic settings are concerned, we only have basic suggestions. For most applications you may find that using the
Program mode (P) is perfectly adequate. The camera will adapt the ISO setting, aperture, and shutter speed to suit the lighting
conditions. If your camera is close to your subject (for instance within 50 feet of a construction site detail) the aperture-priority mode
(A) may yield more consistent focus from picture to picture, as the depth of field will be fixed. We recommend against using fully
manual control of the exposure, unless you are an experienced photographer and have a scene with consistent lighting. The variation
in lighting in an outdoor scene is typically too extreme for any particular arrangement of exposure settings. There may be some
advantage to setting the camera for a fixed white balance, rather than using the camera’s auto white balance. We also suggest setting
the ISO to a relatively low value, for minimum noise. In many camera models, you can limit the ISO to some maximum value, which
could be even better than using a fixed ISO setting. A maximum ISO setting of 400 is suitable for most outdoor scenes. For most
applications, you can leave the exposure up to the camera and if absolutely needed, use post-production software to smooth out frame
to frame variation. Many cameras yield images with such a wide dynamic range that details can be lifted out of shadows, also in post
processing.

Our standing recommendation is to take pictures at the highest resolution of the camera, and take more pictures as you think you will
need. It’s very easy to downsize or discard images, but you can’t get more of them after the project has finished! Given high
resolution images, you can do some very interesting post-processing, such as in-frame pan and zoom effects. If the lighting at your
site has extreme contrasts, such as interior scenes with sun streaming through a window, you may be able to re-balance the lighting
more effectively if you capture the images in RAW format, rather than JPEG. There are file size and post-processing tradeoffs with
RAW, and if you are not already familiar with this distinction, you may want to consult with a professional photographer.

Ideally, you will set up the system a week or two ahead of time, collect lots of test images, and adjust the camera angle and exposure
(if manually set) before the ‘event’ you are monitoring actually begins. If you have this luxury, congratulate yourself for thinking
ahead—you are in the minority! For rush projects, we are happy to pre-configure the time-lapse parameters for you, so you can
simply mount and position the camera. There are always risks associated with communicating your needs, and technical issues, so we
urge you to work through the entire system configuration and installation yourself, and take time to test.

Image Extraction

Memory card swap

A second 16 GB memory card is also included with the standard system. Most cameras allow ‘hot swapping’ of cards during long­term applications, so you should not need to turn the system off, nor unplug any cables. The card access door on the camera must be
closed to operate, and the space is limited in the housing, so the camera is normally pulled free momentarily to swap cards. A hex­key is included in the housing to facilitate this. Given the positive stop on the slide rail, and the tight fit of the sled on the rail, the
camera will re-install with almost pixel-perfect registration.

It may also be possible to fit a memory card extender cable which would allow access to the memory card without touching the
camera. Some cameras may require slight modification to allow use of such a cable, but we would be happy to help.

USB Download

If you have access to the housing, but fear handling the camera periodically to swap memory cards, you can attach the USB cable
supplied by the camera manufacturer and leave it attached to the camera inside the housing. This would allow you to open the
housing and download the images to a laptop computer in the field without ever touching the camera. Please note that process can
take an hour or more with a full memory card!

We also offer a USB Extension option with the system which allows image download via an external cable. The weatherproof
polyurethane jacketed cable is installed using a watertight 'gland', allowing download from a distance without accessing the housing.
The USB Extension option provides a 16 ft passive USB cable. You may continue to extend the distance using active repeater cables.
In many cases, you can use multiple active repeater cables to extend to 80ft or more. Make sure to test these cables with the system
before installing on a pole!

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