After many test ofBlink in my office, I’ve finally done my own personal testing project in the field and it worked like a charm! Of course all of us here at CamDo tested Blink for months, but I’ve been wanting to do my own field test now for weeks, and after a failed attempt last week thanks to a faulty SD card reader on my laptop + an unknown password for an old HERO3+ Black (which drove Dean to createthis blog post), I finally made it.
I wanted a longer shoot to use oursolar system too, however, I had to compromise due a recent influx of theft in my, usually trouble free neighbourhood, so a short term deployment means a short clip length unfortunately. As you can see from the image above, a secure install was also high on my list, and of course the padlock holes on the enclosure worked as designed. Add the bike chain, wood and wire… MacGyver would’ve been proud.
Having used our previous products theTime Lapse Intervalometer and in particular theProgrammable Scheduler, usingBlink was like night and day. It took me less than 2 minutes to connect Blink to my iPhone WiFi and set up the schedule. I then used ourDRY Enclosure along with theV15 Battery that comes with the Solar System, and connected that directly to the GoPro mini USB. I then made sure the V15 was in “always on” mode (as described inStep 4 here). After “MacGyver’ing” the set up over the side of the bridge, it was time to let Blink do its thing.
This particularBC Ferry takes vehicles and passengers fromHorseshoe Bay toBowen Island orNanaimo. As an Aussie living in Canada, you won’t hear me admit it too often, but this is a beautiful part of the world! The Nanaimo ferry gets you over to Vancouver Island, which is where the nearest surf spot is, calledTofino… it’s just a little (read “lot”) colder than I’m used to!
After 4 hours, I went back to collect the set up. Considering it was just a test, a short deployment, and only a 1 minute interval, the result was good. No Academy Award, but good. It’d be great on a longer deployment with a few sunny days.
Below I’ve added two videos to demonstrate some of the variables in post production.
This video is 15fps, 1x speed, no blur, with 20% zoom (and is my preference of the two versions):
This video is 30fps, 2x speed with blur:
Any suggested locations for my next field test?
Equipment used:
- Blink 1 minute interval
- GoPro Hero4 Silver
- DRY enclosure + V15
- MacGyver components
- Single photo
- Protune off (factory settings)
Also, just for fun, I stumbled upon some apps that convert photos and videos to art.
Check these out:
This particular app was called Artisto, and can be found here:
