I finally have my bee hive comb-building time-lapse setup running. The first couple days' footage was uninspiring, and then I remembered that I never actually focused the camera after I moved the rig from my house to the bee shed. 
. The camera is now properly focused.
But then I also noticed, via some accidental experimentation, that I wasn't waiting nearly long enough for the camera to optimize after I turned on the light. I don't want to disturb the bees' normal behavior, so I have a bank of LEDs that I keep turned off, and then every 10 minutes I turn it on, wait a few seconds, take my photo, and then turn it off. I had had the pre-shot pause set for 4 seconds after the LEDs turn on, thinking that would be enough time for the camera (OEM IPC-HFW4431R-Z) to adjust to the new light level. But it's not. I ran a quick experiment, taking 1 frame approximately every second, for 30 seconds after turning on the LED. Pause it, then use your . and , to step through frame-by-frame. It starts with the LEDs off, then turns them on on the 2nd frame:
There's a significant improvement in contrast on every frame until about frame 20 (e.g. 20 seconds after turn-on), and then I can't see any improvement after that. Look particularly in the patch of nectar at the top of the frame. Anyone know why it takes so long for it to adjust?
. The camera is now properly focused.But then I also noticed, via some accidental experimentation, that I wasn't waiting nearly long enough for the camera to optimize after I turned on the light. I don't want to disturb the bees' normal behavior, so I have a bank of LEDs that I keep turned off, and then every 10 minutes I turn it on, wait a few seconds, take my photo, and then turn it off. I had had the pre-shot pause set for 4 seconds after the LEDs turn on, thinking that would be enough time for the camera (OEM IPC-HFW4431R-Z) to adjust to the new light level. But it's not. I ran a quick experiment, taking 1 frame approximately every second, for 30 seconds after turning on the LED. Pause it, then use your . and , to step through frame-by-frame. It starts with the LEDs off, then turns them on on the 2nd frame:
There's a significant improvement in contrast on every frame until about frame 20 (e.g. 20 seconds after turn-on), and then I can't see any improvement after that. Look particularly in the patch of nectar at the top of the frame. Anyone know why it takes so long for it to adjust?
