Pondcam Blog

PondCam...the Next Generation!

The first era of the pondcam experiment came to an end today with the launch of the second version of the camera. This time the camera was supplied by Steen, still a pretty cheapo basic model but with some excellent features including a very useful suction cup (called a  on the box, so you learn something every day...) and led lights on the camera, plus no need for a driver. All excellent but it  made it a swine to make a waterproof housing for. In the end we used a modified (read: voided warranty) Aquapac camera bag which allowed a lead to be passed through a valve. They categorically state that this product is not to be used underwater, unlike all their other ones (which of course you can't get a cable out through...) so i solved it the way i usually do and used a whole tube of aquarium sealant to seal it up. I think that will really void the warranty!

So we have christened this one BagCam. It lacks the design elegance of it's forebear, i think, but it definitely has the bonus of being vaguely in focus. Steen tells me it autofocuses, so i will have to move it around to see what happens. I am also looking forward to the lights coming on. I have put a fairly rubbish picture in the photo album but some better ones will be posted soon. Promise.

Stardom awaits for the first batch of frogspawn

With some of my own frog spawn available and the lessons from my first attempt under my belt I have started my second attempt at a time lapse film of frag spawn developing, but this time more controlled and more ambitious. I made a couple of 50mm x 50mm x 50mm polycarbonate 'mini tanks', one to hold the frog spawn and one to act as a support for the initial tank. To maximise the amount of available light, while keeping the temperature low enough to avoid the rapid development experienced in the first attempt, I placed these in a larger glass tank 150mm x 150mm x 150mm in size. The reason for the small tanks is to constrain the mass of eggs and prevent it spreading out over the surface of the tank as it develops. Another solution to this was to place the camera above the egg mass rather than shooting from the side. The larger tank was then  placed on a large white pond dipping tray and the whole thing then illuminated by a Daylight Energy Saving bulb (I set the camera white balance to 5500K which seemed to work well. The the photo album for pictures of the set up. I set the camera using its intervalometer setting to take a shot every 4 mins 30 seconds for 999 exposures (the maximum possible), which calculated would take about 3 days. I was expecting the tadpoles to develop fully in this amount of time but, as is usually the case with these things they have developed at a much slower rate, and after three days are only just showing the early signs of development. This is great, since it means the film will capture the development in much more detail than i thought it would. However, I did forget to set a timer to remind me exactly when those 999 shots were up and restart the sequence (which I have literally just done), so I think there will be a bit of a jump at that point. So hopefully in another three or four days i will have something to show you...

Tadpole time lapse 1

TIP: YOU HAVE TO CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TWICE This is my first attempt at creating a time lapse film, using frog spawn turning into tadpoles as a subject. I did not expect them to change so quickly due to the temperature (they were indoors but the heating was off, although they were illuminated the whole time) so i did not take enough shots - hence a very short film! Also, they spread out over the surface so the results are not as clear as i would have liked.

The frogspawn came from my father's pond, a delightful warm haven in comparison to my freezing cold wasteland of a pond. I had previously made up several 6" x 6" x 6" (150mm x 150mm x 150mm) tanks using 6mm float glass and Dow Aquarium glass sealant. I took the shots using a Nikon D200 (which benefits from an Intervalometer function) and after having got nowhere with Apple trying to use Quick Time Pro (which DOES NOT WORK) to stitch them together discovered an excellent program called VideoMach which i wholeheartedly recommend.

I have to admit that my proteges have not fared so well since their initial stardom, and there were a number of casualties due to my failure to provide the right conditions. But the lucky few that did survive are now thriving in one of the tanks, and i will learn the lessons to ensure that my next attempt will result in no casualties.

They're here!

After more amphibious action was spotted in the pond last week, we finally found some frogspawn last night (sunday the 16th march). This is actually quite late in comparison with other ponds I know. Obviously they have located them on the other side of the pond to the JARCAM. However, the impending upgrade to something which is ...er...in focus will give us the opportunity to extend the reach of the camera and hopefully enable us to acually get live tadpole footage. Rather than a random blur. In the meantime, and this is not just meant as a test card, i will take some proper pictures and i will try to upload the time lapse footage of the development of the frogspawn from my father's pond. The story of this footage will follow. I have learnt the lessons of this experiment and hopefully the development of the taddies from our own pond will be recorded much more successfully...