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Re: Re. TC Pics - How To?
to: Dsurfr
Another tip --- be sure to wrap something dark around your base so the
bright light from the primary spark doesn't overwealm your camera and spoil
an otherwise great shot of the long secondary sparks.
DR.RESONANCE-at-next-wave-dot-net
----------
> From: Tesla List <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>
> To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
> Subject: Re. TC Pics - How To?
> Date: Thursday, December 31, 1998 6:40 PM
>
> Original Poster: Gary Lau 31-Dec-1998 1443 <lau-at-hdecad.ENET.dec-dot-com>
>
> >Original Poster: Dsurfr-at-aol-dot-com
> >
> >I'm looking for some advice on taking pictures of my coil while its
arcing.
> >From all the great photos I've seen on the Ring most of you must know
what
> >you're doing & I've already wasted 2 rolls of film with meager (at best)
> >results. I have an old Nikon - great camera w/ no electronics & good
lenses.
> >Any help on Fstop, exposure time, film speed etc. would be greatly
> >appreciated. Thanks, Jim
>
> I use ASA200 film at aperture f/2.8 for arc shots. While the ASA100 w/
> f/1.2-1.4 would also give correct exposure, that wide an aperture on a
> wide angle lens (I use 28mm) is uncommon, and f/2.8 may also give a wider
> depth of field. Bulb setting, shutter release cable, and tripod are
> manditory. While the longest arcs are produced when a breakout point is
> used on the top load, I think pictures with multiple breakouts randomly
> and evenly around the circumference look the nicest, and I use exposure
> times of 4-10 seconds. I've heard criticism that such time exposures
> give misleading impressions of what an operating coil looks like. True,
> but prettier! Also, arcs that connect to a target are considerably
> brighter than those that don't.
>
> This is just a personal preferance, but I think pictures with enough
> light generated by the spark gap to give low-level illumination of the
> "guts" of a coil look much more interesting than just sparks coming from
> blackness. Also, I sometimes hang a dark blue sheet behind the coil to
> enhance the contrast. Good for smaller coils anyway.
>
> Gary Lau
> Waltham, MA USA
>