Engineering & How Things Work
Using Engineering to Photograph Lightning
How can you get a photo of lightning without predicting when it will occur? This engineering solution automatically triggers your camera to take a picture when a lightning strike (or fireworks) appears and allows you to capture a picture of that strike. Lightning Activated Camera Shutter Trigger:
In a nutshell, the photo darlington converts light pulses into electrical pulses, the first LM324 section amplifies the electrical pulses, the second LM324 section is a high pass filter that only passes quick changes (lightning). The third LM324 stage is a comparator that allows only large pulses to pass through, and the 4047 one-shot stretches out the length of the pulses so that they are long enough to drive the relay and trigger the camera.
The 2N3904 drives the reed relay, which in turn triggers the camera’s electronic shutter switch. The VN10KM prevents the circuit from triggering the camera when it is first turned on. The LM324 GND Ref circuit divides the 9V power into two for a 4.5V ground reference. The other op-amp circuits use this reference value.
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Lightning storms can be extremely dangerous, and are potentially fatal. It is best to use the circuit to photograph storms that are many miles away from the photographer. Always keep an eye on the sky, storms can reform overhead fairly quickly. Never sit on top of a hill or in an open field when storms are nearby. It is possible to use this setup from inside of a house or car, just make sure to turn off all of the lights.
