• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

HD camcorders

CMOS Lightning Artifacts

I just wonder what future hold since most of the HD cams seem to employ the CMOS sensor these days which is quite horrible when shooting lightning. I can not stand the way video looks every time you capture lightning strike within or outside the frame.
 
There are two different types of artifacts when capturing lightning in HDV. There are the MPEG artifacts from the HDV codec (nighttime lightning only), and then there is the 'rolling shutter' problem with CMOS chips (daytime and nighttime lightning). With a CMOS based camera (HC5, HC3, FX7), you'd encounter both problems, while with a CCD cam (Z1, FX1, HVX200), you'd only have the codec issue. Again, the MPEG codec issue isn't much of a problem unless you're extracting still frames.

From what I've heard, the CMOS rolling shutter problem might have been fixed on the newer models (including the FX7, though I have yet to see an actual clip to confirm this.
 
CMOS or MPEG

I am not even close to be of any decent knowledge when it comes to video technical stuff but remember there was a discussion here on ST not a long time ago and it seemed CMOS sensor would be the issue. I have shot some video on my Sony HC3 and the footage is pretty much useless anytime a lightning strikes. Seems like CCDs did not have that problem.
If it is a MPEG compression is there anything that can be done to get rid off the problem. Perhaps some more knowledgeable folks on here could provide some more input. Thank you.
 
The CMOS 'rolling shutter' will make a frame with a lightning bolt divided horizontally, with differing brightness levels or even cut off completely at the horizontal split point.

The HDV artifacting is blocky pixelation along the lightning channel and in parts of the illuminated sky and ground.
 
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