The Solarcan Puck is a great little reusable solargraphy camera. It has a relatively wide aperture (f/90), so it can create a decent image in a single day. The limitation is that it has (for a camera of this type) a relatively narrow field of view - about 120 degrees. This means that if you have it mounted vertically, you are going to be able to record angles up to 60 degrees above the horizon. This is fine if you are above about 50 degrees latitude. At about 50 degrees, the sun will never be higher than about 60 degrees above the horizon. Why that value? Probably because of where Solarcan are based: in Scotland. What do the the rest of the world have to do then? You can restrict yourself to winter months - but that is not much fun. The other alternative is to angle your Puck upwards. But how far? In the worst case, on the Equator, the sun will be directly overhead at Solstice. This means that the Puck will have to be angled upwards at least 30 degrees - but this would mean tha
They are only "messed up" if someone designed them. Otherwise it is doing the best it can with a bunch of modified pond scum. Don't expect too much.
ReplyDeleteTo be clear, I meant messed up from an engineering perspective.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the human eye aka one of the best responses to “intelligent design” out there. With knees running a close second.
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