Olympus Tough TG-Tracker: Experimentation with Timelapse
The Tracker with underwater lens protector attached.
Three weeks ago I shared my first impressions of Olympus' new action camera, the Tough TG-Tracker. Like it's close cousin the Olympus Tough camera series, the Tracker is shockproof, freeze proof (to 14° F/-10° C), and waterproof (the Tracker to 100'/30 m). And, though the Tracker does capture still images that are reasonably good quality, its primary attribute is to shoot video (up to 4K!). The default lens cover's angle of view is 204° but in underwater wide mode (which can be used even when not underwater) the angle of view goes to 161°. As I said before, I kind of prefer that setting as 204° is super wide. To actually use the Tracker underwater, you have to switch lens covers. The underwater cover is rectangular in shape so it sticks out on either side a few centimeters. No big deal and, trust me, I plan to have the Tracker with this cover attached in my swimsuit pocket instead, as I did last week, putting my iPhone there!
The Tracker's default lens protector and the rectangular protector for use underwater.
I still haven't shot any stills or video underwater but plan to do that when I'm in a pool in the next couple weeks. I have, however, finally played with the Tracker's time lapse mode a bit. I'm still trying to get accustomed to thinking of times and ways to shoot time lapse videos as this is a bit foreign to me. The tracker's ability to shoot and create time lapse videos in camera shot over fairly lengthy time spans speaks to the robustness of its battery. This has caused me to hold off on my usual habit of immediately purchasing two backup batteries for it. That is, the seemingly good battery life and the frequency with which I expect to use the Tracker make think I may not need backups.
By default, the Tracker is set to 5 second intervals for shooting time lapses. That's probably a good spread when shooting a multi-hour time lapse but the ones I've been shooting have only spanned nothing longer than thirty minutes, usually less. Therefore, I set the camera shooting to one shot every 2 seconds for my time lapses. As you can see in the included examples, my subjects have been the assembly of a dish for dinner (https://youtu.be/R5hPo03xXJE) or time spent with our youngest grandchildren in a kiddie pool in their backyard. When we are next at the beach I may try setting up the Tracker on the boardwalk early in the morning and let it run long enough to capture people arriving and setting up their chairs, umbrellas, and other paraphernalia.
I'm on the lookout for ideas for using my Olympus Tough TG-Tracker camera, so if you have some, please share them with me! As noted, I do intend to attach the underwater lens protector and carry the tracker in my swimsuit pocket when we are next in South Carolina and around pools and the ocean. Hopefully, I'll find something interesting to shoot. And, though I'm not using the Tracker too much, I am glad I got it. It is fun to have and experiment with.
See other short time lapse videos on my YouTube site: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrB6InlYh7SOE5fdgqu-Q1ci__lDLq1It.
