Pick the Winner in this Photo Finish

[46zilzal]

We use Finish Lynx photo finish equipment and OF COURSE it is designed for all manner or lighting situations.

In daytime, when there are no harsh shadows mixed with bright spots at the edge of the grandstand shadow, the system is set on automatic gain which compensates for clouds and shadows that might crop up in the midst of an exposure. It really is a bitch when those harsh conditions come up because we have to go manually with multiple neutral density filters to account for the 5 to 6 F stops between exposure in the light and dark. These change minute to minute and require changing right up until exposure.

NIGHT shots are the easiest. Once it gets dark, the combination of lights from the track/stands, are CONSTANT and so are our flood light panel that we activate when the field hits the far turn, so exposure race to race is EASIEST at night since WE control all the variables. The only alterantions occur when it is getting dark and while balancing out the yellow tones and adjusting the final image for contrast and gamma are all that are done and once you know the system, these are consistent race to race.

[cmoore]

The Turbulence was a first time starter who broke slow and came a running down the stretch. If the 4 had won, I would of gotten the 10 cents super 4x. Closest photo I've lost..

[Greyfox]

I've just watched the replay at http://www.calracing.com

Vic Stauffer called "Turbulence!#4" maybe in the last jump.
But went on to say that this is extremely close, maybe too close to tell.
Visually I thought # 4 caught the # 1 in the last stride, but once again
if we don't know exactly where the camera takes the photo who knows.
Certainly after the line Turbulence was ahead.

[johnhannibalsmith]

Originally Posted by 46zilzal

We use Finish Lynx photo finish equipment and OF COURSE it is designed for all manner or lighting situations.

In daytime, when there are no harsh shadows mixed with bright spots at the edge of the grandstand shadow, the system is set on automatic gain which compensates for clouds and shadows that might crop up in the midst of an exposure. It really is a bitch when those harsh conditions come up because we have to go manually with multiple neutral density filters to account for the 5 to 6 F stops between exposure in the light and dark. These change minute to minute and require changing right up until exposure.

NIGHT shots are the easiest. Once it gets dark, the combination of lights from the track/stands, are CONSTANT and so are our flood light panel that we activate when the field hits the far turn, so exposure race to race is EASIEST at night since WE control all the variables. The only alterantions occur when it is getting dark and while balancing out the yellow tones and adjusting the final image for contrast and gamma are all that are done and once you know the system, these are consistent race to race.

Good post...

The only flaw with FinishLynx is the AutoGain setting (in my opinion) when the light becomes inconsistent due to fluctuating cloudiness or shadowing that deceives the camera (where it sets as opposed to where it captures).

There's just a brief enough pause in the self-adjustment that in the middle of summer, where the sky goes from ultra-sunny to ultra-cloudy on some days, that I wish I could stick with manual confidently.

I would love it if the manual gain settings were easier to adjust 'on the fly' - as it is, capturing an image mid-race to gauge the lighting and trying to adjust accurately before they approach the finish is often, well, wish-and-a-hopin'.

But overall, it is fantastic software.

[46zilzal]

Originally Posted by johnhannibalsmith

The only flaw with FinishLynx is the AutoGain setting (in my opinion) when the light becomes inconsistent due to fluctuating cloudiness or shadowing that deceives the camera (where it sets as opposed to where it captures).
.

Never found that a problem since exposure resets over and over as the light changes. You can see the image density changes as vertical lines in the overall image background. The trick is allowing (like standard photography) enough latitude on either side of a theoretical MID RANGE exposure: i.e. I set auto gain at around 60 so the system can vary down to 20 or up to 100 and still capture a good image no matter how much the light changes in a single exposure

With the manual over ride image adjustments and the ability to change those in operator directed horizontal "zones" one can come up with a very respectable image.

[johnhannibalsmith]

I'd be interested in learning more from you - this isn't something that I have to deal with full-time, but it is (just) one of those things that I DO need to be able to do. I actually really enjoy when I have (get) to operate the photo-finish equipment and I try to keep up on the mechanics so I can teach others effectively.

I've always assumed that my problems with auto-gain during erratic sky lighting were due to the fact that the camera set in the shadow, while the capture wasn't in the shadow and the software had difficulty assessing the 'true' lighting or there was a lag-time in the communication from the camera to the software itself.

Admittedly, I've always been a little afraid to tinker with too many of the manual settings on the new Lynx software and I never have had a good bit of documentation to guide me. I appreciate your insight.

[Greyfox]

I've said earlier that I have a problem with photo's without back drops.

I've said earlier that in the digital age, who knows what is going on.
Photos, even with backdrops, can be modified.

I've said earlier that even Vic called Turbulence visually, as it appears at
on the replay site I suggested.

This is magnified whenever money is involved and thorougbreds are

Dancing with the Stars.


.

I rest my case.

[Greyfox]

The fact is, I "Joe Public" want to see my horse actually beaten at a wire
so that I know it was actually beaten at it.

Showing a bunch of blurry lines in the background, and telling me about the high technology of how the photo was taken with every horse getting a photo at the finish line does zilch to me.

"Show me the money. No show me the finish line!" as I see it when I watch a race. It's just that simple.

Crap on this high tech finish line stuff.

[Show Me the Wire]

Another problem is the angle shown in photo finish pictures. Photos from the same track on the same day have different angles of the finish line. Some are a view from higher9 looking down) and others more horizantal. How can this happen from a camera in a fixed position?

Put me in the camp of I want to see the finish line too.

[46zilzal]

Originally Posted by johnhannibalsmith

Admittedly, I've always been a little afraid to tinker with too many of the manual settings on the new Lynx software and I never have had a good bit of documentation to guide me. I appreciate your insight.

Finish Lynx has a on line manual at their site.

Being a very old silver based cameraman, I like to tinker with manual settings.

Like this one of Slew O'Gold before the inaugural B.C. Classic

[johnhannibalsmith]

Originally Posted by 46zilzal

Finish Lynx has a on line manual at their site.

Excellent! Thank you much

[maxwell]

That's one iffy photo.

I don't see the #1's nose on the line; it looks like backdrop color. You wouldn't see a horse's nostril flare out like that from a profile angle, that's something you would see in a 3/4 angle.

I could say it's a dead-heat. Or I could say I really don't care.