#PIXELSTICK PHOTOS MOVIE#
#PIXELSTICK PHOTOS MANUAL#

#PIXELSTICK PHOTOS MANUAL#

The user should take manual control over the camera’s exposure, setting a shutter speed that is long enough to capture the movements of the Pixelstick. Having a helping hand is not essential but it does make light-painting photography much easier (and means you’re likely to achieve that great result in less time). The latter is especially handy if you’re responsible for both the light painting and picture taking. For sharp pictures, the camera should be mounted on a sturdy tripod and triggered either using a self-timer option or, ideally, a wireless remote. There are many example images online to inspire you before you get started, and it’s worth checking these out before creating your own patterns.Ī long exposure is needed to capture the light patterns painted using the Pixelstick. It’s worth spending plenty of time thinking about a good place to shoot and then what images, colours or patterns would suit these surroundings. Successful images taken using the Pixelstick rely largely on the appropriate choice of painted pattern or picture in relation to the surroundings. Once sized correctly, the picture must be saved in bitmap (BMP) format onto the SD memory card that’s placed into the Pixelstick controller. A portrait-orientation image might typically be 100×200 pixels and a panoramic image around 1200×200 pixels. Therefore, to prepare and maximise images for use with the Pixelstick, the width dimension of the flipped picture must be 200 pixels, whatever the aspect ratio of the picture. Pictures are displayed through the 200 LED lights one vertical line at a time, with each light corresponding to a single pixel. To format your own picture, firstly it should be flipped 90° counterclockwise. It is, however, straightforward to load your own pictures too.

#PIXELSTICK PHOTOS MOVIE#

Numerous correctly formatted pictures and colour patterns can also be downloaded free of charge from the product’s website, including famous artworks and movie scenes. Importing pictures and patterns to the PixelstickĪlthough the Pixelstick can be used to program custom light patterns, there are a few demo patterns preloaded on the controller, including the rainbow pattern seen in most of the product’s promotion material.

Battery holder for 8xAA batteries (not included), cable and clips.Aluminum housing with matte black finish.

200 RGB LEDs with diffusion lens, split into two panels.Any bitmap (BMP) picture can be added to the Pixelstick on an SD memory card through the device’s controller. The LED panel is mounted to a handle with an additional spin sleeve, designed for fluid ‘painting’ movements. These programmable LEDs allow the Pixelstick to paint colourful patterns and photoreal images, which are in turn captured with a camera through a long exposure. Each LED is able to produce any colour and flash on and off at particular speeds and colour sequences. The Pixelstick is a linear digital light panel packed with 200 full-colour (RGB) LEDs. Made possible through the funding platform Kickstarter back in October 2013, the Pixelstick appears to be a dream come true for any aspiring light-painting photographer without the technical wizardry to create a complicated light-painting tool for themselves. This looks set to change with the Pixelstick. It’s a photography form that has moved on leaps and bounds from its early days, although to date, the most sophisticated light-painting tools have been created at home by passionate light-painting photographers. There’s a growing number of photographers heading out in the dark, with a camera, tripod and light source in hand to explore the creative possibilities of light-painting photography.

Tim Coleman takes a closer look in his Pixelstick review. The Pixelstick looks set to expand the possibilities of light painting, making it even easier to be creative.

Pixelstick photos