Camera captures nonstop

Capture that keeps going until you turn it off has two usual causes, depending on how the camera captures. Check which one you use in Camera Settings > Capture tab, then follow that section.

How to fix it

With automatic capture — something keeps triggering it

Automatic capture records whenever it sees activity on the finish line. Anything that keeps changing the picture keeps it capturing:

  • The camera moving. A tripod wobbling in the wind is very common: each movement changes the finish-line picture. See Tripod blows over or shifts in wind
  • People moving behind the finish line, such as spectators walking back and forth along a fence in the background
  • Flickering lights

If the cause can't be removed

  1. Raise the Object Threshold in Camera Settings > Capture tab. The higher the value, the more activity it takes to trigger capture
  2. Limit detection to the part of the image athletes cross: capture an image, right-click and drag a box over that band, then click Image | Set | Object active area. Movement outside the band is ignored

The Automatic Capture page of the manual covers both settings.

With manual capture — check the settings

  • In Camera Settings > Capture tab, check which boxes are ticked. If Automatic is ticked as well as Manual, automatic capture can still trigger
  • If Timed is ticked, check the Start and Duration fields in the event. With both blank, timed capture records the whole time capture is on
  • In File | Options | General tab, if Capture Button is set to Keyboard, one press of the Space bar turns capture on and it stays on until you press it again