Bolt Hunter camera trigger promises to solve the shutter lag struggle for lightning photographers improving your hit rate using real-time analysis

Here’s a bolt from the blue: The aptly named Bolt Hunter has launched on Kickstarter and, with 28 days still to go, has far exceeded its $5,000 pledge by over $50,000 (approx £40,000 / AU$70,000). This portable device is a specialist lightning camera trigger, said to be developed by storm chasers for storm chasers. If you know anything about how to photograph lightning, you’ll know that capturing the moment when lightning strikes is notoriously difficult, which is why lightning triggers exist.

But the Bolt Hunter isn’t being marketed as just another lightning trigger; it’s said to be “intelligent, grounded in science, and for the first time ever: predictive.” Bold claims.

So what sets the Bolt Hunter apart? Well, in a genre where every millisecond counts, the Bolt hunter is designed to measure and reduce the host camera’s shutter lag, while analyzing lightning in real time, for pinpoint precision.

It isn’t just designed to time the shutter with a bolt of lightning, though; it’s designed to time the exposure near the beginning of the bolt. This is when lightning is at its most photogenic. During the day, the device fires the shutter in time with the bolt of lightning, but when it’s dark, Night Mode is activated, and the shutter is already open. In this instance, the trigger closes the shutter when lightning strikes.

Lightning often goes hand-in-hand with inclement weather, so it’s no surprise that Bolt Hunter is weather-sealed. Judging by the images, I wouldn’t call it a small trigger, yet it doesn’t seem overly large. Either way, it’s highly portable and small enough to sit in a camera’s hotshoe.

The device can be hardwired using a standard shutter release cable, but it also operates wirelessly via Bluetooth. It can be used remotely, too, via the Bolt Hunter companion app. The trigger is rechargeable via USB-C, but is rated to last for over 48 hours of run time. A particularly clever little feature is a test function, so you can ensure your camera is triggering correctly, prior to heading out into the field.

What certainly sounds encouraging about this Kickstarter project is that it’s not just a concept; the device has been field tested by storm-chasing photographers who are named on the campaign page, along with real-world sample images captured using the device.

The Bolt Hunter is priced at $349, but backers can currently get $20 off via a Kickstarter special price of $329.

As always, we advise caution with all crowd-funded campaigns of this type, as there is always some element of risk for the backers.

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