Bought a cheap camera just for clouds and it changed my whole hobby

I got a used point-and-shoot camera for about $40 online, thinking I'd just use it to snap quick cloud pics. It's not fancy, but having a dedicated tool made me look up more and notice details I always missed. Last Tuesday, I caught a perfect lenticular cloud over the mountains that looked like a stack of plates. I would have never seen it if I wasn't carrying that little camera around. What's a small purchase that actually got you more into cloud spotting?

3 comments

3 Comments

rivera.keith5d ago

That lenticular cloud story is awesome, those are so cool to find. My cheap buy was a pair of basic binoculars. They were maybe thirty bucks, but they let me pick out cloud details from my backyard I never could see before. I started noticing the texture in cumulus clouds way more, like seeing the bumps and ridges up close. What kind of clouds got you looking up in the first place?

dylan9765d ago

Oh man, binoculars are a game changer! I did the same thing with an old pair I found. Suddenly those fluffy cumulus clouds weren't just smooth blobs, I could see all the crazy cauliflower shapes and deep shadows. It felt like I was flying right next to them. That's what really hooked me, just seeing how much detail is up there when you look a little closer.

alexj995d ago

Lenticular clouds are amazing, they look so unreal. @rivera.keith is right about binoculars helping with texture, but for cloud types you really just need your eyes. I learned that from a library book. Binoculars are great for details, but you can spot a cumulonimbus anvil or mare's tails without any gear. The trick is just looking up more often.