Questions & Answers about the
New Old Faithful WebCam
First, I'd like to thank everyone who has emailed to compliment us on the new camera location. Along with compliments, we are receiving quite a few questions. This page will be devoted to answering those questions. Since the camera receives over 2,500,000 unique visits annually, we are unable to answer your questions more personally.
What geysers are visible behind Old Faithful?
The following geysers are visible behind Old Faithful Geyser. Click on a geyser's name to see a photo of it erupting.
Grand Geyser
Giant Geyser
Lion Geyser
Beehive Geyser
Anemone Geyser
Plume Geyser
Aurum Geyser
Giantess Geyser
Please use this reference photo to determine the names of the geysers as you watch them erupt.
Why does the Mammoth WebCam go dark before the Old Faithful WebCam?
The Old Faithful WebCam is the newest offering from Stardot Technologies. The new camera has a broader sensitivity range and therefore can show the image in lower light than the earlier models did.
Why don't you post predictions for the other geysers that are visible on the webcam?
None of the other geysers are predictable based on their previous eruptions. Old Faithful has a water source that is separate from all the other geysers. With no other geysers drawing on the same source, Old Faithful can be predicted. If there were several other geysers using the same source of groundwater, each eruption of any geyser changes the pattern of eruptions for all the other geysers sharing that source. That is the case for all of the geysers on Geyser Hill, behind Old Faithful.
Why does the image sometimes look blurry in the early morning and late evening?
This webcam uses a very slow shutter speed in low light conditions. This allows you to view the scene at dusk and dawn. On windy days, however, the tree that the camera is mounted on blows around enough to result in a blurred image due to the long exposure. This is a trade-off that allows us to bring you webcam images about an extra hour each day.
Why is the image blurred in the corners at times?
The lens that is being used is an auto-aperture lens. When there is very low light, such as near dusk and dawn, the lens opens up all the way resulting in an image that has blurred corners. This is a trade-off that allows us to bring you webcam images for about an extra hour each day.
Why don't you change the position to this, that, or the other?
Park staff had numerous discussions and considered many visitors opinions before deciding on the current position for the camera. We will maintain this position through the winter. After viewing the images for that length of time, we will discuss the possibility of making minor changes in the spring.
Why did you remove the time/temperature box from the Old Faithful WebCam page?
The new camera is equipped with a weather station that provides the current temperature, relative humidity, and barometric pressure. We believe the information provided by this weather station will be more accurate that that provided through the service we formerly used. The weather station is in a testing phase. If we find that we cannot provide reliable weather information with it, we will return to the time/temperature window we had in the past.
Will the camera remain in operation during the winter months?
This is the first time we have placed a webcam in a weatherproof housing outdoors. I am told it will run through the winter without a problem but I hesitate to say that confidently until we have been through one winter.
Where is the camera located in relationship to some landmarks I might know? I've been to the area many times.
The camera is located on a tree 60 yards in front of the Temporary Visitor Center. If you are familiar with the historic structures in the Upper Geyser Basin, this satellite image will give you a good idea of the camera's location.
Why isn't the page updating every thirty seconds like it is supposed to?
Yellowstone has a highly variable Internet connection. We are obliged to use the Department of the Interior network. At times it is blazing fast while at other times crawls to a near stop. When our Internet connection is extremely sluggish, there is not enough time in 30 seconds to send the image. In that case the last image sent continues to show up on the webcam page until the network connection speeds up enough to allow another image to get through to our server. Our servers are in Washington D.C.
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