Dress Up Your Finish Line for Improved FinishLynx Images
Having a crisp, white finish line is the quickest way to ensure clear FinishLynx captures. It doesn’t matter if your finish line is on a track, along the grass, or across a paved road. Depending on your situation, you can choose to use white gaffers tape (matte, non-glossy), chalk, or even paint (if allowed) to improve your finish line.
When re-painting the finish line is not an option, a very useful tool for timers to have with them is white gaffer tape which can be both a cheap and effective way to drastically improve the FinishLynx image. Even if the finish line at your meet isn’t the worst you’ve seen, making this minor enhancement still offers a big improvement in the quality of your photo-finish images (see example image below). The key thing to remember with gaffer tape is that it’s non-reflective, whereas something shiny like white duct tape may reflect TOO much light at the camera if it is sunny.
Some choose to go a step further and add black tape to the lane lines which is a great way to clearly identify the lanes in your image. If you don’t want to add black tape, another option is to leave a space without gaffer tape between each lane to help differentiate the lanes. Many users will also add a white post/board on the far end of their finish line. This vertical post extends the white finish line vertically to create more uniform image captures.
Since gaffers tape comes in various sizes, we recommend using the 2″ tape. Two options for gaffers tape can be found below:
- From Amazon: Amazon Basics No Residue, Non-Reflective Gaffers Tape – 2 inch x 90 feet, White
- Actual Gaffer brand: Gaffer Tape, 2 Inch x 30 Yards – White
If you need additional support, please contact our Technical Support Team and be sure to join the FinishLynx Sports Timers Group on Facebook to connect with fellow Lynx operators.