A collage with three panels: a lightning bolt striking over mountains, a hand holding an electronic device labeled "Bolt Hunter," and another vivid lightning strike illuminating a mountainous landscape at night.

Motion Horizons LLC has announced Bolt Hunter, a purpose-built lightning camera trigger that it describes as “the most advanced lightning photography tool ever built,” designed to address some of the most persistent challenges in storm photography, including missed daytime strikes, overexposed nighttime frames, and inconsistent shutter timing.

A Singular Focus on Lightning

Founded by Jeff Boyce, Motion Horizons says Bolt Hunter was engineered with a singular focus. Rather than attempting to build a multi-purpose device that blends lightning detection with a wide array of secondary features, the company concentrated exclusively on refining lightning capture performance. That design philosophy informed everything from the detection algorithms to the physical controls, battery system, and mounting solution. According to the company, every aspect of the device was evaluated through the lens of one question: Does this improve lightning photography?

“We designed Bolt Hunter to address the complaints and shortcomings of every trigger on the market,” Boyce says.

“Instead of building a do-it-all device that’s marginal at many things, we built something exceptional at one thing: lightning photography.”

Boyce frames the product as a response to years of user frustration with inconsistent triggers, false positives in bright conditions, and the delicate balance required to capture early-stage lightning structure without blowing out the frame.

A person in a gray shirt and cap sets up a camera on a tripod in a desert landscape with sparse vegetation, distant mountains, and a cloudy sky.

A camera set up on a tripod inside a car captures lightning striking in a field under a cloudy sky, with green crops stretching to the horizon.

A camera on a tripod is set up in a grassy field, aimed at distant hills under a dark, stormy sky with a bolt of lightning striking in the background.

A camera with a raindrop-covered Bolt Hunter control panel is set up on a mountain overlook, facing the distant Half Dome rock formation in Yosemite National Park under a cloudy sky.

Beyond Reactive Triggers

Traditional lightning triggers rely primarily on brightness spikes to fire the shutter, meaning they react to visible changes in light intensity. Bolt Hunter takes a more analytical approach. According to Motion Horizons, the device detects faint intracloud precursor activity that can precede visible stepped leaders. It then measures the camera’s actual shutter lag and compensates for it in real time.

The system analyzes return stroke timing during an active lightning event and can schedule subsequent exposures within milliseconds. Motion Horizons refers to this as predictive triggering. The first detection is reactive, but once a bolt begins, the device calculates when the camera will be ready to fire again and buffers additional exposures to maximize capture reliability. The company emphasizes that it is not predicting when lightning will strike, but rather optimizing exposure timing once a lightning event is already underway.

This distinction is important for storm photographers who work in fast-moving cells where timing differences of just a few milliseconds can determine whether the stepped leader is captured cleanly or missed entirely.

A dramatic lightning bolt strikes the Grand Canyon during a storm, with dark clouds and rain on the right and a golden sunset illuminating canyon cliffs on the left.

A bright lightning bolt strikes from dark storm clouds above a mountainous landscape with green vegetation at sunset, casting dramatic light over the scene.

A vivid lightning bolt strikes the ground under a dark sky with a faint rainbow, above a winding dirt path running through a grassy, open landscape with distant hills.

Built for Dynamic Conditions

Bolt Hunter is designed to function in rapidly changing ambient light, including conditions that can confuse conventional triggers. Bright skies, shifting cloud cover, and even direct sunlight can introduce false triggers or prevent a system from detecting lightning altogether. Motion Horizons says Bolt Hunter automatically adjusts sensitivity as lighting conditions shift, allowing users to configure the device once and leave it operating without constant recalibration.

The company states that the device can trigger even when pointed directly into the sun, a scenario that often presents challenges for brightness-based systems.

For nighttime shooting, Bolt Hunter includes a dedicated Night Mode. Rather than triggering to start an exposure, Night Mode holds the shutter open in BULB mode and closes it once lightning is detected. This approach is designed to capture the earliest visible stages of a strike while limiting the risk of overexposure caused by repeated return strokes within the same frame. For photographers working after dark, this method offers an alternative to stacking multiple strikes into a single exposure and hoping for balanced results.

A camera accessory device with labeled features: USB-C charging port, auto-tightening cold shoe mount, tactile buttons, weather-sealed body, and built-in intervalometer, shown mounted on a camera and held in hand.

A hand holds a Bolt Hunter lightning camera trigger. Next to it are images of a camera cable and a USB-C charger with wall outlet and cable, each with descriptive labels.

Workflow-Focused Features

Bolt Hunter integrates directly into storm-chasing workflows. A built-in intervalometer allows photographers to run a timelapse while simultaneously triggering on lightning, eliminating the need for multiple external accessories. This dual functionality is intended to streamline setups during rapidly evolving weather events.

A lightning simulation mode enables users to test their configuration in the field and evaluate return-stroke capture performance before a storm fully develops. The device operates independently with a single-button setup and does not require a mobile application for basic lightning triggering or timelapse functionality.

However, a Bluetooth companion application unlocks additional capabilities, including shutter lag measurement tools, predictive triggering controls, firmware updates, and connection monitoring alerts. Optional motion detection alerts notify users if a camera tips or shifts position, and an integrated speaker can provide audible confirmations or error notifications. These additions are aimed at reducing uncertainty during long waits between storm cells.

Designed for demanding outdoor environments, Bolt Hunter features a compact, weather-sealed housing intended to withstand heavy rain. It includes an internal lithium battery rated for more than 48 hours of runtime, eliminating the need for disposable 9-volt batteries. Charging is handled via USB Type C.

An auto-tightening cold shoe mount prevents slippage during use. The mount incorporates a sacrificial design intended to protect the camera body during hard falls, with a user-replaceable component priced at approximately $15. This approach acknowledges the unpredictable terrain and conditions that storm photographers often encounter in the field.

A bright lightning bolt strikes from a swirling dark cloud above rugged mountains and a dry, open plain under a stormy sky.

A dramatic lightning bolt strikes during a nighttime storm, illuminating the sky above a modern blue bridge over a highway with streaks of car lights, creating a vibrant and electric scene.

A dramatic landscape showing Shiprock, a tall rock formation under a cloudy night sky, as a bolt of lightning illuminates clouds in the distance over an arid, grassy plain.

Bright lightning bolts strike the ground near dark, forested mountains under a cloudy night sky, illuminating the rugged landscape.

Compatibility

Motion Horizons states that Bolt Hunter supports the vast majority of modern cameras, including models from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic, OM System, Pentax, Leica, Hasselblad, and Sigma.

The device uses standard, non-proprietary shutter cables for physical connections. For cameras without a dedicated shutter port, such as the Canon R50, Bolt Hunter supports Bluetooth Low Energy triggering. It also supports newer USB Type-C shutter connectors on select models, though the company notes that Bluetooth can offer lower shutter lag in certain lightning photography scenarios.

Motion Horizons states that manufacturing is already underway, with first production units scheduled for delivery in April 2026. Availability beyond the Kickstarter campaign has not yet been detailed, though the company indicates that the campaign will serve as the primary launch channel.

As lightning photography continues to attract dedicated enthusiasts and professional storm chasers alike, Motion Horizons is positioning Bolt Hunter as a specialized, performance-driven alternative to general-purpose triggers. Whether its predictive timing system and workflow-centric design translate into measurable gains in the field will ultimately be determined by the photographers who deploy it in real storm conditions.

A person outdoors rapidly sets up a compact tripod, extending and locking its legs with swift movements. The background is a grassy field.
Pricing and Availability

Bolt Hunter launches on Kickstarter on March 3, 2026. Early backers can secure launch pricing starting at $279, representing a discount of more than 20% off the planned manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $349.

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Image credits: Motion Horizons LLC