Saturday, August 6, 2011

Time Lapse first test!

Like I promised, here is a quick test of the new remote for Time-lapse.

It took a few minutes to figure out what each setting actually controls so after I got the basics down I configured the remote to trigger a shot every 10 seconds for as long as I wanted (meaning I did not set a time for it to stop, rather left it up to "user defined" (me) to click the Stop button).

First try was pointing the camera out a window on the 46th fl of a Manhattan building: (a photo every 10 sec)



Second try was in Grand Central Station: (a photo taken every 5 sec)




When planning a time lapse sequence you will need to do some simple math, I will use a one minute sequence as a frame of reference:

Let's say you want to have a finished timeline of 1 minute clip @ 24 frames per second (fs):

1 minute = 60 sec
60 sec x 24 fs = 1440 frames ( so you need to shoot 1440 images to end up with a 60 sec clip)

Now, multiply the number of frames (1440) by the interval value (how long apart will each frame be taken, i.e, every 10 sec):

1440 x 10 sec = 14400 - that is the number of total seconds required to capture the one min clip.

Lastly, divide that number by 60 seconds so you know how many minutes it will be -
144000 : 60 = 240 min (= 4 hours).

A one minute clip is pretty long but you can use this to configure parts of the minute or more then a minute using the same basic formula.

I only got a few seconds of footage from each test so the clips you saw are actually "doubled up" to give a bit more viewing time :)

Everything was edited using Adobe Premiere CS 5.5

Keep in mind that a 35mm frame is larger then full HD (1920x1080) so some cropping will occur when you drop it onto a timeline unless you re-size your frame to fit the height of the video time line and have pure black left to either side of your clip.
You can adjust to it when you shoot by framing what you want and then zooming out a bit to allow for future cropping.
The photo at the top of the page is the full frame originally taken, compare that with the video clip crop.

To capture the above clips I used a Canon 5D mark 2 with a 145mm f2.8 lens @

NYC
1/200 sec, f/8
Mode: Manual
Metering: Evaluative
ISO: 100

Grand Central
1/15 sec, f/2.8
Mode: Manual
Metering: Evaluative
ISO: 640

The remote is Seculine Twin1 ISR both Adorama and BH Photo carry it along with a few other varieties for about $50, they are camera specific so make sure you get the right one for your camera type.
You can find a bunch of remotes online as well, just verify they do what you want as far as settings go.

Now I showed you mine, let me see your :)

Happy shooting!

4 comments:

  1. LOL! my parents used to think so, now they are waiting for me to get a "real" job ;)

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  2. Ive been dying to try some stuff like this looks awesome good job. ^__^

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  3. What remote are you using?
    post a link to anything you would like to share :)

    ReplyDelete