Time lapse help.

nick.baker

nick.baker

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Name
Nick Baker
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Here is what I have:-

• Canon 50D
• Canon 400D
• Canon 18-55mm
• Canon 55-250mm
• Tripod
• Shutter release cable

No could somebody help me pick what's best to use and dumb it down for me how to take a time lapse video. I've read so much on google but still have no idea how to take them. Any help will be much appreciated.
 
Set camera on tripod, take shot, wait 10 secs, take shot, repeat as required to get sufficient frames for duration of video, ie 30 shots = 1 sec of video. Assemble shots in video editing program. Simples :D
 
artyman said:
Set camera on tripod, take shot, wait 10 secs, take shot, repeat as required to get sufficient frames for duration of video, ie 30 shots = 1 sec of video. Assemble shots in video editing program. Simples :D
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Isn't there different speeds for different effects if that makes sense!
 
You can shoot at any interval you like, say 1 second for example, it would be smoother, but you need more shots also the movement acceleration wouldn't be as great.
 
nick.baker said:
Here is what I have:-

• Canon 50D
• Canon 400D
• Canon 18-55mm
• Canon 55-250mm
• Tripod
• Shutter release cable

No could somebody help me pick what's best to use and dumb it down for me how to take a time lapse video. I've read so much on google but still have no idea how to take them. Any help will be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Well you have the base kit required so there is nothing stopping you from doing it. Ideally you should get an intervalometer to set-up the intervals between shots and means you don't have to time and actuate the shutter yourself.

It's something you have to play with to get the effect you want, or decide what you are wanting to do and then search for ways to do that specifically.

What you shoot, what activity there is in the scene and the final look you want defines how you shoot and process it.
 
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I used to have a 50D like you. My best timelapse results were achieved using tethered shooting from my laptop using USB. There are various programs out there which can automate the shooting for you, I bought one called DSLR Remote Pro which seems to work okay. I then made the video using QuickTime Pro, there is an option to load a sequence of images and turn into a video.

3 second shooting intervals and a minimum 20 frames per second seemed to give the best results with clouds etc.
 
I've only done a couple of time lapses both done with my "Hahnel Giga T Pro II" this is fully programmable to let you set number of exposures the interval time etc.. so it really depends on your scene that you want to capture

My most recent one was capturing out lawn being cut because the nature of the scene had fast changes I went for a photo every 5 seconds an if memory serves me correctly I went for a 10FPS frame rate :thinking:

[YOUTUBE]BRKggMWd8qY[/YOUTUBE]

where as if you were say capturing something that isn't changing a massive amount the you could say have a photo every minute :thinking:

Matt
MWHCVT
 
Once you have your images captured try this freeware app.
http://www.joern-thiemann.de/
You ware after the SSMM app (Slideshow movie maker).
Load all your images into it, set the number of frames you want each image to be displayed (1 for 25fps movie, I found 2 also works quite well) then set it on its way. It will encode in any format your computer has a codec for and will also allow you to add a soundtrack too.
 
Hi mate they look quite good. I am looking at making one of a tide coming into a harbour ect. I think I need to save for a bulb ramper and timer though as my 50d doesn't have the settings built in
 
You can pick up a relatively cheap cable release with built in timer do-hickys off ebay these days, or even a battery grip with them built in for about £40. If you have any computer software that allows you to click a button to take a photo, you can find free software like this: http://www.autohotkey.com/ to replay an action over and over at a designated delay., just record taking one frame then set it to repeat x-hundred times. Cheaper than DSLR remote.
 
Yeah I found a cheap one on eBay. It's the bulb ramper that is going to set me back I think
 
nick.baker said:
Yeah I found a cheap one on eBay. It's the bulb ramper that is going to set me back I think
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Make sure you get one that's compatible with your camera of course, all are not equal.

Take a look at Magic Lantern too, it might be successful for you, and it's free.
 
graphilly said:
Make sure you get one that's compatible with your camera of course, all are not equal.

Take a look at Magic Lantern too, it might be successful for you, and it's free.
Click to expand...

I have magic lantern but it's confusing how to use it. I think I need to learn more about it lol
 
I just bunged ML on my 550d, just follow the install guide exactly step by step and you can't go wrong.
There is surprisingly good documentation for Magic Lantern, even in camera too. I have not tried the bulb ramping bit yet, but the simple intervalometer works a treat. Bulb ramping looks simple enough to do I have not tried it as I said.
Just make sure you are ready to whip the battery out of your camera if you have any problems during the first install, better to be safe than sorry.
As far as I can work out the only thing it actually changes on your camera, rather than the card, is that it makes the camera look for a bootable memory card on power up.
 
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