The111 1 #1 March 31, 2006 I found a few other threads on this but I'm interested in a specific comparison here. If I want to capture a sunrise, for example, what is better - continuous recording and then speed it up in editing software later, or use the interval record mode in the camera? Obviously the first choice will use up an entire tape in an hour... assuming that I don't mind the loss, and that the sunrise will "complete" within one hour (since I would not be able to swap tapes without screwing up camera position probably), I would think this method would be more robust. Anybody have any experience with both methods?www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plutoniumsalmon 0 #2 March 31, 2006 I hate posting but here it goes Speeding up is the one I use on video and it seems to work just fine. I never heard of anyone using interval on video (talking about video professionals here). I think it has something to do with tape getting up to speed to record. The best way for a time lapse is to use your digital still camera with an intervalometer. What you do is get your camera to take a frame at a set interval. Then bring it into your computer and import it into your editing software in sequence and then play it at regular speed (24 frames, 30 whatever). That way you can get a high def time lapse (your digital camera shoots frames at a higher resolution than video) that is far better looking and you dont have to worry about the hour time limit on your video camera. This is just a rough version of how it is done so if you want more details PM me so I can explain to you how it works. Also to remember that you can sell a really nice high def time lapse for beacoup money at a stock footage library. I would like to sincerely apologize if any of this information is redundant. But sometimes you have to wonder on these forumsPointy birds Oh pointy pointy Anoint my head Anointy nointy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zoter 0 #3 March 31, 2006 The camcorder one works just fine..... New tape.....set your optimal position...(think about where the sun is going to be as well as where its coming from......aim for the middle ) Set tape to LP.......with a new tape and clean heads shoudlnt be an issue, and you will 90 instead of 60mins to play with Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccordia 73 #4 March 31, 2006 I've done quite a bit of this on video/DV. Just make sure you set the camera to manual, as you dont want the camera to adjust its exposure during shooting (causing flashes in your image) Best is to speed it up in editing software that allows frame blending (premiere/after effects), because other programs just throw frames away when you speed footage up. While frame-blending allows 1 second, sped up to 1 frame to blend the frames. Technicaly getting 1 second exposures..giving you smooth motion throughout the video. Where as other forms of timelaps, can be a bit blocky in terms of motion If you download my Empuria video (seach for McCordia on skydivingmovies.com) you'll find a small segment of timelaps stuff at the end...JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LukeH 0 #5 March 31, 2006 Hey Matt, The quality of the interval record mode depends on the model of camera. The older Sony PC cams (e.g. PC101) capture 1/2 second every 30 seconds or something, this stop-start type of interval recording usually looks quite jerky. e.g. http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=3089&string=packing%20in%20transit Newer cameras such as the PC350 can capture 1 frame at set intervals of as little as 1 second. This looks much smoother. I'm pretty sure that is what Douggs used with his PC1000 in the videos on http://www.basedreams.com/ . For the longer captures I think he used 1 frame every 8 seconds. Just work out how long you think you are going to record and how long you want the clip to be and figure out your interval between frames. Set the camera to Manual and plug the camera in so you don't run out of battery. Have fun at the Flock and Dock. C-ya P.S. If you have a camera that supports 1 frame capture at reasonable intervals I doubt you will get noticably better results by recording real time and speeding it up after. P.P.S. There isn't a problem with the tape getting up to speed to record on the newer cameras, as far as I can tell the camera captures a few frames (5-10) and then writes them to tape. The write to tape isn't in real time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 1 #6 March 31, 2006 QuoteJust make sure you set the camera to manual, as you dont want the camera to adjust its exposure during shooting (causing flashes in your image) You mean the focus, when you say set the camera to manual?www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 1 #7 March 31, 2006 Yup, everything you said is right Luke. I have the HC90 and played around with it last night, it goes down to 1 second intervals and records every several frames at a time. I did 5 second intervals for an hour while I walked around my room. It looks choppy because of the nature of how fast my movements are (compared to a sunrise), but for my intended use it should work perfectly. Thanks for the replies guys. Sorry you won't be here next week Luke.www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #8 April 3, 2006 I posted this in the bonfire but for those that don't go there... I made this Time Lapse Video over the weekend. http://www.scottgunshell.com/CloudyDayFun.wmv 1. To do it I used my Digital Rebel XT (Tokina 17mm lens) (on a trypod) attached to my laptop via by USB. 2. I shot in Manual mode so that the f/stop and shutter speed didn't change from frame to frame... I wanted the overall lighting to stay close to the same frame to frame. I adjusted the speed in each room to ensure the overall exposure was correct... the reason i didn't shoot in Auto mode is because I figured the overally light would change when I moved about the room and I didn't want the overall level of light in each picture to change substantially from frame to frame. I used the camera software to shoot at 5 second intervals this was the shortest interval I could do through the software saving them directly to the computer. I'm not sure if this is a software or hardware limitation. I took the pictures at the large fine setting but I'm not sure thats really necessary for final use for video as it is nearly twice the resolution needed for HD video. To render the videos from the still images I used the Gimp animation package... (which seems really nice though I haven't fiddled with it much.) I rendered each room seperately... so I could vary the frame rate individually. I made the final video using Windows Movie maker... I figure ultimately this would be perfect to do something like photographing a sunset or an approaching storm... would be really neat... Let me know if you have any pointers... thoughts... ScottLivin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 1 #9 April 4, 2006 Cool video, man. www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pope 0 #10 April 4, 2006 scott- you have the total right Idea. digital still camera, laptop or intervalometer, and a capture program on the laptop is the way to go. btw--nice transition with the cupboard door. makes a boring subject a little more interesting! PS: next time go to a movie and hire a maid. pope Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fast 0 #11 April 4, 2006 The quality of that video is much higher than I think you could even hope to get out of using any of the non-hd miniDV cameras that are around. I also think if you were taping something that was much slower it would be smoother. I always wanted to play around with time lapse stuff some.. I think ill shoot one of the skies this week while im at work. I have a pretty nice view to work with and some free time.~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #13 April 4, 2006 The video was down converted to 640x480 which is a limitation of moviemaker. I did find a program that'll allow me do intervals @ 1 second (the built in camera software is limited to 5 seconds)... which I might get since it's get some other bracketing features which are really nice. as for: Quote trIpod I did use one... but it also would seem to be a good idea to use a AC adapter as my battery died while I was cleaning the front room (the one with the kennel and piano in it...) then I wasn't paying attention before I returned it to the tripod I had inadvertently switched it to Manual Focus which is why it was blurry for a bit. But then I noticed it later... and corrected it.Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pope 0 #14 April 6, 2006 QuoteThe quality of that video is much higher than I think you could even hope to get out of using any of the non-hd miniDV cameras that are around. Better than HDV, for sure. It's at LEAST HD quality if not better. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LukeH 0 #15 April 6, 2006 QuoteI did find a program that'll allow me do intervals @ 1 second are you talking about DSLR Remote Pro? http://www.breezesys.com/DSLRRemotePro/index.htm or something different? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #16 April 6, 2006 QuoteQuoteI did find a program that'll allow me do intervals @ 1 second are you talking about DSLR Remote Pro? http://www.breezesys.com/DSLRRemotePro/index.htm or something different? that's what I was talking about it... are there any other alternatives out there?Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LukeH 0 #17 April 6, 2006 Quote that's what I was talking about it... are there any other alternatives out there? that is what i was wondering because $95 dollars seems a bit pricey. there is an application available for PowerShot Cameras, the Author is supposed to be releasing an EOS version "Early 2006" http://www.granitebaysoftware.com/Default.aspx i haven't found anything else yet, but i'm working my way through SourceForde at the moment. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #18 April 7, 2006 Quotethere is an application available for PowerShot Cameras, the Author is supposed to be releasing an EOS version "Early 2006" http://www.granitebaysoftware.com/Default.aspx i haven't found anything else yet, but i'm working my way through SourceForde at the moment. I'm not in a huge rush... let me know what you find... I'll keep looking too...Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccordia 73 #19 April 7, 2006 This video has some timelaps shots at the end, shot with a regular DV camera (the last minute or so) http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=3385&string=empuria The advantage of speeding your footage up in post (with an editing/compositing program that supports frame-blending) is that you loose the jerky moves that timelaps quite often gives you (basicaly creating very long exposure times, because all the frames are overlayed onto each other, instead of thrown away) Older versions of premiere (4.2) have a timelaps and stop-motion capture setting, that you could also use to capture your timelaps footage directly to a computer...(not a method I use..just a feature I'm sad they didnt include in the newer versions)JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeiber 0 #20 April 7, 2006 QuoteI posted this in the bonfire but for those that don't go there... I have to say, that is really cool! You've inspired me to try it myself this weekend. I just wonder how long my laptop battery will last while doing this... JeffShhh... you hear that sound? That's the sound of nobody caring! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alw 0 #21 April 8, 2006 For those that have a PC1000, HC90 or similar and want great sky shots time lapse use the smooth interval recorsing at 1 frame per second. If you want it to go faster, then spped it up in post. I usually shoot 1 frame every 2 seconds which gives me a conversion of 1 minute time = 1 second video for shooting people moving. I have a timelapse shot from a high corner position in our packing area at .5 FPS for several hours on a busy weekend day. I like to work it into DVD's I make for friends that jump tandem. If you're recording with a stills camera a horizontal resolution of 1280 for HD or 720 for SD will give you the sharpest picture. P.S. an very nice effect is time bending that you can do with after effects. Speed up the shot smoothly as the jumpers move back in the plane and hit the door, then slow it down smoothly and evenly for the exit, then back up to full speed for the dive flow. Post production overdose. --------------------------------------------- Every day is a bonus - every night is an adventure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
