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huhu
Feb 24, 2006
I was attracted to time lapse photography because I was interested in getting into video and this seems like a less complicated first step. There are still a lot of variables - exposure settings, stationary/panning/tilting/linear motion, duration, # of photos, time between photos, FPS, etc. This thread is a place to discuss any and all of that.

Sample time lapses
https://vimeo.com/18554749

https://vimeo.com/69225705

https://vimeo.com/46599918


Getting Started
I read this article, grabbed my gear and went out and took a bunch of photos of various scenes. That's about the extent of my knowledge.

Gear:
  • Camera - Any camera will do
  • Tripod - You'll need someway to steady your shots because the camera will be in one place for a long period of time
  • Remote Control - Cheap ones can be purchased off of Ebay for like $15. My camera doesn't support a remote control so I had to find a way to continuously take pictures. I ended up 3D printing a part. Take a look around to see what creative solutions people have for your camera
  • ND Filter - This isn't necessary but if you're shooting in the middle of the day, you'll be using fast shutter speeds and the transition between frameswill be a bit jagged. Adding a ND filter will allow you to blur the motion and make smoother transitions between frames.
  • Something to pass the time - You'll have a lot of down time. 20 minutes of shooting might only produce 5 seconds of time lapse.

Settings/Shooting
You'll want to set a manual white balance, exposure, and focus if possible. Letting your camera pick these values can cause them to change between shots. Put your hand in front of the camera right when you start, and right as you finish, this gives you good markers to browse the hundreds or thousands of photos later on more easily.

Editing:
I haven't created anything worth editing in Photoshop or Lightroom yet but I suggest batch editing since all photos are very similar. As for creating the video, I use VirtualDub and read this article to get started.

Sample Videos
I'm still trying to figure out various settings but I figured this information might be helpful for people to figure out how to shoot/edit.

Clouds
Settings: f/11, 1/250s, ISO 200
Quantity: 341 Pictures with 2sec delay between
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIer9OBWa8U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV6GAVHFyvU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0827kdnpBoE

Duckboats
Settings: f/10, 1/160s, ISO 200
Quantity: 121 Pictures with 2sec delay between
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvVdrycSMCg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7Xk16DS4a4

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SoundMonkey
Apr 22, 2006

I just push buttons.


dank and rare duckboat footage itt

tk
Dec 10, 2003

Nap Ghost
I'm necro'ing this thread because I've been playing with time lapses and they are fun. I'm reasonably happy with how this one of sunrise turned out.

Didn't capture the stars as well as I wanted to, but I managed to at least make them visible at higher res. There's only so much I can do about the light pollution from loving Home Depot, but I think I may have been better off with lower ISO. Would have also liked to have about twice as many shots, as I love the smoothness with 60fps playback, but then things happen too fast.

I really like the fog at the bottom and the planes. Didn't think either of those would come through.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2cF6VOdvtI

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