Time-lapse project

[Herakles]

I've been messing round with this time-lapse malarkey of late, but the lack of dark skies has scuppered any plans of doing a stars-rising kinda thing, so this sort of thing is all I've managed as yet :

04-7-10 19.26 - 23.27 30fps B | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

As winter edges closer, I'll need to find somewhere I can reliably "hide" my laptop & camera, so they can do the hours of imaging while I, er, do something else. I don't have a garden to set it all up in so it'll have to be somewhere remote. Reeeeally remote.

Hi Ivor , think I am pretty much near you ( I am G67 ) . I plan on going to a remote location on the 12th hopefully. Maybe a 90min max drive. Looking to try out the WF TL rig for the first time. Hope its clear that night.

I also posted on CSOG as well .

Clear Skies

Pete

[LukeSkywatcher]

Quick question............if i want a TL movie to last about 60-90 seconds....................how many individual frames do i need?

I tried 12 x 5s last night and the TL movie was over in a couple of seconds.

[Takahashi]

It all depends how smooth you want the video to be. Anything above 25fps will appear acceptably smooth to most people, so, if you want one minute of video at this rate, 60 seconds x 25fps = 1500 frames.

[EA2007]

As a rule at 27fps then you need around 750 frames for 30 seconds.

So as Takahashi says, 1500 will get you 60 seconds worth.

[LukeSkywatcher]

WOW. I had NO idea it takes that many. I think i'm gonna need a programmable shutter release cable.

Thanks guys.

[Takahashi]

Do you have a laptop Paul? It's far easier to let the Canon software do the laborious job of sequential shots. You can program it to take a shot every "x" seconds with "x" seconds gap between them, (good for keeping sensor heat levels down) and how many frames to take in total, with full control over shutter speed and aperture. Also, liveview on the laptop screen can be very handy for initial focusing, as long as you remember to disable it thereafter!

[LukeSkywatcher]

I do have a laptop but never take it outside due to certain constraints. Thiose being a lack of electrical supply outside and the battery on the laptop lasting no more then an hour at best.

[MartinB]

Great work Peter - noctilucent clouds, meteor showers and the milky way, good going!

[Takahashi]

I do have a laptop but never take it outside due to certain constraints. Thiose being a lack of electrical supply outside and the battery on the laptop lasting no more then an hour at best.

Would active USB extension cables be an option? If over 5 metres in length, they need to be active in order to "boost" the power. As far as I know, they're "daisychain-able", to a maximum of about 15 metres (3 x 5 metres), so you may even be able to sit in the house while the camera's out in the cold.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Probably just easier to plug the lappy into the mains source in the garage. I'm not really into all this imaging stuff but its certainly something i'd like to do as a little project. I guess the laptop and camera outside is not too much gear to lug around. Not sure if my Canon software works though. I can never get it to work on the desktop. I have a program called Eos camera movie record (free online). I wonder if that would work.

[Takahashi]

You don't need to have the laptop outside though - the mini-USB to USB cable that plugs into the camera can then plug into an active USB extension(s), up to 15 metres if required, so the only thing that needs to be outside is the camera & tripod. You can then sit in the (relative) comfort of the garage or house and fight with the Canon software!

What is the problem with the software anyway? Do you just take the SD card out of the camera and plug it into a card-reader when you want to transfer photos? I just plug the aforementioned mini-USB to USB cable into the PC, and it automatically loads the EOS utilities; the same utilities that control the camera remotely. The window that opens up gives you four options, the third being "Camera settings/remote shooting".

[fatwoul]

<object width="400" height="320"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=6064603&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=6064603&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="320"></embed></object><p><a href="

">Night Time</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2158013'>http://vimeo.com/user2158013">Robin Manford</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

[fatwoul]

<object width="400" height="320"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=6064603&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=6064603&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="320"></embed></object>

[fatwoul]

Here's mine.

(couldn't get it to embed)

[LukeSkywatcher]

You don't need to have the laptop outside though - the mini-USB to USB cable that plugs into the camera can then plug into an active USB extension(s), up to 15 metres if required, so the only thing that needs to be outside is the camera & tripod. You can then sit in the (relative) comfort of the garage or house and fight with the Canon software!

What is the problem with the software anyway? Do you just take the SD card out of the camera and plug it into a card-reader when you want to transfer photos? I just plug the aforementioned mini-USB to USB cable into the PC, and it automatically loads the EOS utilities; the same utilities that control the camera remotely. The window that opens up gives you four options, the third being "Camera settings/remote shooting".

Not sure what the problem with it is. It wasnt even on the disc when i bought the camera. A friend in Australia sent me the Eos Utilities software and it still doesnt work. I'm sure i am doing something wrong. To transfer images from the camera to computer i just plug in the USB cable and copy them across.

[Takahashi]

To transfer images from the camera to computer i just plug in the USB cable and copy them across.

Ah, so Windows (I'm assuming you use Windows) just sees it as another drive attached to the system? Does Windows pop-up with a request box asking you to choose an option when you plug the camera into the computer, and turn it on? If so, is there no option there to open or use EOS Utility?

Have you tried the updated software from the Canon site? You may have to have the original software installed first though.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Yeah WinXp sees the camera as just another drive. Yeah the window pops up and asks me to choose a program.

I can open utilities. I just keep getting an error saying [camerawindow] not compatible with camera. Or something similar.

[Takahashi]

Hmm... you say you got the disk from a friend in Aus? I wonder if there's an incompatibility between theirs and ours? It would make sense I suppose, since the camera does record date & time data, if nothing else. I would definitely try the updated drivers from Canon themselves.

EOS 450D

The above link shows all updates available for your camera, but you should only need the latest version of each; for example, there's a v2.4, v2.7.3 and v2.8.1 of EOS Utils, where you'd only need v2.8.1. Whether these will happily install on top of the Aussie versions, can only try I suppose.

Remember to select Windows XP in the drop-down box at the top of the page, or you'll have about 100 different versions to trawl through!

[LukeSkywatcher]

Thanks. I'll give it a go.

[Takahashi]

No problem. Good luck.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Well i just downloaded the latest service pack and installed it.

NADA!!!!!!!!!!.

Eos Utilities still refuses to allow me to "connect camera","connect Eos camera". Camera window is not compatible with camera OR camera not found please check your connections.

Looks like i am gonna have to do my TL stuff the hard way...............take 1500 individual images via shutter cable and then combine them.

Thats fine. I dont mind. It makes me feel more involved. I'll just get myself one of the more expensive shutter release cables.

Is there a rule of thumb as to how long between each exposure?. Say if i take a few every minute on the minute and then a few every 5 minutes on the minute..............will they "flow"?

[Takahashi]

Is there a rule of thumb as to how long between each exposure?. Say if i take a few every minute on the minute and then a few every 5 minutes on the minute..............will they "flow"?

If the exposure sequence is in any way irregular, either in shutter speed, aperture, exposure gap-time or exposure time itself, it will stand out like a sore thumb. If you're after a particular effect, by all means experiment, but if "natural" flow is what you're after- regular, accurate timings are paramount, and best results are often achieved through using the "manual" setting on the camera, with a fixed aperture & exposure setting. This keeps the light levels more or less constant, where the camera might adjust those settings if it were left in control, resulting in a "flashing" effect as light-levels change.

It's really a bit of a learning-curve to be honest, and a fairly laborious one at that, with lots of trial & error involved. If you've got the time, it can be fun to experiment, but prepare to be without the camera for several hours at a time, if you want your sequences to be of any significant length and frame-rate.

Sorry the software solution didn't work out.