• Cinematography

  HD timelapse recording

  Posted by Siew Kei on November 18, 2006 at 12:09 pm

  Hi,

  I am trying to figure out how to do a timelapse recording of an installation of a large outdoor structure that will take several months to complete. The footage needs to be in HD as the rest of the video is being shot on HD.

  1) Is there a system that would allow me to automatically record the frames from the video camera to a PC or large harddisk storage, so that the system does not require any human intervention for the whole duration of the project, or at least perhaps for a couple of weeks at a stretch?

  2)Although the rest of the video is being shot using a Panasonic AJ-HDX900, I wouldn’t be able to afford to dedicate the camera for the timelapse shot. Any comments about using a consumer HDV camera to record timelapse instead?

  3)Another idea I heard about is to use a still camera to record the frames. I guess most mid- to high-end digital camera would have enough resolution to match up to HD footage. But again, is there a system that can do the recording automatically?

  Thanks for any advice on this.

  Regards,

  Siew Kei

  Siew Kei replied 19 years, 5 months ago 4 Members · 8 Replies
• 8 Replies

• 

  Tony

  November 19, 2006 at 1:15 am

  Siew the majority of DSLR and even compact digital still cameras exceed the spacial resolution of HD crapcorders I mean camcorders.

  Time lapse is nothing more than a series of still images played back as a movie.

  So yes indeed a dlsr would be an ideal way to go.

  The issues to deal with are the proper environmental housing and power source for a longer project.

  Tony Salgado
• 

  Siew Kei

  November 19, 2006 at 8:18 am

  Hi Tony,

  Thanks for the comments.

  Would you know of any controller system that could automatically trigger the DSLR to record the timelapse ?

  Regards,

  Siew Kei
• 

  Tony

  November 19, 2006 at 4:59 pm

  You will need to use and external laptop or computer to do the capture. With software programmed to determine when to shoot and how many frames to capture.

  The camera will only be used as the image capture.

  FYI for long term shooting you have to avoid touching the camera itself to avoid change the perspective etc.

  Do a search in the digital photography forum or on the internet for timelapse with an external computer setup.

  Good luck,

  Tony Salgado
• 

  Chris Bierlein

  November 20, 2006 at 5:15 am

  There are a few digital SLR’s that have intervalometers built in and others that can be controlled with a simple remote switch. You would simply set the camera to shoot frames at your required interval and write them to a memory card onboard. With a 2 or 4 gig Compact Flash card, you should be able to hold at least 2000 frames of the size and resolution you require. Something else to look into. Good luck!

  Chris B.

  http://www.chrisbierlein.com
• 

  Siew Kei

  November 20, 2006 at 2:35 pm

  Hi Tony,

  Thanks for the tips.

  Regards

  Siew Kei
• 

  Siew Kei

  November 20, 2006 at 2:43 pm

  Hi Chris,

  Thanks for the suggestion. One of the concerns I am wondering about will be the limitation of the internal memory if the project is over a few months. Still trying to work out what sort of interval between shots.

  Regards

  Siew Kei
• 

  13

  November 21, 2006 at 5:47 am

  One pic per hour over 4 months would only be 2880 pics which should be vary doable.
• 

  Siew Kei

  November 21, 2006 at 2:59 pm

  Hi,

  Thanks for doing the maths – you’re right, the figure doesn’t look so large after all.

  Regards,

  Siew Kei

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