Time Lapse Equipment Question

[EricH]

Probably should have posted this last night...

I put in an order for a camera yesterday afternoon, but am still taking ideas for software. (If you want to know what type of camera, PM me.)

CDHK: Biggest problem is that you have to have the right type of camera (as in, one that there is a CDHK for). I don't have that type available. Second biggest problem is the card size--IIRC, it doesn't work too well with cards over 4GB, which could leave me short timewise.

The other tricky part with webcams, which I didn't realize before (hadn't seen the location yet), was that mounting them would be a non-trivial exercise. In this case, that's true for any camera--but when you need connection to a computer, and the best place for a computer is something like 25 feet away, that can really limit your options.

[zim2411]

Post the model! The software recommendation is highly dependent on the brand/model.

This is more on the high end consumer/pro side but Canon includes software for their DSLR line that allows interval shooting. I don't know if it extends to the point and shoots. Nikon has something similar as well I believe. Lightroom 3 has support for both companies' DSLRs with tethered shooting.

Unless you ordered a model with a specific time lapse mode, you will still need a USB connection. You can get a USB extension cable from Monoprice.com for < $10. I've shot tethered with my Canon Rebel T1i using 4 USB extension cables strung together with no problems. (Total length was 20ish ft maybe?)

[EricH]

Using a GoPro HD HERO. Yes, it has a time-lapse mode (though not quite as fast as I'd like--but my Canon Powershot has a 10-shot-max timed mode, which verified that the speed I'll be getting should be fast enough when I checked a couple days ago).

The 25-foot distance, BTW, is not horizontal. It's vertical. (No catwalks or anything like that--I might be able to use a lift, but that remains to be seen.) There's maybe one place that I might be able to put a laptop at that level, but that would definitely require the cord. I can place/attach a camera up there, though. There's ladders around.

[zim2411]

Ahh okay. From their site:

The camera can also shoot automatic 5 megapixel photos at 2/5/10/30 and 60 second intervals during your activity, hands free. Press the shutter button once at the start of your activity and record up to 2.5 hours of poster-print quality photos of you and your friends, living it up.

So you won't need a laptop there at all. Just get the camera into place, and start it up. I'm assuming the output will be a sequence of images, in which case you'll need a video editor to stitch them together. That 2.5 hour limit mentioned on the site seems rather arbitrary though. I'm not sure if that's a space or battery limitation or software or what.

[EricH]

It's battery. There's a 9-hour limit for video storage (if you're using the maximum size card). That battery time limit can also be worked around if need be (the batteries charge from a computer or a USB power adapter).

[Bongle]

Whenever I do a timelapse, I usually just take a straight video at the lowest fps the camera is capable of, then drop frames from the video until it at my desired length. This means you don't need to do any firmware fiddling, but it does mean you need a big memory card and a power source to keep the camera running.

Tools:
-Rad Video Tools - Can convert pretty much anything into AVI files
-Virtual dub - Can very quickly drop frames from AVI files
-Xvid codec - A reasonable compression solution

Process:
1) Take video
2) Use Rad Video tools to convert it to AVI, if necessary
2.1) Open tools, find video
2.2) Click "convert a file"
2.3) Choose "AVI" as output format
2.4) When prompted, choose xvid as compression format, choose high quality level (you're not keeping this file, so don't worry about size)
2.5) Save
3) Open AVI in Vdub
3.1) Video->full processing mode
3.2) Video->Decimate By->[enter the ratio you want your video to be faster by)
3.3) Video->compression->xvid (choose a good quality)
3.4) File->save as AVI
3.5) Wait...
3.6) File->open your AVI
3.7) Video->direct stream copy (makes sure it doesn't recompress when you change your frame rate)
3.8) Video->Frame rate->30fps
3.9) File->save as AVI (this will be your final file)

Done!

It seems that not many apps have the ability to directly modify frame rates, so Virtualdub is what I've always used.