C'mon guys / girls, there's got to be some of you out there that are proficient / guru's at time lapse on the old XL2's....what are the tricks / tips. Any help / tips would be greatly appreciated.

I did a "timelapse" search on here and turned up zilch..... surprising I thought.

Thanks in anticipation!
Al

Hi Al,

As far as I know timelapse is not possible with a DV or HDV tapedriven camera. There may be one but I don't know it. I believe the problem is that DV and HDV are a long GOP codec so it needs at least a certain number of frames (12 or 15) to stop and start.

The XL2 has a function that can do a short clip with a stop then another short clip followed by a stop, etc. It is not a satisfactory experience if you are looking for true timelapse. Another not very good option with the XL2 is to shoot the full time length in regular fashion, then speed up the timeline in post.

I had an XL2 for a few years, but for timelapse I had to switch to a still camera (in my case a D300) that has an internal function to allow shots at one second intervals or further apart. If your still camera does not
have that function, you could try an intervalometer.

Hope that helps.

Alan

A software solution like this Boinx Software - iStopMotion 2 (http://www.boinx.com/istopmotion/overview) might be best, or it can be done with most NLEs with varying degrees of ease.

Small point but as far as I understand HD is a long GOP codec but DV, which uses intraframe compression, is not. It may well be due to the mechanics of the tape drive that single frame (or would it be twin frame since DV is normally interlaced?) is not a feature in most camcorders.

Hi Colin,

Thanks for the clarification on the DV compression. Lots to learn about this game!

Alan

Hi Colin, Al,

Thanks for the answers. I had had a go at shooting in interval mode but it didn't quite produce the results I've seen with time lapse........ Mind you for the limited resources of the XL2, if played sped up one gets the idea and I reckon if one layered it in AE CS4 it may start looking good...well, enough for me at the moment.........I'll have to start saving for a decent DSLR though.

Colin, I'll look at your link as well.

Thanks again.

Al

I've had many successful time-lapse shots of the clouds, the moon, sunsets, etc. with the xl2 as long as it's set correctly. Granted the constant start and stop is probably hard on the mechanism, but it's worth it. I started using my Nikon point and shoot more recently since it shoots decent SD quality time-lapse in camera.

I should bust out the old xl2 and do some more shots, especially since I have the HD up-res software ready to go.