New 5D2 Timelapse and 30p Video: "Timescapes Learning to Fly"

[Thomas Lowe]

Originally Posted by Daniel Browning

Welcome to dvinfo.net, Tom!

The Milky Way timelapses are fantastic.

oh, i go waaay back here. my first movie-related job ever i got here, with tyler cartner. i just can't seem to recall my old username! hahaha.

chris, the reasons i shoot 5.6K RAW, as opposed to smaller jpeg, are because:

1) JPEG is terrible for night shooting, and often leaves "hot" or "dead" pixels. you also really need control over exposure and color temp, especially when shooting the milky way in the summer.

2) I'm starting to turn my stock footage in at 4K now, and the oversampling is creating stunning 4K video. this stuff absolutely blows Red One "4K" footage out of the water. CMOS sensors are really only about 70-80% spatially efficient IMHO, so 5.6K RAW works out perfectly for 4K finishes.

[Julian Frost]

Thanks for answering my questions, Tom. I can't wait to try it. I guess I'll finally put some sand in my Steadicam-branded sand-bag and use it to lock down my Libec LS38 tripod, with my 5D mk II on top!

I read on your forums about using slower shutter speeds, such as 1/24th and 1/30th second to get nice motion blur when shooting moving objects. Do you subscribe to this way of thinking?

Julian

[Jon Fairhurst]

Originally Posted by Thomas Lowe

in other words, the camera exposes for 20s, then takes a 4s break, then exposes for 20s, etc. that way i can view a 2s "review" of the shot on the LCD, which is always nice to watch in progress.

Got it.

That's a fairly long exposure for the shooting frequency. It works out to 300 degrees, rather than the "film look" 180 degrees. I can't argue with the results though.

Come to think of it, the longer 300 degree shutter makes sense. A lot of timelapse stuff is too stuttery. It's not surprising that it would need a longer shutter than real time motion.

I'm not sure if you've followed the other shutter threads, but basically this camera can shoot high ISOs (over 100) at 1/33 (327 degrees), 1/50 (216 degrees), 1/100 (108 deg) and upwards at 100 or 200 ISO. (Turn highlight tone priority on to get 200 ISO.)

Any video that you shot at over 100 ISO is almost certainly at 1/33, which compliments your timelapses well.

BTW, what apertures are you typically using? Most of your shots have the sky and the foreground both in focus. The only one where you really lose the sky is at 1:02, where only the cacti are crisp.

[Thomas Lowe]

Originally Posted by Jon Fairhurst

Got it.

That's a fairly long exposure for the shooting frequency. It works out to 300 degrees, rather than the "film look" 180 degrees. I can't argue with the results though.

Come to think of it, the longer 300 degree shutter makes sense. A lot of timelapse stuff is too stuttery. It's not surprising that it would need a longer shutter than real time motion.

I'm not sure if you've followed the other shutter threads, but basically this camera can shoot high ISOs (over 100) at 1/33 (327 degrees), 1/50 (216 degrees), 1/100 (108 deg) and upwards at 100 or 200 ISO. (Turn highlight tone priority on to get 200 ISO.)

Any video that you shot at over 100 ISO is almost certainly at 1/33, which compliments your timelapses well.

BTW, what apertures are you typically using? Most of your shots have the sky and the foreground both in focus. The only one where you really lose the sky is at 1:02, where only the cacti are crisp.

as far exposure time vs interval time, i just think about in terms of how much the stars are moving. i know that if i like my camera pause for like 20 seconds, the stars and moon will have moved across the sky a certain amount, and i'm always paranoid that i will get "stutter", like you mentioned.

in terms of the iris, i usually shoot at like f/4 or f/5.6 when i'm trying to keep the sky and some type of foreground element in focus. that cactus shot you mentioned must have been f/2, think. i can't remember my reason for that.. probably too much beer... ;)

[Marcus Marchesseault]

Stunning video.

I just noticed that the ~$40 timer is comparable to the RS-80N3 and not the TC-80N3 which means it probably doesn't have interval timing. It has long exposure timing but seems to only take one shot.

[Steve Maller]

This is some truly magical work!

[Chris Barcellos]

Originally Posted by Marcus Marchesseault

Stunning video.

I just noticed that the ~$40 timer is comparable to the RS-80N3 and not the TC-80N3 which means it probably doesn't have interval timing. It has long exposure timing but seems to only take one shot.

I am not sure what is meant by this, but the $40.00 timer I bought of ebay takes multiple shots at an exposure set either on the timer itself, with camera set on "bulb" or allowing the camera to set shutter opening, based on an auto mode.

[Thomas Lowe]

Originally Posted by Marcus Marchesseault

Stunning video.

I just noticed that the ~$40 timer is comparable to the RS-80N3 and not the TC-80N3 which means it probably doesn't have interval timing. It has long exposure timing but seems to only take one shot.

Just get the Aputure brand knock-off. Mine seems to work great. Make sure to get the correct one for your model of camera, though. Linkdelight sells like 15 different versions of this, for various camera brands and models.

Aputure LCD Timer Remote AP-TR3C for Canon TC-80N3

[Matthew Roddy]

Originally Posted by Thomas Lowe

Aputure LCD Timer Remote AP-TR3C for Canon TC-80N3

Wow... I wish I'd seen this before I bought my TC-80. Could have saved a lot of money.

[Daniel Browning]

Originally Posted by Matthew Roddy

Wow... I wish I'd seen this before I bought my TC-80. Could have saved a lot of money.

I've saved thousands of dollars over the years buying no-name knock offs for all my accessories, including batteries, grips, cords, hoods, bags, you name it. Every once and a while you get burned, but it would have to burn a lot to make up for the order-of-magnitude difference in price from name-brand accessories.

[Evan Donn]

Have you tried the 5DmkII batteries from Linkdelight? They're ridiculously cheap...

[Thomas Lowe]

Originally Posted by Evan Donn

Have you tried the 5DmkII batteries from Linkdelight? They're ridiculously cheap...

I wouldn't mess around with off-brand 5D2 batteries. These are by far the best camera batteries ever produced. I can rattle off probably 10,000 shots on the two batteries in my grip. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

I say that without any specific knowledge of the off-brands at Linkdelight. I have had mixed results with other off-brands for my other Canon cameras. Many of them are simply dead and useless now, while my Canon-brand batteries rock on.

[Chris Barcellos]

Evan:

I had to buy the cheapies, cause just couldn't find others in stock. One problem is you don't actually have any idea how long the battery will shoot, because it does not telll camera how much power is left on board. However, I have shot through my Canon and then loaded one of the cheap ones, and it continued to operate without issue.

[Evan Donn]

Thanks, for stills I'm not worried about it, but for video it would be nice to have plenty of extras - but I figured at that price they might not really be comparable to canon.

[Thomas Lowe]

BTW, there is a digg submission for this now:

Absolutely Stunning Timelapse | Learning To Fly