HMC40 time lapse help at DVinfo.net

Adam Haro · August 9th, 2010, 06:31 PM

We have a bridal show coming up this weekend and the planners have asked us to create a time lapse of the set-up starting with pipe and drape all the way to vendors setting up.

I saw in the manual that the HMC40 has a time lapse function and I'm wondering is anyone has used it or has any advice.

Thanks
Adam

Tom Bostick · August 9th, 2010, 09:36 PM

timelapses are super easy with the 40
just go into menu ,recording setup ,interval record ,for what your talking about you probably want a more detailed timelapse so set it to 1 second ,i usually record at 1080P 24p PH

Adam Haro · August 9th, 2010, 09:46 PM

Thanks for the reply Tom. Any idea how long I can record on a 16gig card?

Tom Bostick · August 9th, 2010, 10:53 PM

i believe you can record for a maximum of 24 hours ,and this is limited by the camera, not because of running out of space ,when i was on vacation i did some time lapses that went on for around four hours ,and it was only about 2 mins out of the 1h39m available however i was recording with a frame interval of 10sec ,but i think you would be able to record for a really long time in interval mode

Adam Haro · August 10th, 2010, 12:02 AM

Thanks again Tom. That's the info I was looking for.

Mike Beckett · August 10th, 2010, 01:55 AM

I did some time lapse with my HMC41 for my last UWOL entry. Half an hour of recording every 10 seconds, it got me about 5 seconds of video! Really good though, I was impressed. Sure, you could do better with a DSLR and a laptop or something, but that would be something else to carry and it is just so handy having that on the video camera.

Just make sure you lock it down with manual exposure, focus, white balance etc. My first attempts at time lapse went a bit screwy because the exposure jumped a few times when the sun went behind a cloud or something.

Time lapse is one of the more trivial reasons why I chose the HMC41 over the JVC HM100!

Adam Haro · August 10th, 2010, 09:31 AM

Thanks for the heads up on manual control Mike. Luckily I will be in a well lit convention center so the lighting will be very consistent but I will still set everything manually.

Mike Beckett · August 10th, 2010, 11:58 AM

Adam - also make sure the camera is well stabilised, especially if you have a wooden floor.

I did a time lapse of a lunar eclipse a while back with my Sony V1, and it worked well... apart from the fact that every time I walked across the floor to check the camera, the moon started bouncing round like a beast possessed.

Bob Diaz · August 10th, 2010, 03:18 PM

Just some thoughts on time lapse:

(1) I like to set the time for 1 second per frame. If I need it to go faster, I can always speed it up in post.

(2) If possible, set the shutter speed at 1/2 a second exposure or as slow as possible. This seems to give a blur to the movement and looks more natural.

Bob Diaz

August 9th, 2010, 06:31 PM	#1
Adam Haro Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 171	HMC40 time lapse help We have a bridal show coming up this weekend and the planners have asked us to create a time lapse of the set-up starting with pipe and drape all the way to vendors setting up. I saw in the manual that the HMC40 has a time lapse function and I'm wondering is anyone has used it or has any advice. Thanks Adam

August 9th, 2010, 09:36 PM	#2
Tom Bostick Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Austin TX Posts: 292	timelapses are super easy with the 40 just go into menu ,recording setup ,interval record ,for what your talking about you probably want a more detailed timelapse so set it to 1 second ,i usually record at 1080P 24p PH

August 9th, 2010, 09:46 PM	#3
Adam Haro Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 171	Thanks for the reply Tom. Any idea how long I can record on a 16gig card?

August 9th, 2010, 10:53 PM	#4
Tom Bostick Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Austin TX Posts: 292	i believe you can record for a maximum of 24 hours ,and this is limited by the camera, not because of running out of space ,when i was on vacation i did some time lapses that went on for around four hours ,and it was only about 2 mins out of the 1h39m available however i was recording with a frame interval of 10sec ,but i think you would be able to record for a really long time in interval mode

August 10th, 2010, 12:02 AM	#5
Adam Haro Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 171	Thanks again Tom. That's the info I was looking for.

August 10th, 2010, 01:55 AM	#6
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	I did some time lapse with my HMC41 for my last UWOL entry. Half an hour of recording every 10 seconds, it got me about 5 seconds of video! Really good though, I was impressed. Sure, you could do better with a DSLR and a laptop or something, but that would be something else to carry and it is just so handy having that on the video camera. Just make sure you lock it down with manual exposure, focus, white balance etc. My first attempts at time lapse went a bit screwy because the exposure jumped a few times when the sun went behind a cloud or something. Time lapse is one of the more trivial reasons why I chose the HMC41 over the JVC HM100!

August 10th, 2010, 09:31 AM	#7
Adam Haro Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 171	Thanks for the heads up on manual control Mike. Luckily I will be in a well lit convention center so the lighting will be very consistent but I will still set everything manually.

August 10th, 2010, 11:58 AM	#8
Mike Beckett Trustee Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Antrim, Northern Ireland Posts: 1,569	Adam - also make sure the camera is well stabilised, especially if you have a wooden floor. I did a time lapse of a lunar eclipse a while back with my Sony V1, and it worked well... apart from the fact that every time I walked across the floor to check the camera, the moon started bouncing round like a beast possessed.

August 10th, 2010, 03:18 PM	#9
Bob Diaz Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: LA, California Posts: 170	Just some thoughts on time lapse: (1) I like to set the time for 1 second per frame. If I need it to go faster, I can always speed it up in post. (2) If possible, set the shutter speed at 1/2 a second exposure or as slow as possible. This seems to give a blur to the movement and looks more natural. Bob Diaz