grayboy
9th of December 2008 (Tue), 12:20
Hi I am new to this forum, usually I hang out on the Avid video forums, but I am just beginning to research the equipment requirements for a project documenting a construction site over the course of a year or so. I want to create a time lapse of the building as it goes up.
I hope to be able to install the equipment in a secure building overlooking the site, and as it isnt practical for me to visit the site more than once a month I want to manage the equipment remotely - presumably via the internet. At the moment - in my ill informed state - I imagine using a digital stills camera mounted on a permanent pole. This connected via usb or firewire to a laptop which will be running some timelapse program.
It seems that Canon make cameras that come with software to provide the time-lapse control I need, but I am unclear which of the many makes have this functionality, and can be mains powered and basically left to do its thing from one month to the next. Can anyone give me a list of suitable cameras, or suggest soem for me to investigate?
I also have some other questions that soemone here may like to have a stab at.
Does the computer and the camera need to be on all the time - (for a year) or is there a way for them both to go into standby, and be 'woken up' automatically? Would this be the function of the time lapse progam? How easy is it to rig up a solar power source that could provide the power at least for the camera, if not the laptop? What is a good interval for taking photos - 1 an hour, 3 an hour, 1 every two hours? What would I need to provide an internet management solution - do I set up a website that can control the laptop?
Any thoughts,advice alternative equipment solutions, greatly appreciated.
Graham
I hope to be able to install the equipment in a secure building overlooking the site, and as it isnt practical for me to visit the site more than once a month I want to manage the equipment remotely - presumably via the internet. At the moment - in my ill informed state - I imagine using a digital stills camera mounted on a permanent pole. This connected via usb or firewire to a laptop which will be running some timelapse program.
It seems that Canon make cameras that come with software to provide the time-lapse control I need, but I am unclear which of the many makes have this functionality, and can be mains powered and basically left to do its thing from one month to the next. Can anyone give me a list of suitable cameras, or suggest soem for me to investigate?
I also have some other questions that soemone here may like to have a stab at.
Does the computer and the camera need to be on all the time - (for a year) or is there a way for them both to go into standby, and be 'woken up' automatically? Would this be the function of the time lapse progam? How easy is it to rig up a solar power source that could provide the power at least for the camera, if not the laptop? What is a good interval for taking photos - 1 an hour, 3 an hour, 1 every two hours? What would I need to provide an internet management solution - do I set up a website that can control the laptop?
Any thoughts,advice alternative equipment solutions, greatly appreciated.
Graham