I'm going to shoot a timelapse, any tips?

Hi all.

In the next couple days I'm going to spend the day shooting a timelapse from various locations.
I've never done one before so would like to hear any tips if possible.
For example, what intervals do you think is suitable, 1 exposure a second?
What's the best exposure mode... keep it on Av?

Also I don't have the auto-timelapse thingy for my camera, but honestly... I don't mind sat clicking away for hours so long as I have some music or a buddy

Obviously I'll be taking my tripod, I'll try and borrow a wide lens too.
Anything else? Cheers

you'd want one of these on your 7D to do a timelapse without you having to click on the shutter release every now and then.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …1-REG/Canon_2477A002.htm​l

will you be doing this day time, afternoon, dusk, or night time?
For day time , i would use an ND filter 2 to 4 stops down depending how bright it is outside, with a high F/stop above 11, but i would recommend either a wireless remote or the wired remote to prevent camera shake by pressing the button. Also, make sure you have a robust or a sturdy tripod...you don't want the shutter action causing the camera shake. my 2cent =)

btw..if you can, it may be better to go Manual than AV mode for time elapse shoots.

time of exposure:
depends the lighting conditions and what you pretend to do.
shoot some test pics before you start.

(you might want to test something like this)

benesotor wrote in post #10866131
Hi all.

In the next couple days I'm going to spend the day shooting a timelapse from various locations.
I've never done one before so would like to hear any tips if possible.
For example, what intervals do you think is suitable, 1 exposure a second?
What's the best exposure mode... keep it on Av?

Also I don't have the auto-timelapse thingy for my camera, but honestly... I don't mind sat clicking away for hours so long as I have some music or a buddy

Obviously I'll be taking my tripod, I'll try and borrow a wide lens too.
Anything else? Cheers

Take a look at:

http://www.timescapes.​org/

http://www.timescapes.​org/phpBB3/index.php

There you will find tons of good tips and info about timelaps photography.

Good luck.

Best shutter speed to use is about one-half of the interval time - it makes for a less jerky final product. For the interval time you need to know how long you want to shoot for, how long you want the resulting clip to last and the final frame rate.

So, if you wanted a final clip that runs at 24 fps and you wanted to compress 4 hours of time down to 40 seconds - 40s @ 24 fps = 960 frames. 4h = 14,400 seconds. So your interval time needs to be 14400/960 = 15s. So I'd use ND filters and a narrow aperture to get a shutter speed of around 5 to 7s.

Wouldn't a shutter speed that long drain the battery fairly quickly? Could you even get 4 hrs of shooting out of a battery holding the shutter open for that duration?

sixsixfour wrote in post #10866890
you'd want one of these on your 7D to do a timelapse without you having to click on the shutter release every now and then.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …1-REG/Canon_2477A002.htm​l

i just bought one of these:
http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1283955​513&sr=1-1

I think it's the same thing with the same features but costs $27 instead of $145. Although I just got mine last night and haven't actually tried it out yet.

Anyway, an intervalometer is something you will want if you don't have one.

bsmotril wrote in post #10871041
Wouldn't a shutter speed that long drain the battery fairly quickly? Could you even get 4 hrs of shooting out of a battery holding the shutter open for that duration?

I have shot for over 3 hours with my 40D with no problem. I was shooting 30 second exposures to do star trails. Anyway, I had a battery grip with a second battery, but i never got down to the half-charged battery indicator symbol. So I'm pretty sure i could have gone that long with a single battery. All of that was after a day of shooting thousands of pictures (i was in Yellowstone, plenty to shoot.)

I would think a 7D with a fully charged battery could shoot continuously for 4 hours... but there's only one way to find out.

good luck!

Thanks for the info guys.

It'll probably be a bit hit and miss, but I should be okay as most of the shots will be indoors I think.