Is the shutter replaceble after wearing out with timelapses?

I

ICD Films

Well-known member
Pretty simple... if i want to go crazy on timelapses... whatever part (shutter?) that breaks down after shutter count (150k on 5Dmk2) then is this something you can get repaired/replaced?

Google sais it's not even that expensive but just want to be sure. Thinking to pick up a 5D just purely for timelapses, and it would be nice to be assured that it can be repaired and not just become a brick... yes, 150k is a lot, but everything is relative!!
 
Martin Oller said:
Pretty simple... if i want to go crazy on timelapses... whatever part (shutter?) that breaks down after shutter count (150k on 5Dmk2) then is this something you can get repaired/replaced?

Google sais it's not even that expensive but just want to be sure. Thinking to pick up a 5D just purely for timelapses, and it would be nice to be assured that it can be repaired and not just become a brick... yes, 150k is a lot, but everything is relative!!
Click to expand...
Yes, it's replaceable. I use a Nikon, and I know some that have used Canon for over 200K shots, for 1 time-lapsed video. They were doing 5 shot HDR, for each shot of the time lapse.

Most shutters are in the $250 to $500 range, so call your local Canon Service Center and ask for a price quote on a shutter replacements.

Also, the maximum shutter "life" is an arbitrary number and subject to change. Some have gotten over 300k shots on a 150K rated shutter. Some have gotten less than half that. YMMV.
And, since your end result will be 1920X1080 video, you don't necessarily need to shoot in full resolution, or even RAW. However, if you plan on post processing each image, or doing HDR, it's best to use RAW. The time to do a 50,000 shot HDR video, in post-processing, is months!!!!! So, you have to make sure the "end justifies the means". What I mean is; just how much time do you want to spend in post-processing.
Are you expecting to make money with this video, or adding it to a project to make money?? Or, is this just something that you think is cool, and want to show it to the World??
Will this be strictly for You Tube, or will it be shown on TV/Blue-Ray??

I'm going to assume you've done time lapsed photography before........

Last-time lapsed is an art all to itself. It is still photography that is turned into video(ya probably already knew that). When used properly, it is truly jaw dropping.
Do a You Tube search for Time Lapsed Photography, and also HDR Time Lapsed Photography, and prepare to spend hours watching what others have done.

And, you don't necessarily need any fancy camera to do a time-lapse. I just did this to prove the capabilities of the Go Pro camera-so it's nothing fancy. I rendered the clip in Sony Vegas, and did some "color work".
It was just a demo clip really. I did this, with still images taken at a pre-set interval, on a little Go Pro Hero HD camera;




Study some of these video's-they're mind blowing;
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hdr+time+lapse&aq=0&oq=hdr+time+la

Oh, and what is it you want to create a time lapse of??
 
Thanks. Is RAW more demanding on the shutter? Mostly into astro timelapses... and from my understanding there is a bit less noise in raw. But if it drains the camera then i'll stop with that... :) (having the t2i out right now, totally green on timelapsning, so thought i'd start wearing out the cheap camera first...)

But yes, nightlapses will be my main interest at least for starters, always wanted to explore it but never got around until this week.. with a bit big ambitions i'll point out... put a 1000mm f11 lens on the t2i hoping to get a myriad of galaxies, but i think i'll have to hold that one for a couple years til we get amazing clean ISO levels, at eq. 1600mm it was seriously a matter of seconds before the stars became white stripes, plus that lens should be f17(?) om aps-c, so no long shutters... Oh well... guess ambition and experience will tag along eventually :)

Trying a nikkor 50 1.4 wide open tonight, preview looked a bit more promising than the f16 lens.
 
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No, RAW won't use anymore power than JPEG.
You would need an incredibly stable and expensive tripod for a focal length that long-also, you would need an "orbital base"-something that rotated at the same speed as the Earth.
But, if you're new to time lapsed, spend some time on You Tube, or one of the photography forums, and learn how to do what you want to do. Celestial time lapse is very difficult, requiring much longer exposure than normal, and a good bit of timing and luck. Google is your new friend. You can find answers to just about all your questions on time lapsed with a simple search.

I would not start off doing Celestial time lapse-as it's the most difficult to do. Start off with something small, and keep your JPEG size down to a minimum, it will make joining them all on a project line much easier and require less computer horsepower.
Everything has to be set to Manual. That means focus, aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. You can make small changes during the time lapse-but you should do it incrementally, and that's where the math part comes in. If you want to make a 5% increase in the brightness of your image, because you are losing 5% light, you have to determine over the course of your time lapse, at what point do you start making the change, and then how much at a time.

Like I said-it can be easy-it looks easy, but, there is a lot to doing it well. It takes practice and patience.

The only Galaxy you will be able to photography using time lapsed-without a telescope, would be the Milky Way. That's relatively easy-but requires you to be in an area away from "light pollution".
I would not go above ISO 800 on the Canon.

Like everything else, just practice, and search for internet for clues. There are a lot of tutorial out there to help you along, but I think your plans are a bit overly ambitious-which is a good thing.
 
if you buy one, get the extended warranty with it. then timelapse until your hearts content. It's probably cheaper this way than paying a technicians hrly fee.
 
maranfilms said:
if you buy one, get the extended warranty with it. then timelapse until your hearts content. It's probably cheaper this way than paying a technicians hrly fee.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if the Canon T2i has a shutter counter or not. Might be something to look into. Read the fine print of the warranty though, as some won't cover replacement of certain "life-limited" parts, if those parts exceed their life-limit within the warranty.
For example, you can't go out and buy a Nikon D3s, and shoot 300,000+ shots, in less than a year, and expect a free shutter if/when it fails. That being said, you will probably get one at a reduced fee. Just a guess on my part.

I have yet to see a shutter fail in any camera I've owned. But, I've never owned a Canon.
I think with time-lapsed, because the camera moves so little, that the shutter will probably last quite a long time.
Think about how long a video 150,000 frames would be, at the movie rate of 24 fps(it's over 104 hours).

Do time lapsed to your hearts content. The last thing you should worry about, is shutter life. In reality, most time lapse sequences rarely exceed more than a few 1000 frames.
 
havasuphoto said:
Celestial time lapse
Click to expand...

new term to google on! bit tough when you're not really in to photography in the first place... BUT i have a good training ground, very little pollution out here, although bad time for this stuff now in the northern hemisphere (6 months light, 6 months darkness)


havasuphoto said:
"orbital base"-something that rotated at the same speed as the Earth.
Click to expand...

Hmm? Motorised compensation for earths movement? Ah, yes that makes sense... hmm, any point in the right direction where to look? figures it's a bit over my head at the moment, haven't really seen any videos of this kind of long-focal nightlapses.... a motorized ball head compensating the movement thus able to leave shutter open & journey into space... Figures there's (expensive) products for this, but now to find that epic, long-archived DIY thread... :laugh:

ALSO does long shutter times wear on the shutter?? Or is that just some bollocks? It sounds kinda weird to me...

edit: Not a single hit on "deep sky timelapse", booooo... must be out there, so to speak...:)

edit2: Looks like THIS is what i need? http://www.astrotrac.com/Default.aspx?p=tt320x-ag
 
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Buy the camera from walmart. Shoot your timelapse. Then return the camera saying that it was broke when you got it. Problem solved.
 
"Buy the camera from walmart. Shoot your timelapse. Then return the camera saying that it was broke when you got it. Problem solved. "

Really lame....
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Jeez, sometimes I forget to make the little smiley faces and people get all bent out of shape. You can't understand tone/intent on the internet. :grin:

I work at Wally World. It's a pretty messed up place. Retail is killing my soul. It's like if your Polish (like me) you get to make Polish jokes and it's okay. If you work at Walmart, you get to bash on it. Also, you probably get a free pass to go to heaven because you've already been through hell.

I don't actually want someone to go buy a camera, break it and then return it.
 
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