Time Lapse help Day into Night

Tom Lowe said:
Hahaha... I just did a timelapse of my lazy dog! too cool! yep, with cinegamma on you can't do timelapse... stupid.
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Well, that's sorta' true. I assume that you turned cinegamma off by switching the scene file knob. Yes? If so, here's what you actually did...
In order for one to access INTERVAL recording one has to be in Video cam mode. In Video cam mode there is no cinegamma. So when you turned the scene file knob and saw that the "cine..." disappeared from the LCD, you actually were switching from film cam mode to video cam mode.

Two things to remember:
Set cam to video mode in scene file menu.
Set cam to 1080i/60i, 1080i/30P, 720P/60P, 720P/30P, 480i/60i, or 480i/30P in RECORDING SETUP menu. PN modes will not work.
 
In Video cam mode there is no cinegamma.
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Originally Posted by Jeff Deveraux(i'll do it right next time;i promise)

I don't think that is the case. When you switched the scene file knob on the back of the camera you probably switched to a recording format that allows Interval recording but was also setup with Gamma set to another of the options available.

Check out page 100 of the manual. Operation Type only affects the display of shutter angle and time code. Now it does affect the ability to use certain functions, page 47, including Interval.

When I setup for Interval recording I still have CineGamma enabled in my menu. I do not see a change in the image when I switch between FILM CAM and VIDEO CAM which is noticeable when the Gamma settings change. This is different from the Varicam which has a different Gamma setup for these two similar settings. That may be where the confusion originates.

David
 
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I don't know if it's possible, but has anyone tried going to a really dark desert and trying to get a star-trail timelapse? Would a really bright Milky Way be picked up? Is there any way to extend the length of expose time on interval time-lapses? Shutter angle?
 
Probably not using the HVX. Even with the shutter trick it only gets down to about 1/2 sec exposure. For star trails you need about 20-30 sec exposure times and that is at about 400 ASA.
 
Heh. The math isn't looking good for star trails.

Noob question: Why is that you cannot control shutter speed for longer exposures... especially with single-shot interval frames?
 
Good question, Barry Green would have to answer that one.
I did some playing around the other night and did 30 sec exposures every 1 minute. Kinda jerky. I should have done 30 sec exposure every 30 sec for smoother motion.
 
I have done the manual iris method with some success. For obvious level jumps between frames, for example when removing the ND filter, try adding a dissolve filter.
 
Thanks David, that's good stuff. But what I want to do is the opposite; setup at 4:00AM and record people driving in to work with the sun coming up, probably stopping at 9:00AM. I want the sequence to last maybe 15-20sec in playback. What I don't get since I've never done this stuff is how can I anticipate the exposure since I'll be going from dark to bright? Or do I need to control the iris with a remote device?
 
@jgrimson

the secret behind this method is, not shooting one frame with one setting (exposure/iris) but shooting more sets/frames with different settings. thats the way you're doing it with dslr. of course the camera is therefore pc/remote controlled.

exposure problem: just check the correct exposure at 9:00 am the day before you're shooting, and you should be fine (under the same "nice" conditions - sunshine/rain)

christian
 
Thanks Christian. So this is still photography software controlling a still photography camera, not interfacing with a video camera like an HVX; is that correct? I checked the DSLR website and it seems like it is designed for still photography and telescopes, or am I missing how it would operate with a video camera? Thanks, your time lapse reel is superb!
 
Do you have access to a flame or inferno with Sapphire sparks? You could leave it on auto exposure and use the S_flicker_remove spark to even things out. I've even done this by hand in the old days. You take your first and last frame and do a dissolve and use the dissolve as a reference for brightness for each frame in the color corrector. Tedious, and lots of trial and error, but it works. If you can't get it you can always hire me...
Sam
 
Is it safe to say that the HVX cannot do automated timelapse of day-to-night scenes very well due to a lack of long exposure settings?

And the best way to do it on a HVX is to do it manually? For example, when it becomes night, set the HVX to Film Cam, 2 fps, and 350d?
 
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