Cheapest and quickest way to do a time lapse video

[Stedman]

Hi guys,

I've had a sudden moment, but I don't have the chance in the next 3-4 days to look things up, so I thought I should ask the question here!

What is the quickest and cheapest way to do a time lapse video for my parents? They don't have any fancy camera equipment like some of you chaps.

Sorry I have to ask, I don't really like being all 'take take take' but as i've explained, I don't have the time to look into it in the 3-4 days and i'd really like to get the ball rolling ASAP!

Thanks very much

[TheEnd]

I used an N95 Nokia once-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0DVyNESX48

I suppose the basics are some sort of camera that will take shots automatically every 15-30 secs, and enough memory and power to last (ie think a plug in charger)
Once you have the pics, expect 2000+, there are programs about on the net that will make them into a video.
I forget what I used, can't seem to find it now, but it was a batch renamer (I forget why that was important, maybe the number format was a bit odd on the camera) and then load them into the video maker.
After ten mins, it is done.

I can't remember if it added the music, maybe I used windows movie maker or something afterwards, but it wasn't all that bad.

Aiming into the sun isn't the best idea unless you have a decent camera which will sort out the exposure for you, I'd say if it is left on automatic settings, it'll sort things out on the fly.

[Kwacker]

I did the same thing at a friends wedding recently.

I set the camera up near the DJ and set it to take a picture every 5-10 seconds. It took almost 2000 pictures. I then used Imovie on my mac to create a video approx 4 min long. I even added music and titles.

I did the same thing as you before I started and asked the question on here. There are quite a few freebies out there that will do it, but as I already had the software I used it. It did take several hours of processing, and I could have spent twice as long just to make it a little better.

Good luck.

Kwacker

Ps. I might be tempted to do it for you for a small fee.

[JBM78]

If you've already got an iphone, this would be a cheap way: http://timelapse-iphone.com/

[Brabus Jord]

JBM78 said:

If you've already got an iphone, this would be a cheap way: http://timelapse-iphone.com/

this ^^^^^^ you can get some awesome results from it!

[HoHoHo]

Once you've got your pictures, QuickTime will put them together very easily with music if you so wish.

[CharlieCrocodile]

Brabus Jord said:

this ^^^^^^ you can get some awesome results from it!

One that I did - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY4yKOC2r_4

[HoHoHo]

CharlieCrocodile said:

Brabus Jord said:

this ^^^^^^ you can get some awesome results from it!

One that I did - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY4yKOC2r_4

Very good, here's one I made earlier

Car wash

[CharlieCrocodile]

HoHoHo said:

Very good, here's one I made earlier

Car wash

Very smug at the end!

[HoHoHo]

CharlieCrocodile said:

HoHoHo said:

Very good, here's one I made earlier

Car wash

Very smug at the end!

I'm not sure smug..... I'm not used to being on film.....what else do you do?!

[gingerpaul]

This used to be built into my old camera so it's worth checking the manual or all of your menus to see if it's already there. Here's an example with a photo taken (iirc) every 15 seconds.

http://youtu.be/IOka5lrJ_8U

[Stedman]

Right guys i've got a spare minute and managed to read all your contributions-thank you for them!

The video would be for my parents who are building a house in France! I'm guessing a picture every 30mins/1hour/2hours would do the trick? I'm pretty sure their boggo camera wont do the pictures, any recommendations that will take some abuse from the cold weather?

(hopefully this makes sense, i've just finished at 14 hour shift!)

Thanks again.

[14-7]

Stedman said:

The video would be for my parents who are building a house in France! I'm guessing a picture every 30mins/1hour/2hours would do the trick? I'm pretty sure their boggo camera wont do the pictures, any recommendations that will take some abuse from the cold weather?

Right first thing you need to think about is a power supply. For that sort of project it's either going to need frequent battery changes or a permanent supply.

If you go down the route of a camera mounted in something like a bird box (which means it wouldn't stand out) then pick up a compact off ebay that does timelapse shooting. Nearly all compacts do.

If there is a house nearby that you can leave a cheap laptop in tethered to a USB camera then there are plenty of programs that allow you to take a photo every *** seconds/minutes/hours.

I know you have said you want it to take a picture every 30 mins (unless that was just a number out of thin air) but realise that play back speeds tend to be 24/25 frames per second. So one day would pass in less than two seconds of playback.

That to me wouldn't show enough detail. You would be better off trying to set up something to take a picture every 5 minutes during the hours of 8am to 8pm. It would require a laptop to do but would turn out better in the end.

Oh, and here's one of mine

http://www.vimeo.com/25636077

[CharlieCrocodile]

14-7 said:

Oh, and here's one of mine

http://www.vimeo.com/25636077

Damn, that's beautiful after 01:20

[14-7]

CharlieCrocodile said:

14-7 said:

Oh, and here's one of mine

http://www.vimeo.com/25636077

Damn, that's beautiful after 01:20

Are you saying it's st before it?

Night time shots are always my favourite but given I do like a bit of vino I tend to be pissed by midnight meaning the photography doesn't get a look in!

[TheEnd]

And there's a UFO at 1.27 onwards

(or maybe a fat kestrel)