Need your opinion on a time lapse photography/video question

12 years 8 months ago #140377 by Alex
So I have this pretty cool time lapse project that I kick off tomorrow. I'll have my camera firing off every 20 to 30 seconds for an entire day with the lighting potentially changing through out the day. I'm trying to decide if I should keep the camera in full manual mode and have the difference in exposure add mood, or have the camera left in auto mode. I won't have the opportunity for obvious reasons to adjust exposure every shot (shutter timed to fire every 20 or 30 seconds for 10 hours). I never use auto mode, but wondering if this may be the best route to insure the shot is always exposed correctly?

What do you think?

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12 years 8 months ago #140379 by Dori
I have no knowledge of Time Lapse but I do look forward to your results!

Don't pi$$ me off, I am running out of room to store the bodies...

Resident Texasotan...

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12 years 8 months ago #140383 by Alex
Yeah this should be a fun one to make!

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12 years 8 months ago #140451 by Garbo
I'm not 100% but near certain you can keep the camera in auto mode

Nikon D300: 24-70 2.8 | 70-200 2.8 VR |Sigma 150 2.8 | 50 1.4 | SB-800
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12 years 8 months ago - 12 years 8 months ago #140454 by MLKstudios
Is it be possible for you to visit the camera later in the day and change the exposure? I'd use manual and be changing it every few hours. In any Auto mode, you'd have to "fix it in post".

:)

Matthew L Kees
MLK Studios Photography School
www.MLKstudios.com
[email protected]
"Every artist, was once an amateur"

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12 years 8 months ago #140470 by Tamgerine
Personally I'd use auto and make needed adjustments in post. I think it depends on what you're going to be taking a time lapse of, honestly. If the sun is in the picture manual mode will change your exposure considerably and you could use a lot of detail in your subject, or be too overexposed or too underexposed depending on the time of day. If your subject is just IN the sunlight, I think auto would make the best minor changes with corrections later on.

I think the focus of time lapse is that actual time lapse, and I think drastic changes in exposure might be a bit confusing or take away from the meaning of your project.
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12 years 8 months ago #140498 by chasrich
Would shooting in RAW make the point moot? This might take a huge memory card however.

What software are you going to use to compile the film?

“Amateurs worry about equipment, professionals worry about money, masters worry about light, I just make pictures… ” ~ Vernon Trent
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12 years 8 months ago #140500 by MLKstudios
RAW has more bit depth, so you can fudge the exposure a bit more than a JPEG, but it isn't a fail safe for ANY exposure. The chosen ISO, f/stop and shutter speed are still important.

Matthew L Kees
MLK Studios Photography School
www.MLKstudios.com
[email protected]
"Every artist, was once an amateur"

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12 years 8 months ago #140707 by Mayo

chasrich wrote: Would shooting in RAW make the point moot? This might take a huge memory card however.

What software are you going to use to compile the film?


+1 on the software used for this. I would like to learn how to do this too.

Canon 5D - Canon 50mm f/1.4 | Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 | Canon 70-200 f/4L
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12 years 8 months ago #140715 by fotozone
I will through in m 2 cents; what about aperture priority?
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