Timelapse rig/dollies

[arnica]

Hi All,

I just wanted to ask about time lapse rigs. Ive seen a few clips on the time lapses these rigs can produce and I was wondering how and when would you know to move the camera along the rail?

I understand there's some motorised ones, but they obviously cost a little more. I just wanted to know some things to be ware of when using them and if anyone has one, they can shed some light on it for me.

[Rattus79]

I've seen more then a few DIY options for these. Some of the simplest are made with Egg Timers to do a simple pan.
Others use a cordless drill with a pencil in the chuck and a string tied to it. The other end of the string tied to a skateboard ...

The more expensive rigs use an Ardino (That's spelt wrong) to control both the shutter and the movement of the dolly, so it advances between shots only, allowing for a much longer exposure without movement.

I hope this helps a little.

[jjphoto]

Hi All,

I just wanted to ask about time lapse rigs. Ive seen a few clips on the time lapses these rigs can produce and I was wondering how and when would you know to move the camera along the rail?

I understand there's some motorised ones, but they obviously cost a little more. I just wanted to know some things to be ware of when using them and if anyone has one, they can shed some light on it for me.

Have a look at Timescapes.org which is a timalapse forum. You will see heaps of info and examples there:

http://forum.timescapes.org/phpBB3/index.php?sid=e1e5daeea8063a02c72bc119fd3ac6dc

The short answer to your question is that in time lapse you would typically shoot a clip with a specific length in mind. In other words, you might plan for it to be 3 seconds long (at 30fps) even though it might take an hour of real time to shoot. There fore you know that over 3 seconds (at 30fps) the camera will move from A to B so you then need to translate that into the same movement in real time.

[davros]

The bit you are talking about is Arduino. It's an open source microcontroller, but will take a bit of effort as it involves some basic electronics and programming . There are several guides and preprogrammed scripts available for free on the web. The good news is that the Arduino Uno R3 is cheap as chips. I think they are about $80 in oz, but you can get them off the web from the states for $35. I just bought one on my last trip to the states. I haven't had a chance to unwrap it and have a play yet though. Definitely worth it for those whom like to tinker.

[gordolake]

Hi, I've decided to get a decent platform for time lapse, so here is what ive ordered. The lill mule (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1590609851), a heavy duty camera platform for creating arced or linear camera moves when shooting time lapse and video.
Should be here soon and ill post some attempts after a bit of practice.

http://vimeo.com/56573190