Stop motion photography "how to"

[DesmondD]

Since I've had quite a few questions on my high speed photography I decided to do a blog on it here (http://desmond-downs.blogspot.com/2010/05/stop-motion-photography.html)

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/high%20speed/aabulbsmash015.jpg

[I @ M]

An excellent tutorial Desmond. :th3:

Well worth the read for anyone wanting to experiment -- and at a reasonably affordable price.

[DesmondD]

An excellent tutorial Desmond. :th3:

Well worth the read for anyone wanting to experiment -- and at a reasonably affordable price.

Thanks for the feedback :) I suppose nobody can complain about the price ! :D

[Andrew.S]

Extremely good, just ordered the relay kit, now I have to find my soldering iron. I have been trying to think of a way to trigger the flash at an animal passes a set point so this has given me the answer, thanks

[DesmondD]

Extremely good, just ordered the relay kit, now I have to find my soldering iron. I have been trying to think of a way to trigger the flash at an animal passes a set point so this has given me the answer, thanks

Just make sure of your solder joints !
I assume you are talking about my motion sensor remote hack ! (http://desmond-downs.blogspot.com/2010/01/motion-sensor-camera-remote-hack.html) ?

[dbax]

thanks Desmond
Ive bookmarked that tute.
Cheers mate:th3::th3:

[DesmondD]

thanks Desmond
Ive bookmarked that tute.
Cheers mate:th3::th3:

Cool ! Share your results if you give it a go !

[Kym]

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=KC5172&keywords=sound+relay&form=KEYWORD

Looks like a new version of the sound relay kit.

[michael_sa]

A great write-up Desmond. Here's my Scrooge version:
A few dollars worth of components, a bit of vero board (and some boredom during a lunchbreak):


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2131/2243447063_1878d4a3f8.jpg
it's a modified version of this schematic (http://www.diyphotography.net/files/images/universal_trigger_sm-sound_slave_trigger1.png)




http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2342/2256996327_a0c8b9f8c0.jpg



http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2030/2259605585_94f81c8d8e.jpg


I've been meaning to revisit this experiment for a while now, just haven't gotten back to it yet. Unfortunately the fastest I can go with any of my flashes is 1/64 (1/25000th sec on the SB600)
These were shot with a Nikon D50 and an old Nissin PZ400 flash on 1/64

Might have to pull out the rifle and give it a proper go...




http://www.dolforums.com.au/style_emoticons/default/scared.gif

[DesmondD]

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=KC5172&keywords=sound+relay&form=KEYWORD

Looks like a new version of the sound relay kit.

That version has been up there for a while - it's just that the one I use was on the shelf when I went in .


A great write-up Desmond. Here's my Scrooge version:
A few dollars worth of components, a bit of vero board (and some boredom during a lunchbreak):



Looks like it reacts pretty quickly judging by the balloon shot , well done !

[Shane]

That looks like it could fun, thanks for sharing.

[DesmondD]

That looks like it could fun, thanks for sharing.

This arrived today - I also have a dozen eggs on "standby ":D

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/Other/111080665_full.jpg

[BLWNHR]

Desmond, I found the same kit you used online, just wondering what you used to power it? Did you use the supplied microphone?
Cheers, Adam.

[DesmondD]

Desmond, I found the same kit you used online, just wondering what you used to power it? Did you use the supplied microphone?
Cheers, Adam.

I used one of those 12 volt 'security' batteries , with two small push-on terminals .
I used the supplied mic since it was a huge difference in resistance to a 'normal' mic
so I didn't want to introduce any complications .
It's best to have the mic sticking out on an extended piece of wire because if you have the supplied mechanical relay in it can sometimes trigger itself when it switches off and detects its own noise .

[rwg717]

Simply stunning work, had read this sort of thing before....but didn't believe it, but I do now!
Richard

[DesmondD]

Simply stunning work, had read this sort of thing before....but didn't believe it, but I do now!
Richard

Thanks - I've done a bit with the eggs lately ...

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/high%20speed/zeggs003.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/high%20speed/zeggs009.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/high%20speed/zeggs011.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/high%20speed/zeggs018.jpg

Also shot a few with the air rifle - didn't want to waste too much so I only did a few ....

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/high%20speed/zeggsplode005.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/high%20speed/zeggsplode008.jpg



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[Thor]

cool banana's

[GriMo]

Many many thanks for this. I've been trying to figure out a way to take exactly some of these sorts of photos for a while now. Much easier then i suspected, but then i guess the best solution is often the simplest.

now to find a cheap flash to rip apart...

[DesmondD]

Many many thanks for this. I've been trying to figure out a way to take exactly some of these sorts of photos for a while now. Much easier then i suspected, but then i guess the best solution is often the simplest.

now to find a cheap flash to rip apart...

There are a lot of cheap old flashes out there - but just read my blog on 'using an older flash ' (http://desmond-downs.blogspot.com/2010/07/using-older-flash.html) first :)

[Kerro]

All I can say is ......AWESOME

[DesmondD]

All I can say is ......AWESOME

Thanks , I've been working on the glowing filament shot :)

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m300/dvdowns/high%20speed/zsmashsword022.jpg

[Kym]

Thanks , I've been working on the glowing filament shot :)


:kewl: :wd: That is quite stunning!

[DesmondD]

:kewl: :wd: That is quite stunning!

Thanks - I've done a blog on the glowing filament shot (http://desmond-downs.blogspot.com/2010/07/flash-bulb.html)

[BLWNHR]

Well, 3 months after buying the vox trigger kit I finally got it finished last night (damn work!). I did the same mod as you with the solid-state relay. It all seemed to work, the red light on the SSR would light when the circuit triggered, so I assembled it all in a Zippy case (or whatever Jaycar call them). I hooked up my SB800 and triggered the circuit, but the flash didn't fire.

I did short the sync. cable when connecting it to the circuit, which fired the flash, so I know the cord is fine, haha. Being all in the case I couldn't be bothered (nor had time) to open it up and check what was going on. The ciruit is definitely working as I can hear the electro-mechanical relay working.

Without looking at it I'm thinking two things. I did wind both trimpots to their minimum setting, least sensitivity on the mic, and shortest dwell time once triggered. I'm thinking that is not enough time for the SSR. Either that or the voltage from the flash has blown up the SSR.

Anyhow, just saying thanks for the inspiration, hopefully I'll get a chance to play with it next weekend.

I'm a bit OCD when it comes to neatness of electronics, haha. I'll take some shots of the circuit and the case once it's all up and going.

[DesmondD]

I did short the sync. cable when connecting it to the circuit, which fired the flash, so I know the cord is fine, haha. Being all in the case I couldn't be bothered (nor had time) to open it up and check what was going on. The ciruit is definitely working as I can hear the electro-mechanical relay working.

Try simply connecting it to the mechanical relay for some shots , there will be about a 1/200th sec delay .
I have both trim-pots cranked up all the way so it is very sensitive and stays in for a while - I don't want double flashes to happen . With the mechanical relay still in it is worth turning the sensitivity back a bit because the click of the relay sometimes triggers the mic to pull in again each time it lets go .
For now I'd suggest a few shots simply using the mechanical relay :) .




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