Time Lapse

[landroversforever]

Need to update my other thread as the workbench build is now finished and I'm at the stage of starting to move my junk valuable land rover parts and the truck into my unit.

I fancy having a time lapse of the rebuild, so has anyone got a recommendation for a set-up?

I've used a friends gopro for a timelapse when we were away but that was only a few minutes long. I did wonder if there were any PIR controlled ones? say take an image every 20mins when activated. I don't want to be having to remember to put it on and off everytime I go to the workshop so PIR fuction would be useful.

What do the masses recommend?

[FridgeFreezer]

Raspberry Pi can do it with its built-in camera. Very configurable, and if you don't like it you can write your own software to make it do what you want.

[Shackleton]

Google 'motion activated time lapse' and you'll find some stuff. But it's kind of a contradiction in terms if you ask me.

Take it from a videographer, you need to know that your recording is actually recording. The less complications between the lens and the memory card the better. You should look at having to turn your camera on every day as a good thing. There's nothing worse than being excited to look back at a days lapse only to find it doesn't exist, and in the knowledge that the subject can never happen again. A GoPro is a fine piece of kit for a timelapse for the money, there's plenty of functionality, and if you can stump for a spare battery you should get plenty of recording time out of it. Plus you can get ongoing visual recognition that it's still working from the blipping red light.

Your other option is a DSLR with an intervalometer. The cam can be expensive but if you have the one already, you can pick up an intervalometer for very little.

Either way try get your hands on a program called LR Timelapse (I **** you not, just happy coincidence). It's a fantastic tool and will make your lapses sexy.

[Jamie_grieve]

I use one of these, not as good as a gopro but a third of the price and motion sensitive so it only records when somethings happening. We use it to see what (who's) coming into the garden at night.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/swann-outbackcam-n53kg

[gazelle]

With the GoPro you can choose the frequency that the timelapse pictures are taken. from one every 0.5secs to one every 60 seconds (so says the Hero 3+ documentation).

If you are taking one every 60 seconds when you are in the workshop, then at the normal 30fps ish for web type videos one hour of work will result in 2 seconds of film. This can be speeded up to whatever pace you want and the fish eye corrected in the free GoPro studio software, so I wouldn't worry too much about about having too much. You could think about having fast bits where not so interesting stuff is happening, and slower bits where there is more intersting action! The software does make it fairly easy, if you take advice online.

Cheers

Martin.

[gazelle]

Just one more thing to add about the GoPro - it can be plugged into a standard USB charger if you are using the frame mount which gives you access to the USB port. The Tripod connector is not expensive and gives an easy way to mount it.